Why So Blu?

Late Night with the Devil (Blu-ray Steelbook Review)

I was very excited by the premise of Late Night with the Devil, and the stellar reviews and buzz leading up to my initial viewing of the film certainly kept me hopeful. Fortunately, the film delivered. While its release may have run into some over-the-top stories regarding a minor aspect of the film aided by an unexpected talking point regarding the use of A.I., the film still proved to be an intriguing enough venture for audiences, scoring $15 million on a budget that was significantly less, coming out of a small studio. All this is to say, Late Night with the Devil was able to have its concept take hold in the best of ways, delivering a film horror fans could easily latch onto.

–

Film:

The setup: Johnny Carson rival Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) hosts a syndicated talk show ‘Night Owls’ that has long been a trusted companion to insomniacs around the country. However, ratings for the show have plummeted since the tragic death of Jack’s beloved wife. Desperate to turn his fortunes around, on October 31, 1977, Jack plans a Halloween special like no other–unaware he is about to unleash evil into the living rooms of America.

Just when I thought the possession genre was all out of gas, here comes directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes with a fun take that had me smiling with delight as all hell broke loose. Character actor David Dastmalchian getting a proper leading role makes for inspired casting for the host of a talk show that gave me vibes of The Dick Cavett Show, among other classic late-night variety shows. And framing the film around an episode of that taping, with a quick montage up front and some “behind-the-scenes” footage during commercial breaks, had me completely wrapped up in how this unique narrative unfolded.

The circumstances are not too unfamiliar compared to other possession-based films, but Late Night with the Devil oozes with as much style as it does eventual gore. Even with a lack of significant scares for horror aficionados, there’s a creepy atmosphere, committed performances, and just enough interesting commentary to let this movie stand on its own. If anything, it’s the fact that I felt so involved with the show ‘Night Owls’ as if it were an actual late-night show led to a good portion of why I was so engaged. While I was never taken outside of “it’s only a movie,” I felt a lot of connection to that of an audience going along with the various segments and having fun with the surprises in store.

Dastmalchian shines here. Whether or not you could truly believe this guy would rival Johnny Carson, as far as I’m concerned, this is a horror movie where the heightened nature of everything allows me to take that and run with it. His sympathetic yet clearly desperate off-stage persona plays well to the stakes that slowly become apparent, with his affable on-air personality playing well against his sidekick and other guests.

Without delving too far into where this movie goes, I can just say that, again, even without major scares compared to a more visceral horror flick, the efforts to make this a trippy affair once we have more context and slide deeper into nightmarish territory at least feels provocative. Sure, the ending may not be as successful as what came before it, but for the most part, this movie is quite the enjoyable ride, with its blend of stylistic choices and efforts to resemble a past time.

 

Video:

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1/1.33:1

Clarity/Detail: While only a Blu-ray, there’s certainly nothing wrong with an HD presentation of a feature trying to replicate the look of 70s television. There are a lot of choices being made, not unlike what was attempted in Grindhouse to apply an old-school aesthetic. The behind-the-scenes sequences look sharper by default, but in producing this film as a whole, there’s plenty on display that speaks to a clear presentation of what this film was after.

Depth: Depth is solid. The character spacing registers as well as it needs to, which is helpful for this late-night talk-show setting.

Black Levels: Black levels do enough to add to the atmosphere, with no sign of significant crushing.

Color Reproduction: Colors are often quite strong here, with the period focus allowing for a lot of oranges, browns, and blues, in particular, to stand out. By the time the horror really hits, I can’t count out the impact of the uses of red either.

Flesh Tones: There’s a good level of facial detail to be found as the film focuses more on panicked and concerned faces.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

–

Audio:

Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Audio Description Track

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Dynamics:  Once again, the efforts done to allow this film to mostly resemble a period broadcast means certain choices are being made that would otherwise feel limiting. As it stands, there’s plenty of admirable work to create an atmosphere through various audio choices. The use of music, vocal choices, and sound effects all come through cleanly.

Low-Frequency Extension: With a couple of moments that rely on going big, the LFE channel delivers a little extra when needed.

Surround Sound Presentation: A lot is going on to help immerse the viewer into the film, including music and various sound effects. The rear channels come into play well enough to make you feel like the live audience always has a role to play. Still, this is a largely center-focused track, which makes plenty of sense.

Dialogue Reproduction: Everyone registers as they should.

–

Extras:

While I only expect so much for a film like this, I do take a bit of issue with the sound quality on these extras, as both the commentary and Q&A were recorded with unconventional means, compared to what one expects for a physical media release. That said, I appreciate what’s offered. Additionally, this deluxe steelbook packaging features some collectible cards that make fun bonus treats for fans.

Features Include:

• Audio Commentary with star David Dastmalchian and producer Leah Kilpatrick – While engaging enough and full of tidbits about the production, there’s a lack of focus, at times, that could have been solved with the presence of the directors or at least a moderator. And again, this was recorded from a separate location, which lowers the overall sound quality.
• Behind the Scenes of Late Night with the Devil (HD, 4:11) – This short but sweet feature works more as a montage of production videos, focusing on various aspects of what went into making the film. Effective but leaves you wanting so much more.
• Monster Shock Theater (HD, 34:15) – This clever little bit is a faux horror-themed late-night program that seems to be essentially a comedy show put on that happens to have this specific episode tied in with Late Night with the Devil. It’s set in 1971, and ‘Night Owls’ own Jack Delroy (Dastmalchian) shows up late in the episode to promote his Halloween special. If you’re into the vibe of the main feature, this is a nice bonus.
• Q&A (HD, 20:22) – Directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes sit down after a screening to discuss the film, which is great. However, it’s a not-so-great recording of this Q&A that doesn’t even provide much context as to the where, when, and who of it all. Once it settles in, there’s plenty of information to appreciate, but I guess the low-budget spirit of this whole endeavor makes it fine.
• DVD Copy of the Film

–

Summary:

I’m happy to champion Late Night with the Devil, as it arrived with a clever premise and delivered on it in a way that really satisfied me. I like Dastmalchian quite a bit too, so seeing him handle the lead of a film like this was a nice win. The Blu-ray presentation is solid. The filmmaking is not in a place where going above and beyond makes it an inherently different release, so getting strong enough video and audio is good enough (and these are very good presentations, regardless). As for the extras – there’s a nice collection of stuff here, even if I wish the production value on them was stronger. Horror fans should look into this one and embrace becoming ‘Night Owls.’

Order Your Copy Here: