South by Southwest 2023 Film Festival – Transport yourself back to 1970s America. Nixon. Manson. Vietnam. Leisure suits. Oh, and increased interest in the occult. Late Night with the Devil is set during that turbulent decade and follows a fledging TV host who tries to save his show “Night Owls” from cancellation. He plans a Halloween special and taps into the country’s increasing interest in all things occult by inviting a girl on the show who may or may not be possessed. The only problem is that everything goes terribly, terribly wrong in this horror comedy that’s a clever spoof of demonic possession movies and late-night public access TV.

Written and directed by Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes, the film opens with a narrator going over major events of the decade, before transitioning to that fateful Halloween special. The narrator then shares footage from that gruesome special. David Dastmalchian stars as TV host Jack Delroy. After losing his wife Madeleine (Georgina Haig) to cancer, he must decide whether or not “Night Owls” should continue. He decides to keep it going and uses the Halloween special to invite on sham psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi) and hypnotist Carmichael (Ian Bliss), who questions the supernatural and thinks it’s all a scam. These interactions between Christou and Carmichael are both entertaining and interesting, as it sets up the debate between science and the supernatural, casting it in the backdrop of the 1970s, just before the Satanic Panic period.

The first half of the movie is a straight comedy, and the cast does a stellar job. Meanwhile, Dastmalchian endows his TV host character with an aw-shucks personality that draws empathy from viewers, considering the host is still grieving and the show is all he has left. However, the film’s second half, especially it’s last 30 minutes, are straight horror. The turning point comes when author June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) is invited on stage to discuss her new book, Conversations with the Devil. The subject of the book, Lilly D’Abo (Ingrid Torelli). suddenly appears on stage. Lilly was raised by a Satanic cult and barely survived. June is her guardian, and once Jack starts interviewing Lilly and pushing her for ratings, to June’s dismay, that’s when things get really, really weird. Suddenly, everyone on set and in the audience faces severe danger. Their very lives are at stake.

The tonal shift may be off-putting to some viewers, but the film eases into it. There are a few generally creepy moments once the entity, dubbed “Mr. Wriggles,” takes over Lilly in front of a live audience with the cameras rolling. This feature doesn’t totally reinvent the demonic possession movie, but the way it both spoofs it while offering a few genuine frights, makes Late Night with the Devil more unique than the average Exorcist knock-off. The late-night TV show setting, including the costumes and pastel-colored set designs, work perfectly.

Late Night with the Devil balances the laughs with the frights. By the end, this one arrives at some pretty wild and unexpected places. As a whole, this film is a rollicking good time that lampoons public access TV shows of the 1970s and demonic possession movies, while still showcasing the horror. Light a few candles. Dust off the old spirit board and invite this one into your living room.

7 Out of 10