Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A live broadcast of a late-night talk show in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation's living rooms.
Late Night with the Devil is a genuinely distinctive found-footage horror that earns its Novelty score through an inspired and rigorously executed conceit: recreating a 1970s late-night TV broadcast with period-perfect production design, grain, and studio atmosphere. The cinematography deserves high marks for its remarkable commitment to the aesthetic — the TV broadcast look is immersive and convincing in ways few found-footage films achieve. The plot is engaging in its slow-burn setup, blending parapsychology, Satanic panic, and late-night showbiz with real atmosphere, though it relies on familiar possession tropes once the horror fully emerges. Acting is solid across the board — David Dastmalchian is a compelling lead — but supporting performances are uneven. The ending, however, is where the film stumbles most; the climax and resolution feel rushed, tonally uncertain, and fail to fully pay off the dread that was carefully accumulated, leaving the film slightly deflated at its most crucial moment.