The Cairnes brothers’ Australian horror film, Late Night With The Devil (2023) began its festival circuit early in 2023 and took the best screenplay award at the Sitges festival. This Australian production is the third feature film by the pair of brothers who also created the script and worked on the editing. From the hand of IFC Films, the film hit theaters in a limited way in March 2024 and in its first three days in theaters in the United States it raised 2.8 million dollars to become the best premiere for IFC. It exceeded 12 million dollars worldwide, a more than respectable figure for an independent film.

It’s Halloween night 1977 and Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) has something special to help his show “Night Owls” finally reach the ratings it once achieved. Only his producer knows of his plan, the crew and his co-host Gus (Rhys Auteri) are unaware of what Jack has orchestrated. Jack will play with dark supernatural forces in his desperation to achieve ratings that surpass his rivals.

Live With The Devil

Late Night With The Devil finds its greatest strength in the narrative rhythm and editing. The script that covers 1 hour and 33 minutes is ideal and does not waste time with unnecessary twists. In the introduction, the fast pace gives us an introduction that resembles that of a news documentary, this puts us in context and immerses us fully in the story. In addition to the production design that sets us perfectly in the 70s, the technique for the final color and the texture of the image also makes us feel that we are watching a celluloid film. For the story, the Cairnes decided on a mix of color and black and white, with the changes they present two stories in one, what happens in front of the cameras and what happens behind the scenes.

The tension that Late Night With The Devil manages is perfect for handling psychological terror and prepares us for a third act that leans towards graphic horror. At the center of it all, we can find a sharp criticism of the television business, of the blind and excessive ambition and lack of scruples that constantly become common practice in the entertainment business. The objective of the film is not to make a deep analysis of the topic, but it is exposed in the speech. Late Night With The Devil is content with being purely a horror film and in that aspect, it is quite effective.