Presented at PIFFF 2023 (where we discovered it) and at the Étrange festival, Late Night with the Devil is available on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD. And it’s worth a look.
David Dastmalchian gradually became one of the most notable supporting actors in the Hollywood industry. Polka-Dot Man singer In The Suicide Squadoften confined to… disturbed characters, still had to prove its worth as a headliner. This is done with the horror movie Late Night with the Devil directed by Colin and Cameron Cairnes, with a long festival tour where it has generated a lot of buzz.
It’s the story of a talk show that goes seriously off the rails, halfway between found footage, documentary and television parody. And it is actually quite successful.although the film contributed to the debate on the use of artificial intelligence in cinema.
Seen on TV
Dastmalchian plays the 1970s American talk show hostwhose special Halloween episode would be presented to us here with off-camera footage. The guy displays a facade of smiles: once successful, he had to face the death of his wife, taken by cancer, as well as a dangerous drop in audience figures.
Throughout the evening, the guests follow one another. Charlatans at first sight. Unless…
This is the device that directly wins over the audience. The directors alternate fake documentary and fake talk show with malice, using the urgency of the direct as a spring of discomfort or dark humor additional, even if it means sowing confusion in the mind of the viewer.
Are the horrors he witnesses (the exorcism scene is quite exemplary in this respect) the emanation of the show or of its participants? Is he also hypnotized? A game about the degree of reality which turns into a complete mystery in a final part which blurs the boundaries between the media.
Sometimes, the concept goes a little beyond the narrative desires of the duo and the plot has some flaws (the behind-the-scenes fake documentary is a little artificial, the fantastic subtext remains very classic). But the whole thing holds up.going so far as to slightly divert the expected twist to exploit his idea to the end.
Especially sinceIt owes a lot to the performance of the actorsresponsible for keeping the film on the thread of recorded reality. All this with, of course, a more or less subtle criticism of American television and the moral barriers it crossed in the 1970s, foreshadowing the cancer of reality TV.
AI no harm
Furthermore, Late Night with the Devil served as a Turing test for the author of these lines. And he failed.
When he discovered it at the PIFFF (Paris International Fantastic Film Festival), he didn’t notice that the film sometimes made use of generative artificial intelligence. This is a user Letterboxd who first expressed his displeasure, sparking a debate in horror circles.
Following a strike in Hollywood in 2023 that brought the issue of the potentially predatory use of such tools by studioswas it necessary to insert these few shots in a feature film that was going to tour festivals? However, since the film clearly does not have a blockbuster budget, is it a necessary evil? Finally, is the question of human impact not at the heart of its issues?
Complex questions, in a debate that Late Night with the Devil has only thickened a little more. Colin and Cameron Cairnes have themselves issued a press release.
“In conjunction with our graphics and production design team, who have worked tirelessly to give this film the 70s aesthetic we always envisioned, we experimented with AI for three still images that we retouched and that ultimately appear as brief interstitials. We are very fortunate to have a cast, crew and production team that have gone above and beyond to bring this film to life.”
Late Night with the Devil was released on August 28 on VOD and on September 11 on Blu-ray and DVD.
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