Released in 2023, Late Night with the Devil is a found-footage movie about a late-night host who’d do anything to have the top-rated show.

Don’t worry, it’s not about Jay Leno.

The story

Our story begins, as many found footage films do, with a quick explanation. What we are going to see is the surviving footage from the last episode of a late-night show, along with some never-before-seen footage of backstage during the fateful night everything went wrong.

We then meet Jack Delroy. He’s a late-night host of the show Night Owls. And a year after the death of his beloved wife, he worries that his show is going to be canceled. The ratings are freefalling. So, on Halloween, he invites a girl named Lilly on the show who claims to be possessed.

Because that’s going to go well.

The show begins with a monolog, like most late-night shows. We then meet the first two guests, a claimed psychic named Christou and a stage magician slash skeptic named Carmichael Haig. After hot-reading the audience, Christou appears to have a real psychic vision. One that involves Jack’s deceased wife. He then proceeds to vomit black sludge all over the stage.

You’d think that would be the end of things. It would be stupid to still bring on the possessed girl after a warning like that.

But, of course, the show must go on.

What worked

Late Night with The Devil dedicated itself to the found footage vibe. As such, it felt very much like you were watching something from the 70s. The whole movie is at a lower, grainy resolution, unlike some other horror films that eventually and subtly switch out for a more modern and clear picture. The clothes, the music, the cheap and cheesy costumes. It all reminds one of a good episode of the Brady Bunch or Bewitched. Even when someone’s puking black blood or has worms pouring out of their freshly opened gut.

I was also quite impressed by the acting in this film. Especially that of David Dastmalchian, who played Jack Delroy. This role was performed to perfection. Jack manages to come off as a kind, compassionate man. The sort of person you’d be comfortable talking to, even about the most horrible moments of your life. You get the feeling that you could tell him about the worst moments of your life and he’d thank you for sharing.

This kind facade never slips. But we also see his true motivations. He doesn’t care about anyone, no matter how kind he acts. The show must go on is his entire drive and mission. He didn’t let a little thing like a guest dying stop him. Or a mental breakdown on stage. Or even his dead wife calling to him from beyond the grave.

The show must go on. And on, and on.

Even Dastmalchian is outshined, however, by Ingrid Torelli who played Lilly.

Lilly was a creepy character from the first time we saw her. There is something so unnerving about a child who knows far more than they should. This is a hallmark of demon possession films, all the way back to Reagan. But there’s also something else about the way she behaves that has little to do with the possession. She is always looking to either June or Jack for direction. As much as she speaks to the adults like she knows one, she is still always looking to please the adults around her. She is eager to look at the right camera at the right moment. She is eager to be obedient. It’s hidden, but for someone who has seen enough cult content, it’s easy to spot. She played a former cult victim very well. And that was perhaps the most terrifying part of that character.

What didn’t work

This was almost a perfect movie. Then, like so many others, it just couldn’t stick the landing.

Near the end of the film, there is a strange scene that doesn’t seem to mesh with the rest of it. It appears to be a collection of Jack’s memories. Whether they are true memories or not is left to our interpretation. But they explain the entire reveal of the whole movie. In dull, excruciating detail.

This series of scenes was insulting. It was the equivalent of asking someone if they got the joke. But are you sure you got it? Wait, let me explain it and really just kill the effect altogether.

We were already laughing. Or, to step away from this metaphor, we were already creeped out. We were already grossed out. We were already living in the scene, sitting in the audience right next to the lady who lost her son or the man dressed as a skeleton. Rather than explain the twist, which didn’t need explaining, this scene pulls us rudely out of that audience and deposits us back in the real world.

All that being said, Late Night with The Devil is still a terrific horror film. It was dark, it was gorey, and it left us with unsettling questions even after the ill-planned info dump. If it isn’t already on your Halloween watch list, it certainly deserves a spot.

(4 / 5)

“B is for Brain” is an episode of the supernatural drama Evil, created by Michelle King and Robert King. The central cast includes Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Christine Lahti, and Andrea Martin. It originally aired under CBS before moving to Paramount+. As of this review, it’s available through Netflix and Paramount+ and its add-ons.

The assessors investigate new brain mapping research that might expose others to God and Hell. Kristen (Katja Herbers) struggles with aggression as Andy (Patrick Brammall) returns from his expedition. Ben (Aasif Mandvi) struggles with what he sees while in the brain mapping process. David (Mike Colter) returns to the basics to find God.

What I Like about “B is for Brain”

“B is for Brain” provides a unique opportunity for viewers to gain more insight into Ben’s past. While not his episode, as “B is for Brain” balances the leads nearly perfectly, he has his most emotional moment in the series so far. Despite the lower stakes, it provides a more vulnerable moment than “E is for Elevator.”

Leland (Michael Emerson) and Sister Andrea (Andrea Martin) meet again on more equal terms and establish their hostile relationship. Sister Andrea proves herself to be a woman who doesn’t back down when a Satanist tries to intimidate her. It also raises the necessity of David’s training, creating a more tangible threat.

Kristen’s deteriorating relationship with Andy reaches a boiling point as her impulsiveness and hostility reach new heights. It seems her sabbatical to the monastery might have increased the evil influences. “B is for Brain” builds upon what “S is for Silence” introduces and creates an interesting interpretation of the last episode’s events.

“B is for Brain” brings a new dynamic to its horror by focusing on how technology, science, and religion intersect. There’s an incredibly diabolical conversation on how this technology could induce fear to empower religion. This idea evokes a more subtle horror than most episodes.

Tired Tropes and Triggers

There is a potential nay-theist trope. By that, I mean there’s a single line where one can interpret an atheist character turned from God because God turned from them. It’s a single line that remains interpretable, but it’s worth mentioning.

There’s a moment of self-harm with clear implications that this is a pattern with the specific character. This harm has some implication of demonic influence, but this remains unconfirmed at the moment. I will mention this becomes more obvious as the season continues.

What I Dislike about “B is for Brain”

Unfortunately, such a big reveal for Ben’s character doesn’t have time to get fully explored in “B is for Brain.” While the focus between the three is great, a few big reveals only earn a light address. It’s less that Ben doesn’t get a fair amount of attention and more that these subjects don’t receive that attention.

A similar point remains relevant about the claim of using brain mapping as a way of evoking religious conversion. That point merits interrogation from the characters and the plot, but it’s only lightly touched on. Further expanding these points is that there’s only light reference in the future specifically about brain mapping.

Final Thoughts

“B is for Brain” gets placed into two memorable episodes, diminishing its lasting power. While not a fault of the episode, it does overlook some potentially big reveals. Some of the more relevant character moments will receive the attention they deserve in later episodes, but it doesn’t aid “B is for Brain” in execution. While a strong and enjoyable episode, diving into those moments might have created an episode that haunts the viewer.
(3 / 5)

Like I said before, I’m really getting into the spirit of the season this year. So reconsidering The Mourners yet again, and haunting the faith a bit, I decided to share a poem that I wrote thinking about All Hallows Eve as a preview of more things to come this month of October.

On Becoming Hallowed

Holy.  Holy.  Holy.  Light the candle.  Chant the hymn.

For now the veil between the living and the dead grows thin.

Fingers held to lips in silence; lies beneath their skin.

Family found, ancestral ghosts return to haunt their kin.

Skeletons in closets, grotesque yearnings trapped within.

A bleached and bony face flashes a slightly knowing grin.

It’s not the shadows but the darkness that we fear therein.

Bless this Church whose saintly bodies live and dwell herein.

Unto Death, they claim to sanctify our souls from sin.

Those familiar faces shame; this fight we cannot win.

Come what may, they betray.  Pray/prey and heads will spin.

Forevermore and evermore to nevermore…  Amen.

I thought this poem really captured All Hallows Eve, in some of the same sentiments as the movie High Spirits, which I loved almost as much as Beetlejuice back in the day.

And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or on her writing, fine art, and conceptual projects websites.