#Jack Christou

[milliondollarbaby87]

Last Train to Christmas (2021) Review

Last Train to Christmas (2021) Review

Tony Towers was somewhat of a local celebrity, a successful nightclub manager and is currently engaged to a younger woman named Sue. When they get on a train to Nottingham for a Christmas family reunion everything is about to get a little strange when he moves between the train carriages. ⭐️⭐️ (more…)

[deputyrook]

Late Night With the Devil (2023) "An Unmarried Man With a Wedding Ring"

[saucefunk]

happy LNWTD digital release day!

[bunnypotions]

im sorry i know we talked abt this but im still giggling abt tbe idea of a night owls fandom. imagine them liveblogging the episode. itd be like fucking dashcon where it starts with excitement and slowly descends into horror

[kiji0]

“Jack and Gus yaoi” this “Jack and Leo yaoi” that WHAT ABOUT THEM.

[brokehorrorfan]

Late Night with the Devil will be released on Steelbook Blu-ray and DVD on September 10 via IFC Films. The 2023 horror film is streaming exclusively on Shudder.

Colin & Cameron Cairnes write and direct. David Dastmalchian stars with Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys Auteri, Georgina Haig, and Josh Quong Tart.

The Steelbook edition comes with a Jack Delroy photo, Night Owls air freshener, Conversations with the Devil bookmark, and The Amazing Christou flyer. Special features are listed below.

Special features:

Audio commentary by actor David Dastmalchian

Behind the Scenes of Late Night with the Devil

Q&A with writer-directors Colin & Cameron Cairnes

Monster Shock Theater Live with David Dastmalchian

October 31, 1977. Johnny Carson rival Jack Delroy hosts a syndicated late night talk show Night Owls that has long been a trusted companion to insomniacs around the country. A year after the tragic death of Jack’s wife, ratings have plummeted. Desperate to turn his fortunes around, Jack plans a Halloween special like no other, unaware that he is about to unleash evil into the living rooms of America.

Pre-order Late Night with the Devil.

[fate-motif]

lemme give you the overview of jack as possessed by abraxas—

through jack, abraxas has essentially created his own personal charles manson, and gets to extend this gruesome legend by possessing his body. he lives off the attention, the consummate showman and all that.

the grove made sure this came to fruition.

jack becomes similar to lilly in gaining knowledge he couldn’t have acquired normally, but in his case he is overcome with images and intrusions of the different kinds of coverage he is getting without even touching a tv, radio or newspaper.

jack’s criminal trial is televised! a rarity, but he is a public figure and his murder being televised would make it a sensation.

jack doesn’t realize he is hosting a demon in his body until he’s called to the stand during his trial and abraxas manifests himself through him to scare the people watching. i like to think through the black barf that happened to christou >:)

during his trial, his lawyers persuade jack to plead insanity, which he is willing to do to avoid jail or worse, being executed. the possibility of death row is ardently discussed by the media, especially evangelical media personalities.

the only person who visits jack where he’s committed is leo, partly because he feels guilty for what happened to jack and everyone else that died that night, but also partly because the grove is forcing him to do so to keep an eye on the vessel for their demon lord without making jack suspicious. 

jack starts out insistent on the reality of demonic powers to try and avoid people making the same mistakes he did, but… well, it doesn’t take much abuse for him to get back in line and try and be as compliant as possible. 

he never gets out.

[tenderhungering]

Do you think Jack Delroy is a victim or a villain?

i love jack delroy so much as a character and i would really love to explore him more through writing (if i ever end up writing a fanfic about him lmao). i think he is both victim and villain, he’s an incredibly morally gray character that wants to believe that he is a good man.

jack isn’t deliberately cruel to anyone throughout the film. if anything, i’d say he has the ability to be very reassuring, he’s constantly worrying and fretting, comforting. he’s physically comforting in the way that he stands in front of lilly & june whenever the glass breaks on instinct, how he immediately falls next to gus’ body whenever he sees he’s been hurt, he decides to take over cutting lilly after her binds after he hears her cry out that they’re hurting her. he’s verbally comforting in how he’s always assuring that everything will be fine, that christou should pay no mind to carmichael because he knows carmichael is about to make him feel bad about his occupation, he repeatedly uses pet names for lilly as if to ease any anxiety from being on the show.

but what all these instances have in common with one another is that he is the reason as to why they are experiencing discomfort to begin with. it is the same as kissing his wife before stabbing her in the stomach. he’s able to experience the need to be someone of solace when he sees hurt, both out of his own human nature and the guilt behind it.

the dog that weeps after it kills is no better than the dog that doesn't. my guilt will not purify me.

i think jack desperately wants to be a good person. he wants to remain good and pure but he has placed himself within a system that values how much you are able to feed it in exchange for power. he is self-obsessed with the idea of being loved by as many people as possible to make up for all his time spent suffering. he thinks he’s made enough sacrifices in order to be rewarded for them. is the hurt that he has inflicted on himself not enough? does he have to give more? is his own not enough? i have to hurt you to get what i want, just for once, and i am sorry but i promise not to twist the knife.

ultimately i think jack is similar to that of being the perfect pawn, a victim that the cult enjoys exploiting and who will do things for his own benefit because he thinks he deserves this. he is entitled to something good for once, isn’t he?. his guilt and shame has been overridden by the desperation that he feels to be something. maybe he subconsciously needs to have some power over others since he feels so powerless to his own decisions. in front of the camera he can play the part of leading man but really, he was damned from the very beginning. and he has to damn others to feel a bit of control. and that makes him an antagonist to both his own story and others’. he has destroyed and betrayed himself for nothing.

edit: also thank you so much for asking me this omg,,, i’m a sucker for just going on and on about characters but you definitely do not have to agree with me on things i write ! keep sending questions so i am enabled into yapping

[defectivevillain]

the forsaken road

pairing: Jack Delroy/Reader

The reader is referred to with he/him pronouns. Otherwise, race is ambiguous and no physical descriptors are used.

summary:

Jack lets out a wry laugh. It’s broken and dry, as if the very gesture pains him. His hands are trembling, you realize as you study him. His suit is a bit wrinkled and there are a few hairs out of place near his temple. “My career is over.” Jack states resignedly. He looks around the studio, as if trying to get one last look at everything.

The rise and fall of Jack Delroy.

word count: 4.9k | ao3 version

warnings: canon-typical violence/blood/death, spoilers for the movie; ethically questionable relationships.

-> The reader is Jack's personal assistant; their relationship could be constituted as employer/employee, but it's implied that they will no longer be employed at the same place once their relationship turns romantic.

thanks to @palefaceswhore for the beta! any remaining mistakes are mine.

Being a personal assistant is far from your dream job. The hours are long; the pay is laughable; and the high-emotion environment of a television studio can quickly turn sour. Fortunately, these cons are less noticeable when you work as Jack Delroy’s assistant. Jack is forgiving and kind; he doesn’t order you around like a butler, nor does he lash out at you for things you have no control over. He isn’t perfect—few people are—but your position is far less stressful than the ones you had in the past. 

The Halloween episode of Night Owls with Jack Delroy is a departure from that thought. The show’s ratings have been slowly decreasing, leaving Jack with less sponsors and a contract with the network set to expire in a few months. There’s been a slight air of desperation on set recently. And when that one guest accused Jack of changing the show too much… Well, she wasn’t entirely wrong. Truthfully, the programming has been a little crazy lately. The producer, Leo, has turned to increasingly dramatic ways to draw in new audiences. Unfortunately, his efforts aren’t quite paying off. 

That brings you to October 31, 1976: a special Halloween broadcast. Tonight will be one of the most monumental moments of Jack’s career. If he can make a captivating show, then there’s a good chance for more sponsors or, hell, syndication to another television network. If he fails, the show will officially enter its final season—and eventually become nothing more than a memory. Safe to say, there is a lot of pressure on Jack Delroy at the moment. 

Still, he’s handling it rather well—at least, from what you can tell. Several celebrities and guests are lined up for the night, and while you aren’t necessarily excited about some of them, you can recognize their appeal. There’s something for everyone scheduled in the program tonight, from jazz singers to skeptics and psychics. There will be hijinks and shenanigans, interspersed with serious, head spinning moments. 

Thankfully, you don’t have a very big role in the show itself—you’re just here for Jack. While you occasionally assist with programming for Night Owls, your main priority is ensuring Jack has everything he needs: whether that’s a freshly dry-cleaned suit or a brief about the next guest. You’re a jack-of-all-trades around the set—and you enjoy helping others out when they need it. The crew members—Gus McConnell, the co-host; Phil, the director and cameraman; and Sammy, the make-up artist—are easy to talk to. 

The night starts innocently enough, as the first guest, psychic Christou, is invited to perform for the audience. He does appear to intuit a few things, but it’s not overly impressive. Just before the break, however, he lets out an ear-piercing scream. Everyone’s eyes fall on him as he claps his hands over his ears, shaking vigorously. Jack approaches him cautiously, inquiring after his wellbeing. Christou asks the audience about a particular name, but no one seems to recognize it. With an anticlimactic ending to the segment, the broadcast cuts to commercial and the crew is left to scramble about. One thing is abundantly clear to you, as you bustle around behind the scenes: something is wrong with Christou. He keeps coughing into his arm with an exaggerated puffing of his cheeks, as if resisting the urge to hurl. Several people attempt to approach him, but he snaps at all of them. Jack also seems concerned, but the break is ultimately too short for anything to be done about it.

The next segment of the show features Carmichael Haig, a magician-turned-skeptic. He appears alongside Christou, and it is abundantly clear that the two of them despise each other. They’re from two entirely different schools of thought, after all—Christou believes in the supernatural, while Haig only believes in the material. Haig murmurs several insults under his breath as Christou attempts to continue speaking to Jack. Eventually, Christou’s irritation spurs him to get up from his chair and pace about in evident restlessness. 

If the last segment was strange, you can’t even begin to describe what happens in the ensuing few seconds. Christou makes the strange coughing motion again, only to fall forwards and catch himself on the ground. His face contorts into discomfort and he coughs again, only to release a disgusting black liquid. You stare in complete disbelief, unable to believe your eyes. He continues vomiting up the mysterious matter, before Jack leads him off stage and a “We’ll be right back!” message appears on the broadcast. 

You move to approach Jack as he sits next to the skeptic. Immediately, you realize that Haig is trying to get your attention. You valiantly pretend not to notice, until he clamps a hand on your shoulder and forces you to acknowledge him. “Get me some water,” he demands. 

You stare at him for a few seconds. “I’m not your servant,” you then snap. He is perfectly capable of getting up and grabbing his own water. The refreshments aren’t even that far from his current position—he’d just have to turn the corner and take a couple steps backstage to reach them. Irritation prickles along your skin at his flippant disrespect. 

Haig stares at you, before a slight smirk rises on his lips.  “Right, you’re his,” he answers, motioning to Jack. You grit your teeth and resist the urge to throttle the guy.

Jack doesn’t seem pleased with the skeptic’s behavior either, as he glares at him. “Haig,” he warns. Jack’s eyes are glittering and there’s a dark expression on his face. The skeptic quickly shuts up; convinced, Jack gets to his feet and walks away. Not wanting to be in Haig’s presence any longer, you walk away and assist Phil with setting one of the cameras. 

The next segment doesn’t make you feel any better. Jack greets the audience and introduces parapsychologist Dr. June Ross-Mitchell. While you can admit you’re skeptical about her “research,” you don’t think she deserves to be continuously interrupted by Haig—who remains sitting next to her. Thankfully, Jack frequently interjects to put Haig in his place and June gets to tell her story. You learn that she researched a Satanic church run by cult leader Szandor D’Abo, composed of members who worshipped the demon Abraxas. Supposedly, in one final encounter with the FBI, the entire group died: lighting themselves on fire and burning their whole building down. One person survived the entire tragedy: a young girl named Lilly. 

From the moment Lilly walks out on stage, you can sense something’s off with her. You don’t want to judge her so quickly, especially considering what she went through. But her behavior is rather abnormal—she stares at the cameras with an eerie smile on her face; she greets Jack as if they have already been acquainted; and she claims to have a demon residing within her named Mr. Wriggles. 

It’s at this point that you have to take a step back and contemplate every decision that has led you to this moment. You signed up to be an assistant to Jack Delroy, a late-night television show host. In all the time you’ve been working with him on set, you’ve never seen the show adopt such an occultist and spiritual lens on things. And while you know the broadcast is a Halloween episode, there are ultimately too many occurrences that can’t be explained away with common sense. What happened with Christou? More importantly, what the hell is happening here? 

While you don’t get an answer to the latter question, you soon have an answer to the former. When the segment ends and the cameras cut to black, Jack is pulled aside by the producer, Leo. Within a minute or so, Jack emerges looking rather pale. He makes a beeline towards you and leads you towards a forgotten corner of the set to have a private conversation. 

“What’s the matter?” You ask immediately. The tension on Jack’s face betrays his attempts at composure. He takes a step forward and you resist the urge to back away. The two of you are standing rather close together now. 

Jack takes a slow breath and pinches the bridge of his nose, before looking at you. “Christou died on the way to the hospital. From hemorrhaging, supposedly.”

“That’s…” You trail off, unable to find the words. You rub a hand over your face. “Something’s clearly wrong here.”

“I know,” Jack acquiesces, his gaze flitting about. 

“And something’s not right with Lilly, either,” you say. “I don’t think it’s possession. Her mind… What she went through is enough to give any adult trauma, let alone a child.” You remark. Jack is silent, which motivates you to continue speaking.

“I mean, you know I’m as skeptical as they get. And even I’m unsettled. People will do anything for attention. Even if this “demon” doesn’t prove to be real, the people in this studio are—and they can cause real damage.”

Jack looks conflicted. Unfortunately, before you can hammer in the point any further, Leo is rounding the corner and pulling him away while whispering in his ear. You’re left standing against the wall, arms crossed over your chest as you contemplate exactly how you got yourself into this situation. A fucking demon conjuring. A late-night television show is going to broadcast a demon conjuring. 

What follows is a dream sequence. That’s the only way you can describe it. It’s a nightmare—a fever dream. None of it feels real. During thr summoning, Lilly’s eyes turn yellow; her skin rips apart; she shakes in her chair and writhes against her restraints. Her voice doesn’t sound like her own—it’s deep and dark, a juxtaposition to her unassuming appearance. But just as you begin to wonder if this is all some sort of elaborate prank, she levitates several feet in the air. 

Ultimately, nothing you witnessed can be explained away by common sense or logic. At least, that’s what you think—and it appears nearly everyone else thinks the same thing. Everyone else… except Haig. Ever the skeptic, he asserts that he can show the audience how June and Lilly pulled off their “trick.” And while you’re sick of hearing his voice, you want nothing more than a reasonable explanation for all of this mess. Unfortunately, the skeptic isn’t exactly someone you would characterize as reasonable or particularly grounded. 

“Where is your assistant?” Haig asks Jack, promptly breaking you out of your thoughts. You feel a bolt of pure fear run down your spine, as you immediately catch on to what he’s asking for. There are two chairs set up on the stage. He’s going to perform some kind of hypnotism. And… he wants you to participate. Fortunately, Jack doesn’t seem keen to let that happen, as he quickly shuts the skeptic down. 

“He has nothing to do with this-” Jack interjects. You’re distracted with a sudden overwhelming appreciation for the man. Unfortunately, that gratitude is quickly overshadowed by Haig promptly turning around and walking to the edge of the set—right in front of you. 

“Here!” You hardly have a chance before there’s a hand on your arm again, pulling you into the spotlight. “Please, join me.” With that, he turns to the audience and smiles, as if sharing an inside joke. “Isn’t he charming? Yes, a round of applause for the brave volunteer.” What volunteer? You were just forced to participate! You suppress any sarcastic remarks and take the proffered seat across from Haig. 

“In a moment, I want you to look at my watch,” he explains. “I will snap my fingers, and you will be completely in my control.” You roll your eyes internally, knowing it won’t work. You’ve never believed in any of this hypnosis bullshit and you’re not about to start now. “Ready?”

“Yes.” You say, after he asks for verbal confirmation. Haig pulls out his watch, revealing a white and black swirling backdrop. He holds it in front of him and you stare at it, trying to focus despite your misgivings. It’ll need to be at least a little convincing for the viewers. 

As the mesmerizing spiral continues, you feel your vision clarify and sharpen intensely. Everything around you slowly starts to fade away, until you’re floating in an infinite void. You don’t emerge for a while, until there’s a harsh light burning into your eyes and a firm snapping sound reverberating through your ears. You blink and your head jerks forward, as the television set around you rematerializes. The audience gasps and you look around in confusion, quickly sensing that something must’ve gone wrong. Jack looks as if he’s seen a ghost; Dr. Jude looks disturbed; and Lilly looks amused, which only furthers your suspicion that something’s wrong with her. The audience members are all in varying states of fear. 

You try to move your hands, only to feel a residual ache running up and down your fingers. Frowning, you try to regain feeling in your limbs. Meanwhile, Jack seems to collect himself—as he stares at you for a long moment before announcing that they should watch the footage of the hypnotism. The audience, the crew, the guests, and Jack… They all must have seen something horrifying. That’s the only explanation for the downright terror flickering in their eyes. 

A crew member wheels a small television into the room and starts to rewind the footage. You get up from your chair, your balance wavering, and move towards a seat near the television set. You need to know what happened here—in the immeasurable time that you spent lost in the shadows of your mind. Eventually, the crew member pauses the footage and Jack motions for them to unpause. The footage begins. 

At first, nothing is out of the ordinary. You watch as Haig explains the process, before swinging his watch before your eyes. The entire audience looks at the pendulum, too. You watch with a strange feeling at the pit of your stomach as everyone’s eyes glaze over. Haig continues speaking to you, asking you about your worst fears and the sensations you’re experiencing. You don’t remember any of that happening, nor do you remember what happens next: 

“What is that?” You frown, tilting your head to the side as a high pitched noise rings in your ears. Your temple starts to ache. “Why is it so loud?” Your hands are trembling, even as you grip the arms of the chair hard enough to send bolts of pain sliding down your fingers. 

“Stop,” you beg. You clap your hands over your ears and practically writhe in your seat. “Please stop.” No one else seems to sense the sound. But you’re almost fighting against some unseen force to get it to stop. The camera briefly pans to Dr. Jude and Lilly—who look frightened and amused, respectively—before finding Jack. Jack looks extremely disturbed—and appears moments away from being sick.

You’re pressing your fingers into your temple hard, as if clawing at your skin will free you of the blaring noise. You’re repeating “stop,” as if it’s a mantra. At some point, your voice inexplicably deepens—until you realize that you’re not the only one speaking. Jack’s voice joins yours. “Stop!”

The footage glitches and the screen turns black. 

You stare at the footage in disbelief. You don’t remember any of that happening. If there wasn’t video evidence, you wouldn’t believe it. But… it must be true. Haig was making you hear some sort of phantom sound. And to think, you believed hypnotism was utter nonsense… 

“Well,” Jack says, taking a shuddering breath. “That was…” He breaks off, seemingly at a loss for words. You take a slow, deep breath and try to remain calm. Jack turns to face one of the cameras. “We’ll be right back,” he announces somewhat forcefully. The smile that remains on his face is far too strained to be genuine. 

When the cameras are off, Jack stalks away from the set, immune to Gus and Leo calling after him. You watch him leave in confusion, pressing a trembling hand to your temple as you walk towards the back. You’re hardly out of the spotlight for more than a few moments, before the make-up artist, Sammy, is approaching you. She moves to grab a brush from her pocket and you shake your head. 

“I don’t need anything, it’s fine,” you choke out, slowly regaining your composure. 

“Just pretend; I don’t want to go back to that jackass,” Sammy murmurs, her eyes falling to Haig. You nod in understanding. “Anyway. Are you okay?”

You contemplate the question. Are you okay? Truthfully, you’re not quite sure. “I don’t know,” you admit, resisting the very compelling urge to bury your head in your hands. “...That was really weird.” That’s the understatement of the century.

“Was any of this planned?” Sammy asks hesitantly. 

“They chose the guests for tonight, obviously,” you answer, trying to think. “I can’t imagine they thought it would go like this, though. And I didn’t fake that hypnosis. That would go far past an innocent prank. And I’m not that good of an actor.”

“Right,” Sammy says with a frown. She seems to believe you; relief courses through you. “And what happened with Christou…” She trails off. 

“I know,” you whisper in agreement. “That was… scary. I mean, everyone seemed surprised—even Jack. I know Haig said there’s such a thing as controlled regurgitation, but it’s still disturbing.”

“Hey, at least you’re done on camera.” She says.

“Yeah,” you agree, unable to feel fully relieved. Dread made a home in your chest the moment the episode started. Something is off in the studio today. “And I’m never going on air ever again.”

“Ha.” Sammy’s eyes glitter with amusement. “You were great! Pretty popular with the ladies. I think Jack got jealous.”

You roll your eyes. “You’re a good friend, Sammy,” you sigh, “Even if you’re a liar.”

Sammy laughs loudly, before slapping a hand over her mouth quickly. She evidently realizes that she’s been brushing the same side of your face for at least twenty seconds now, and backs away with an apologetic grimace. “Well, you’re definitely covered on the right side.”

A playfully disparaging remark is on the tip of your tongue when there’s suddenly a hand on your shoulder. You hardly get a chance to think before you’re getting nearly manhandled into a standing position by Leo, who looks uncharacteristically stressed. 

“Leo, what’s up?” You ask. 

“Need you to speak to Jack,” Leo mutters, guiding you through the backstage area and towards the dressing rooms. “He’s practically locked himself in his dressing room. Doesn’t want to do the rest of the show.”

You don’t want to do the rest of the show either, so you probably won’t be convincing Johnny of anything. But you are concerned for him, so you let Leo push you into the dressing room and promptly slam the door shut. 

Jack is sitting on the sofa, his elbows propped on his knees as his head is buried in his hands. You stare at him for a moment, contemplating if you should just leave. Does he really want you here? You suppose you’re about to find out. “Jack?”

He looks up and stares at you. You’re surprised to find tear stains running down his cheeks. “I’m so sorry,” Jack says, with worrying sincerity. Your brows furrow. What is he apologizing for? “This was entirely my fault. I got you into this situation.”

“Jack, that’s-” You try to say, only for him to cut you off by reaching out and lightly grabbing your hand. Stunned to silence, you watch as he turns your hand around and inspects it. 

“There’s blood under your fingernails.” He notes. You pull your hand away and Jack exhales exaggeratedly, rubbing his hands over his face in stress. “Everything’s a mess.”  

“Well what can we do?” You question. When he doesn’t seem keen to answer, you continue speaking. “We can continue running this shitshow, which, honestly, will go poorly. It could be dangerous, too—I don’t know what happened with Lilly, but that wasn’t normal.”

“We could also end the episode early,” you continue. “It would probably scare viewers, and ratings wouldn’t be great…”

You’re not sure how long you stand there until Jack breaks the silence. “I don’t know what to do,” he admits. 

“Me neither,” you respond. “At least it’s in your hands, though. You make the decision—whatever you’re most comfortable with.” You shove your hands in your pockets, feeling a need to quell the restless energy running through you. 

“You should be the producer,” Jack murmurs. 

“I’m a man of many talents,” you joke. 

“You are,” he responds, with far too much sincerity. Jack turns to look at you expectantly. “What would you do, if you were me?” The trust in his eyes is overwhelming. You don’t believe you deserve it. 

“I think I’d end the episode,” you reply after some contemplation. “Enough viewers have been traumatized. Our ratings have already suffered, and dragging this on will only make them worse. Besides, something’s seriously wrong with Lilly—and I’d rather not be here to find out what that is. And a few crew members are already on the verge of leaving, so…” You break off, hoping you’ve made your point clear. Just because he asked you doesn’t mean that he’s going to do exactly what you say (nor do you want him to). 

“What will I do?” Jack asks. His voice cracks ever so slightly.  

You’re not sure if that’s meant to be a rhetorical question, but you decide to acknowledge it anyway. “What do you mean?” You ask.

“I needed those ratings,” Jack sighs. “My contract’s going to expire. The show will probably end after this.”

“Well,” you frown. “There are other networks, and other opportunities out there. I doubt you’d just… slip off the face of the planet.” You reason. And it’s true—even if Jack’s popularity on the network is dwindling, he still has a decent fanbase. You’re almost certain he would be able to recover somehow. 

“What about you?”

“What about me?” You squint at him. 

“What will happen to you?” Jack questions, staring pointedly ahead.

“I don’t know,” you respond honestly. “Haven’t thought that far ahead yet. I’m sure I’ll figure something out, though. Besides, I don’t want to be an assistant forever.”

“Your degree, right,” Jack seems to recall. You blink at him for a second, shocked that he knows that. Then you remember the conversation you had with him years ago—about how you wanted to do something more with your bachelor’s degree. 

“I’m surprised you remember that,” you manage to say, once you can sort out your thoughts.  

“I’m a good listener when I want to be,” Jack smiles. (“You’re a talk show host! You’re supposed to be a good listener!” You heard June say to him earlier.) After a few moments of thought, he places his hands down on the sofa next to him. “Okay,” Jack says determinedly, getting up from his seat with a renewed resolve. “I know what to do now. Thanks.” He nods, head somewhat bowed as he exits the room. You almost immediately hear Leo harassing Jack for a decision and you sigh, following his lead and leaving his dressing room. 

What follows is a mess, to put it kindly. Jack’s decision to shut down shooting for the day is definitely the right one, but the audience members are somewhat disappointed—and it takes a while to get all of them to exit the building. Eventually, Leo storms onto the stage and threatens to kick them out—which seems to do the trick. After, the crew members start to clean up the studio—taking down equipment and ensuring everything is in its proper place. Usually, this doesn’t take long; tonight, amidst all the craziness, it’s a lengthy affair. 

Finally, after what feels like far too long, it’s just Jack and you in the studio. You can finally breathe. You take one final walk around the studio to ensure nothing was forgotten or left behind, before returning to the stage area. Jack has been sitting in his chair for the entirety of the takedown process, which is a little concerning. He’s staring ahead with a blank expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?” You ask Jack, despite already knowing the answer. If you were in his position, you’d be frustrated, confused, and exhausted. You can only assume he feels a mix of those emotions—and more—at the present moment. 

Jack lets out a wry laugh. It’s broken and dry, as if the very gesture pains him. His hands are trembling, you realize as you study him. His suit is a bit wrinkled and there are a few hairs out of place near his temple—a travesty Sammy would not allow if filming was still in progress. “My career is over.” Jack states resignedly. He looks around the studio, as if trying to get one last look at everything. 

“You made the right decision,” you try to reassure him. 

He runs his hands through his hair, effectively ruining the coiffed look he had going before. Ironically, you think it looks better messy. You immediately scold yourself for letting your thoughts wander. Jack, immune to your brief internal crisis, sighs. “It doesn’t feel like it.” 

“That’s how it is, sometimes,” you say. And it’s true. Sometimes, the best decision still feels like a defeat or a loss. You’ve had to make those kinds of decisions in the past, and you’re sure life will bring you some more in the future. Admittedly, you’re usually on the other end of these kinds of scenarios—you’re usually the one who feels as if their life is crumbling around them, not the one who offers advice and consolation. 

“When did you get so wise?” He huffs. You exhale in amusement. 

“Come on,” you urge him, extending a hand. “Let’s get out of this hellhole, before a light falls down and beheads us.” That would be just your luck. Jack lets out a dry laugh, taking your proffered hand and getting to his feet. The two of you walk out of the building, occasionally brushing shoulders in your proximity. Neither of you are able to come up with something to say, but the silence isn’t uncomfortable. When Jack sees that you plan on taking the bus home, he offers to drive you back to your place. Regardless of how many times you try to say no, he’s strangely insistent on making sure you get back safe. 

You suppose it’s inevitable that you later find yourself standing at your kitchen counter across from Jack. He holds a mug of coffee—how he’s able to drink it so late at night, you’re not sure—and stares into the distance thoughtfully. 

“It’ll be okay,” you feel the need to reassure him. You’re not sure you’ve ever seen him look so troubled before. You quickly decide you don’t like it. 

“I know,” he says, his voice somewhat hollow. It may take him a little while to truly believe that, you realize. And that’s alright. “Thanks,” Jack continues, “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Yes, you could’ve,” you argue. The objection comes easily, because it’s true. You’ve hardly done anything of significance across your years working with him. 

Jack shakes his head in disagreement, placing his mug down and looking at you with an unreadable look. You watch with bated breath as he takes a step closer. You’re pulled to him like a magnet, turning to look at him. 

“Sometimes, I feel as if you’re the only one who really sees me.” Jack whispers. You bite the inside of your cheek, emotion stirring in your chest at the vulnerable admission. In a spur of the moment decision, you reach out and clasp Jack’s hand where it’s resting on the counter. For an awful moment, you think he’s going to wrench your grip off —but he only flips his palm around and clasps your hand with reassuring strength.

“And I think about you all the time,” he continues, “I think about sharing a life with you, and having the privilege of seeing you every day. Outside of the set, away from all the madness.”

Jack’s hand lingers in the air between you, as if he wants to touch you but can’t allow himself to do it. His next words are breathed so quietly that it takes you a few seconds to process them. “Can I kiss you?” 

“Yes,” you respond. You don’t expect the swiftness of his response, as he pushes you back against the counter and nearly crashes into you in his vigor. Jack presses his lips to yours, his hands bracketing your face. You rest your arms around his shoulders. A shiver rolls down your spine. Jack pushes you back further and, moments later, there’s a loud shattering sound. The two of you break apart to investigate the noise, only to find your mug on the floor in pieces. 

“I’ll clean it up,” he immediately remarks, looking very guilty. 

You reassure him that it’s not a big deal. “You’re getting me a new mug, though,” you propose. 

“Of course,” he responds breathlessly, a smile on his face. This smile is new—it isn’t the strained, tense one from earlier today; it also isn’t the fake, all-teeth one that he uses when he’s in the public eye. This expression is new to you—Jack’s eyes are ever so slightly wrinkled at the sides and his lips quirk at the edges. 

You roll your eyes. Jack’s kissing you again before you can remember the mess on the floor.

endnotes: I don’t know how (read: why) I wrote so much for this fucking movie. I have written far less for far better pieces of media… Sigh. It is what it is. The deed has been done. Blame it on David Dastmalchian—first Murdoc, now Jack…

here's an obligatory jack delroy playlist. sigh... i'm down so bad...

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[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

thinking about the theme in Late Night With the Devil of corruption and exploitation hiding behind a sympathetic face. it starts with Christou, who is unambiguously exploiting the mother and daughter in the audience and their grief for his own gain, but he makes them think they’ve just communed with their dead loved one. there’s Carmichael, the skeptic ex magician, who pays some lip service towards being ethically motivated and only interested in showing people the truth, but then he clearly just wants to be right and get the last word. he’s open about having been a charlatan and fairly open about his incredible callousness. he barely blinks when Christou almost dies on stage, he thinks it’s all an act. he has no sympathy for anyone and immediately tries to pledge himself to the demon possessing Lily when it’s completely undeniable that that’s what’s happening.

then there’s June positioning herself as a concerned caregiver for a traumatized girl but like… she’s making money off Lily. there’s not only the talk show appearance but also the entire book she wrote about her possession. she claims to have qualms with exploiting her but that doesn’t stop her from doing it!

Jack exemplifies this dichotomy most strongly as the protagonist. the very juxtaposition of on air vs backstage footage highlights this, and his role as a 70s era family friendly TV personality, playing at an affable wholesomeness while in reality all he cares about is saving his show.

his relationship with Madeleine is the most obvious case of exploitation, and the linchpin of the movie. it’s already mildly unsavory, but has some deniability as a genuine sweet gesture, when the highest rated episode of his show is one where he brings Madeleine on— just two weeks before she succumbs to cancer— and milks the tragedy for views. and initially, when there are some supernatural phenomena that point to Madeleine’s ghost being present, Carmichael accuses him of exploiting her death for the sake of ratings. it seems like a really heartless thing to suggest at the time, but then the reality turns out to be worse! the details aren’t fully clear but it looks like he agreed to sacrifice Madeleine (and sold his own soul to a demon) for the sake of fame, but didn’t even take it seriously enough to realize that her falling ill is payment being collected. in a similar vein, when genuinely scary phenomena starts occurring on his Halloween special, all he can think about is how it’s going to save his show. he can’t see past that to understand the threat to himself, let alone the harm coming to anyone else

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Late Night with the Devil

The easiest and sometimes over saturated genre of horror is the supernatural. Specifically, dealings in the occult, religious themes and the occasional demonic possession arc of a story can be fun, if its with a fresh take. Honestly, I believe every year there is at least 4 different possession films alone and they all are sourced back to the church one way or another. Every once in a while, you get a possession story that has a unique twist on the genre. This film takes not only the psychological road, but also the skepticism and illusionary work and I loved every second of it. The documentary / found footage element truly works in its favor in keeping you immersed in the story and the characters in a way that was refreshing and exciting. Its a small and contained story that felt more like a stage play at times than an episode of a late night talk show which also is a major plus.

David Dastmalchian is one of the most underappreciated character actors working in Hollywood and as Jack Delroy, the host of Night Owls with Jack Delroy, he shows that he can most definitely hold your attention as a leading man. The emotional depths he takes Jack on in some of the most subtle ways in his eyes was magical. Jack was definitely the classic portrayal of ambition and selfishness that overtakes his care for those he calls friends. I was absolutely enthralled with his performance and I can't stress enough how amazing he is. Rhys Auteri was fantastic and heartwarming as his sidekick, Gus McConnell. The two of them are your classic duo of host and comedic relief, but you get a deeper look into their friendship and I loved how he was the voice of reason in many scenes. Gus gets a moment that was visually grotesque and awesome in practicality. Josh Quong Tart was perfect as their greedy and intense producer Leo Fiske. Fayssal Bazzi was great and fun as a the first psychic guest Christou. I liked that through him, we see the level of skepticism in motion and the first taste of the paranormal that may or may not have happened. Ian Bliss was truly one of the biggest standouts and a great antagonist as the magician turned skeptic, Carmichael the Conjurer. Even though he was such a condescending and sometimes obnoxious guest, he had truly great arguments. He had the juiciest dialogue in the film as well. Laura Gordon was excellent as the parapsychologist and author, Dr. June Ross-Mitchell. Her connection to her patient was never understated and it was tense with every warning she gave about how unstable things could get. Ingrid Torelli was outstanding as her patient Lilly D'Abo. There are so many layers to her performance and the many visual tricks that are displayed on and around her. Once she becomes possessed, she gives a great physical performance even if its a bit brief. The amount of time used in her demonic state was well utilized and I liked that even when she wasn't under control of the other being, there was a sense of something clawing at the surface of her mind.

The score by Glenn Richards and Roscoe James Irwin was excellent and I loved the theme of the talk show and how much of an earworm it became for me. The use of silence is well used to punctuate the level of terror and eerie visuals. There are so many subtle touches visually happening at all times and one of my favorites happens once Lilly arrives. The cinematography was outstanding and I loved that the aspect ratio was correct for the time period and how the backstage footage was captured in black and white. It was a great breathing point for the narrative and the characters. The cgi effects that happen in the last bit of film sort of ruined the magic a bit and I wished that was more subtle in execution. With a genre that is overly saturated with the same type of story, this film truly takes a trip down an untapped avenue of the supernatural horror spectrum and it was a welcomed one. This was something truly special. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

[certified-bi]

So I was on the plane back and I took a chance on Late Night With The Devil. Now I watched it blind so I didn't know about the controversy and I'll have thoughts about that at the end. But the movie left me with some thoughts.

One the intro sets up the fact that this is clearly a retrospective and we as the audience are expected to know what happened after. Think the OJ trial level of sensationalism, which makes me believe the theory that Jack probably had trial live on the air. In the universe this is a well known case. The Gus scene with the worms raises some interesting questions about what the in universe live TV audience saw. Like the movie starts with a documentary feel and ends with what's clearly Wriggles/Abracadabra messing with Jack. Like did the documentary have a second half with like the aftermath and commentary? I would imagine so given the intro, so did the demon hijack what we saw? Was it just poor writing? I would love a follow up series of in-universe videos in different styles. Like maybe some YouTube coverage, what news casters were saying, etc. I do think that the ending should have called back to the documentary set up because I don't hate the intro as world building, but it would have worked better for me if they had a "come back for part two," "Stay tuned for our experts" or smth. As it stands it's easy to call lazy exposition.

The movie is clearly tackling a lot of the insidious nature of the show biz world both the TV/Movie side and the more respected but ultimately similar book world. Everyone in the movie is being exploited, and aside from Lilly, they willingly exploit others. They're all cogs in a machine they have no control over, but clearly have no desire to stop the machine, or are easy to push back into place. I think there's a reason we don't meet any of the characters that quit and it's because they're not the point. It's way more compelling to get Phil who clearly is just doing his job, but is also unwilling to stop and consider if maybe he should be doing it at all. The makeup lady(Sammy maybe?) who sees how fucked everything is and just jokes about it. All of the characters know on some level it's wrong to allow what's happening but none are willing to stand up alone or even with their peers.

It doesn't matter how much of a fraud Christou is either. Was he a medium with actual skills who compromised on his morals to get ahead? Was he a fraud from the start who was used as a toy to get attention by Wriggles? Does it matter where on the scale he falls? It all comes to the same place. And that's the tragedy of it. The adults all made the choice to sell themselves, but Lilly was groomed for the cult and then for June's ambitions. I won't pretend to know exactly what would have been best for her given demons are real in that universe and so regular therapy could have been more disastrous, but like... June being her doctor, weird demon wrangler, and guardian was fucked up.

I don't think Jack knew what his deal was, at least not fully, and he's definitely being yanked around. The only Maddie who is for sure not a demon is the clips from before her death. After I'm not willing to say it's her. It's either Wriggles pushing her spirit around or straight up impersonating her. While the ending death montage felt rushed I don't think that's necessary a con. We feel unbalanced just like Jack does. The whole sequence of him going through his past moments was good.

Also the Grove and satanic panic were well incorporated. Like as someone with passing awareness of the references, it still all read really easily, and I'm sure for those more familiar with what was being referenced there's a lot there.

Overall I think it needed a bit more.. finishing if that makes sense? Like it feels like one or two steps away from complete. And now I'm going to get into the AI(which I hate calling it so I'm going to call it what it is which is image generation nothing intelligent about the digital equivalent of tracing and copying) images and my thoughts. I didn't notice but that doesn't really say much given the guy in front of me on the plane kept shoving his seat into my knee and the lady on my right kept bitching at the poor attendant. I don't think they have any excuse for the images being in the final cut for a few reasons, 1) image generation programs had been called out for being trained on stolen art before it released fully and they could have gotten it replaced, and they chose not to and 2) they didn't even have the excuse of not knowing better because while the images could have been pre debates they weren't locked into a contract.

To the point of "Well don't disrespect all the work put in by the actual artist they're only there for like a combined 30 seconds" 1) I don't fucking care, 2) the disrespect to the actors and other real artists is the decision makers on the film not pulling the images. They are the ones saying the work is comparable and belongs in the same film, and 3) I don't fucking care how indie they are, either pay for the work or don't use it. If you can't afford to pay an artist to draw for you, then you don't get the art. Using a cheap program(that's cheap because it steals) to replace real workers(some of whom are the same artist being stolen from) is scummy. If you can't afford to pay for labor then you can't afford to be in business.

[cinemaslife]

#132 Late night With the Evil

En la noche de Halloween de 1977, el caos se desata cuando el presentador Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) entrevista a una parapsicóloga y a una joven adolescente que es la única superviviente de una matanza masiva en una iglesia satánica. 

Jack Delroy tiene que despedirse de su programa que lleva años en antena, ya que está perdiendo el interés del público, como programa final realizan un especial en Halloween de 1977, con invitados especiales, entre los que encontramos un adivino, un escéptico, una para psicóloga y una niña poseída por un demonio. Para que esto sea posible se ambienta el escenario y a algunos de los invitados con disfraces tipicos de la fecha, y empezamos con el adivinador: Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), este se pone en el centro del escenario y recibe mensajes de los entes del más allá, parece que da algunos palos de ciego, pero algo adivina... hasta que llega a un nombre Minnie donde Jack se pone tenso, pero no dice nada y deja que todo continúe. Christou empieza a vomitar una materia oscura, pero no puede controlarlo y entran en publicidad. El escéptico no se cree nada de lo que ocurre, y se llevan al adivino al hospital.

Las siguientes en salir son la para psiquiatra June Ross (Laura Gordon) y la joven poseída Lilly D'Abo (Ingrid Torelli), que se sientan en dos sillas centrales, con la joven atada a la misma. June le va haciendo preguntas y le pide que deje entrar al demonio. Este cuando posee a la chica empieza a hablar de Jack, de su mujer (que falleció de cáncer de pulmón) y de que mantiene una relación con la doctora June Ross mientras su mujer se está pudriendo en el infierno. Hay una sobrecarga eléctrica y la silla levita con ella encima, la luz se apaga y pasan directamente a anuncios.

A la vuelta de la publicidad el escéptico dice que cualquiera es capaz de hacer eso, que se trata de hipnotizar a la gente, Jack dice que eso es imposible, que él mismo ha visto a la chica levitar y como su aspecto ha cambiado cuando la ha poseído el demonio.

El escéptico dice que él puede hacerlo, puede hipnotizar a la audiencia y a todos los que están en el plató y saca un reloj de bolsillo que tiene el típico dibujo para hipnotizar gente.

Hace sentarse frente al ayudante de Jack y pese a que no parece que esté hipnotizado, este le pregunta si tiene alguna fobia, y él le dice que sí, que a los gusanos. El escéptico empieza a hacerle preguntas, y va dirigiendo sus pensamientos, diciéndole que si no tiene calor, y este empieza a agobiarse y que tiene algo dentro de él, ahí se abre el estómago y le empiezan a salir gusanos, lo que hace que todos se escandalicen. Después le explota la cabeza, y el caos reina en el plató, cuando se va la luz y vuelve, todo está normal, y el ayudante de Jack está tan tranquilo.

El escéptico demuestra que todo ha sido fruto de la hipnosis y que el caso de la chica es mentira, una ilusión. Esto hace que el demonio que está dentro de ella salga, y la posea sin ningún control, alterando con la electricidad todo el plató y haciendo que exploten cosas, mata a June Ross, al escéptico, y a todo el mundo y Jack entra en un trance de angustia, donde puede ver a su mujer poco antes de morir de cáncer. La abraza y le dice que la ama, pero todo es extraño, Jack puede verse a sí mismo, toda su realidad está siendo distorsionada, no puede controlar nada, solo siente culpabilidad y miedo.

Christou muere de camino al hospital, y el nombre de Minnie es como Jack llamaba cariñosamente a su esposa, por lo que entiende que ese demonio conoce todos sus pecados, cuando vendió su alma por su contrato, cuando va al bosque con sus amigos a usar el satanismo como herramienta, todo se complica y su esposa le pide que la apuñale con una daga ceremonial que hay allí y acabe con su dolor. Jack lo hace y se despierta de nuevo en el escenario, todos los invitados están muertos a su alrededor, incluida la joven, y él tiene la daga en la mano, se oyen sirenas de fondo y todo el mundo ha abandonado el plató con horror.

[scary-movies-on-netflix]

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (2023)

This is a fancy found-footage movie, but first we start off with a little documentary about a 1970s late-night talk show called “Late Night with Jack Delroy.”  We follow his career and learn that he’s a member of “The Grove,” a “Bohemian Grove” knock-off.  Then Jack’s wife dies of lung cancer, despite being a non-smoker!  Jack takes a little break, but then he returns to his show.  Unfortunately, his ratings don’t compare to those of Johnny Carlson (who, if you don’t know, dominated late-night TV for several decades).  The narrator then states that we’re about to watch the footage of Jack Delroy’s Halloween 1977 broadcast.

We then proceed to the meat of the movie, the broadcast of the show, but during commercial breaks we then watch behind-the-scenes discussions.  Anyway:

First Segment: Jacks starts off with his monologue, and we meet his sidekick, Gus.  Jack’s first guest is then some dude named “Christou,” who is a psychic.  Christou performs some readings for the audience, but it’s clear that he’s just a huckster.  However, as his set is ending, he seems to have a real psychic reading!  He mentions someone named “Minnie.”  Cut to commercial!

Second Segment: Jack’s next guest is Carmichael.  He is a former magician, but now he goes around debunking purported psychic phenomena.  He argues a bit with Christou and calls him a fraud.  Christou storms off the stage, but before he can leave he projectile vomits over the stage.  Cut to commercial!

Third Segment: Christou is gone, but now Jack talks about a book called “Conversations with the Devil.”  We watch a film clip of a Satanic cult run by a dude named “Szandor D’Abo.”  Jack then brings out Dr. Jill (the author of the book) and Lilly (the subject of the book).  Lilly was a child member of that cult mentioned in the previous sentence, and she’s just creepy, mostly because she seems to have no social filter and likes to stare at people. 

Fourth Segment: Jack continues to interview Dr. Jill and Lilly, including talking about the demon that apparently lives inside Lilly.  It’s not the main demon of the cult, Abraxas, and Lilly calls it Mr. Wriggles.  Carmichael, the skeptic, expresses skepticism.  Jack eventually browbeats the reluctant Lilly into summoning Mr. Wriggles on-air. 

Fifth Segment: Two chairs are set up on stage for Dr. Jill and Lilly.  Lilly is tied to her chair.  Dr. Jill hypnotizes Lilly, and then the demon appears!  Lilly’s eyes are different, and the skin of her face is cracked.  She speaks with two voices.  She talks about Jack’s past and his dead wife and then speaks profanely.  Dr. Jill slaps the demon out of the Lilly, but then Lilly levitates in the air!  The demon finally leaves and cut to commercial!

Sixth Segment: Before we come back Jack is informed by the producer that the ratings are through the roof!  Back on air, Jack, Dr. Jill, Lilly, and Carmichael argue a bit.  Jack gives Carmichael the chance to prove his point, and Carmichael cajoles Gus, the sidekick, to joining him on stage.  Carmichael shows Gus a little hypnosis wheel, and then he is hypnotized!  Then worms begin to crawl out of Gus’s body.  A huge worm burst out of his face.  Carmichael says, “Dreamer, here!  Awake!” and the worms are gone!  Carmichael explains that he hypnotized the entire audience, not just Gus, and they trot out a TV to watch a replay, where we see Carmichael just talking to Gus about worms.  Lilly is upset and says that maybe they should watch the footage of their demonstration.  Jack bumps the last guess and agrees.  They rewatch Lilly’s possession, and they see that it wasn’t faked!  It actually happened!  They see a single frame where Jack’s dead wife appears behind him as an apparition.  Carmichael is pissed, because he thinks that the entire thing has been set up.

But then the lights go out!  The lights come back and Lilly is surging with energy.  Her head splits open and she is the demon.  Gus tries to banish the demon with his necklace cross, but the demon twists his head around 180 degrees.  Lilly next turns on Dr. Jill and levitates her in the air by her own necklace.  The audience begins to run out as the necklace slices the woman’s neck open.  Carmichael, meanwhile, bows before the demon, but it immolates him.  Jack flees the stage.

He finds himself back at the beginning of the show, and then we step out of the show.  (We can tell because we switch from the old 4:3 TV proportions to the modern wide-screen film proportions.)  We watch scenes from the little opening documentary, but everything is weird and strange.  We see him talking to his wife again, and she accuses him of “forgetting.”  Jack is then at a ceremony of “The Grove,” and a guy in an owl mask hoots at him.  We then see Jack’s wife on her deathbed, and she explains that Jack made a deal with “The Grove” for success, but the cost was her life!  She begs Jack to kill her, because of the pain, and he stabs her with a dagger. 

But we are then back in the TV show.  Jack has stabbed Lilly with the dagger.  Everyone else has been killed by the demon.  Jack says, “Dreamer, here.  Awake,” but he does not wake up.  The transmission ends, and the TV tells us, “So it is done.”

This was good.  Reading up on its production, to include creating a vintage-style set and utilizing both equipment and techniques from a bygone era, you can tell that the entire production was a labor of love, an homage both to horror movies and late night talk shows.  I can remember Johnny Carson.  He was an old dude with a bemused expression who asked guests questions about their new TV shows or movies.  It wasn’t anything too exciting.  This alternate universe version of such a show was fascinating.  The acting and the plot were excellent.  The commercial break segments broke the found footage conceit, by showing us things beyond the camera’s view, but that was a rule worth breaking in this case.  This film was a vision of Jack Delroy’s desperation to be famous and what that cost him.

[bunnypotions]

something about jack delroy and how he touches everyone. holding minnies hand. sticking close to leo. giving christou a reassuring touch. his touches to june. him tugging gus's jacket and then touching him when hes dead on the floor

[usagirotten]

Movie Review: Late Night with the Devil is simple, honest, disturbing, terrifying and sinisterly entertaining

Streaming platforms have had a great boom since what happened with SARS-CoV-2, the options to hire have been many and varied, and each one has specialized in the material they present, with Netflix being the most popular. There are other more specialized and simpler platforms, their original productions may or may not be liked by locals and strangers, many of these are a pleasant surprise for their stories and how they have been presented, in this case, Shudder is an OTT video service on demand by American subscription that offers, among other things, series and films of horror, suspense and supernatural fiction, owned and operated by AMC Networks, they are the ones that have best known how to take advantage of the resource that this genre provides. Its programming sponsors work from different countries, including the United States (Christmas Presence -2019), Germany (Party Hard, Die Young -2019), Mexico (Belzebuth (2019), Argentina (Terrified -2019), Indonesia (Impetigore - 2020), France (The Room -2020), Australia (The Marshes -2020), Canada (Bleed with Me -2021) and South Korea (The Wrath -2019) among others. In 2024 they surprise us again with a production between Australia and the United States, Late Night with the Devil by directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes is much more than what may seem at first glance, a background that becomes increasingly more sinister.

What is the movie about?

Night Owls with Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) is a late-night talk and variety show that is about to have one of its most disturbing broadcasts, the events that occurred on Halloween night in 1977. Its popular host attempts to increase ratings by inviting a girl supposedly possessed by a demon, the revelations and events during this event will be sinister and terrifying for its audience. The premiere of this film is not intended to pay tribute or show the dirt behind this type of variety program, what it intends to do is tell a series of events that happened due to doing unknown things that turn out to be very dangerous, a mockery of the broadcasts of this type today where it is more important to have a high rating that shows content that we might think is rehearsed and done on purpose to keep its audience captive for a couple of hours. The film is set in 1977 and invents a program on a commercial television network in Chicago, something that aims to compete with others such as the one hosted by Johnny Carson, the program has been on the air for six seasons and its audience ratings have never been the best, consider that their content is boring and that they need to have something very spectacular to surpass the others and steal the attention of the public, a strategy will give them that opportunity and the consequences of this will be fatal and the much promised night of terror that they have promised will become something more than that.

The film's prologue opens as a documentary that investigates and presents an inexplicable event that occurred on Halloween night in 1977, during the live broadcast of an episode of the sixth season of the late-night variety show “Night Owls with Jack Delroy” to increase the show's ratings, decides that its strategy will be to make a special episode with an occult and paranormal theme on Halloween, special guests include self-proclaimed psychic and medium Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), skeptic and former magician Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss), parapsychologist author June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and Lilly D'Abo (Ingrid Torelli). During the broadcast and the back and forth about the subject and the integrity of this During Christou has a premonition about someone called "Minnie", Jack surprised by this reveals that it was his affectionate way of calling his wife Madeleine (Georgina Haig) who died due to cancer, after this vision, Christou suddenly falls ill and vomits a black liquid and is immediately rushed to the hospital during the commercial break, for Jack, things are going better than he expected in the segment following the cut, June tells them presents Lilly as the only survivor of a mass suicide committed by a satanic church that worshiped the demon Abraxas, despite June's warnings about the possible consequences of interviewing her. Jack convinces her to conjure the demon whom the girl calls Mr. Wriggles, during another commercial break the team informs Jack that Christou died from a hemorrhage in the ambulance taking him to the Hospital. It is to be expected that things will not go well at all and during June's spell, Lilly is possessed by Mr. Wriggles levitating in her chair and making his presence manifest with glitches in the light of the study while this happens Carmichael challenges June subjecting Gus McConnell, Jack's partner, to a demonstration of hypnotism, which causes everyone in the studio to see worms coming out of his body to the surprise of everyone present, the production team rewinds the recorded footage and demonstrates that this act has It has been an elaborate hallucination experienced by everyone in the studio, but the paranormal phenomena that occur during June's spell appear unchanged and they deduce that there is no trick and that everything is real. Jack is completely horrified when he sees his dead wife behind him on tape, Carmichael accuses Jack of presenting what happens as an elaborate hoax, Lilly becomes possessed again, a beam of light comes from the ceiling and connects to her left hand, another beam comes out of a television monitor and connects to his right hand, his head opens from which a bright light emerges, using telekinesis he throws Jack against a wall and then mercilessly kills Gus, June and Carmichael. At this point things are already out of control, the audience and the ratings are through the roof, and the executives think that all this has been an elaborate plot that is working extremely well and better than they thought, in the studio Jack is inexplicably transported to an alternate version of the show, to his worst nightmare reliving moments from the past before it is revealed to us that he has a connection with the demon that possesses Lilly and remembering that he already knew him during a ceremony at The Grove, then they reveal to us that has also been responsible for cancer that killed his wife in exchange for the sudden success and rise of his career and his show, a terrifying version of Madeline confronts Jack, blaming him for her death and asks him to end everything once and for all. that he has unleashed, this is how, using the ritual dagger of the ancient cult that has been used to make the spell, he stabs Madeleine to death, moments later he finds himself in an empty study where he sees with horror that he has stabbed Lilly to death on sight. from everyone and in a live broadcast. Disturbed and standing next to the lifeless bodies of his guests, he hears the police sirens arriving at the scene.

We are faced with a film that knows perfectly well what it wants to offer, that respects its own rules and those of the genre it occupies, and that, without being a marvel, manages to have a good development in its narrative, thereby generating the interest of the viewers until its end. , the proposal itself is honest and clean when presenting explicitly violent scenes The story is simple and does not need to rely on subplots that go nowhere, what we are told here is clear and concise, and in addition to the graphic horror it has the exact dose of tension that is needed to recreate something like this, the script was written by Colin and Cameron Cairne, it has sudden twists and disturbing revelations towards its end and justifies each of the actions that the characters have, and if that were not enough it also presents us with what is behind these presenters and how the entertainment industry is managed in this type of variety and interview programs, revealing that not everything is as we think, that not all that glamor we see is entirely true. This work is not completely perfect but it is very close to being so, the setting of the 70s is almost exact, the filmmakers took care of even the smallest detail to convince us as an audience that what we see is authentic, the cinematography and The filters they use make everything look old and even decadent in an era in which changes aimed to risk-taking things to a much larger medium and to another level when it comes to prime time. The camera work, lighting, and photography stand out and perfectly accompany the plot, which, being modest, are spectacular in some shots. The directors know perfectly well how to coordinate their ideas so that everything looks more real and convincing, as does their makeup. costumes and the very few traditional special effects with a mix of AI for some shots, leaving aside the CGI to make all this something simple but with a very particular style that is what cinema needs today. It could be perfect if the film didn't trip over itself again and again insisting that what we see is something they found in footage that is gradually being built, although there is no room for a trite and boring moral message. what he wants when he wants without following a parameter established by American talk shows and variety shows in the 70s, it seems that at times they cannot agree between still shots and those with a camera in hand so the editing is fluid and more in line with the type of cinematography you need. It is clear and direct in what it means, showing how far human ambition can go when wanting more than what you have, crossing the limits of everything established, and playing to know that you can handle any situation, no matter how unknown, transgressing with unknown topics. and dangerous can have fatal consequences, paranormal themes are what have had the most acceptance in this genre today, and fear of the unknown and easy scares are what they shamelessly make fun of here doing extremely well, each act has a consequence whether or not within a fantastic world or in the reality in which we live.

What is the cast of this movie?

The cast is made up of David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys Auteri, Georgina Haig, and Josh Quong Tart, who are more than correct in their interpretations of each of their characters and understand perfectly well what we can expect from each of them in a film of this type.

Who composed the music?

The music composed by Glenn Richards and Roscoe James Irwin also stands out with its nostalgic and bombastic notes of this era, mixing them with something more current that grates in some scenes and can almost make our hair stand on end, a very worthy work that perfectly complements everything. the audiovisual that it presents to us. It is worth mentioning that its propaganda and visual aesthetics advocate a lot for nostalgia, its poster and even the trailer remind us of those seventies horror films that had impeccable art, and images that invited us and made us have a genuine and authentic interest in what they We wanted to see something simple but attractive that leaves us with that mystery and wondering what this or that film will be about, something that recreates the decade very well, that stimulates without pretending to be something that it is not, in this we can say that it pays a well-deserved tribute to all those involved in the design of this art and concept. In summary, Late Night with the Devil is not a film that boasts of being a great blockbuster or that has one of the most impressive casts in recent years, it stands out, especially in its simplicity and what it does, it does well and fulfills very well. well, the task of entertaining and earning a lot with very little, which is no small feat for an audience that has become more demanding over the years, a film that does not go unnoticed and that, from its title and propaganda, draws attention either by morbidity or the desire to want to see something new that has nothing to do with a remake or a reboot of something that was already successful, one more demonstration that ingenuity counts more when telling things than millions of dollars invested in a product that it necessarily has to work. Very good for Shudder, which takes the risk of having different content and allows filmmakers and directors to present projects that could hardly reach movie theaters in other countries or that are discarded from a highly competitive industry that only seeks It's staying current with any shit by pretending it's the best thing we as an audience have ever seen. Late Night with the Devil is now available on the Shudder platform. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeKYfneOH3o Read the full article