Whilst mainstream horror films are these days mostly all sequels and remakes there are still original horror films being made. With the film that i'm going to be talking to you all today being one such a film as while it's a found footage film it's setting is one that's fully original with it's central idea being a wholly original idea as well and so then join me as I review the film that has well over a minuet and thirty second of opening company credit logos with the film in question being called simply just "Late Night With The Devil" enjoy.
The plot of this film is during the broadcast of his talk show host Jack Delroy finds himself and his guests being tormented by something otherworldly. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good with this films plot being one is refreshing and is new as its one that hasn't been done both before and since this film and yet this films plot does also feel very by the numbers as you know where it's going to go before it goes there with the thing that makes it stand out being the fact that you don't know how it's going to get there in the first place and while yes this films plot could have been alot more better then what it was the fact that it was told through this seemingly lost episode of a fictional TV show is something that does make it feel unique and make it feel all the more real as for all we could know there could episodes like this out there and yet down being let this films plot down is the fact that it does feel really thin with the film only hinting at it's plot during the very brief backstage segments that are in the film and yet even then nothing that happens in those segments effects what's happening on stage during the main portion of the film and while that may be more true to how TVs are run it's also something that does make this films plot feel more like an afterthought as the film barely focuses on those segments with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this film is David Dastmalchian as Jack Delroy , Laura Gordon as Dr. June Ross-Mitchell and Ian Bliss as Carmichael Haig. Also starring in this film is Fayssal Bazzi as Christou , Ingrid Torelli as Lilly D'Abo , Rhys Auteri as Gus McConnell , Georgina Haig as Madeleine Piper , Josh Quong Tart as Leo Fiske , Steve Mouzakis as Szandor D'Abo , Paula Arundell as Diane , Christopher Kirby as Phil , John O'May as Walker Bedford and Michael Ironside as The Narrator.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With all of this films actors turning in some really good performances in this film something which surely couldn't have been an easy task to do and yet they all pull it of really well and with alot of this films actor being at best little known actors it's a wonder that we got some really got some really good acting in this film and yet its made clear as day that this films writer and directors Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes really did know how to get a good performance out of all of there actors in this film with the best actor in the film being David Dastmalchian as he really does fully embody this character him fully capturing just what alot of late night talk shows hists were most likely like back in the seventies whilst also making the character fully his own and if the man wanted to continue making movies not just horror movies but movies in general then he really could make it as an actor as he is just so good in this film with him being full of energy when he needs to be and yet during the films backstage segments we get to see that the Jack that we see on stage is vastly different from the one behind the stage and all of that is something that does come through in his performance with the acting that's in this film really being helped by the fact that the script for this film is just so good that all this film actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.
Where it could be argued that this film well and truly shines is in it's character as the film does give us some really well thought out characters. As the film does make sure to make all of it's characters do have somethin about them that does make somewhat close to being likeable characters like Jack for example yes he is a fame hungry character but he's also someone that did very deeply care for his wife as well with that care and love being something that does drive him to these extremes in this film and to the films credit it is something that they didn't need to do and yet it's something that they did and because of the Jack as a character does come across as being a more likable character because of it with the same thig also being true for all of the films over characters as well with them all having something about them that does make what could be seen as being these really unlikable characters now seem all the more likable like for example Carmichael Haig who is a bit of skeptic and is someone who is just trying to do the best with little that he has in the first place with it being made clear as day that the makers of this film really did put alot of thought into this s films characters as all of this films characters are some really well thought out characters with them all having something to do with the main plot of the film and them all impacting the plot of the film in some way shape or form be it due to them dying or due to them impacting the character of Jack in someway with this being something that you don't really see all that often and yet here it is in this film little known that not alot of people even know about in the first place.
Whilst there is no doubt that the Paranormal Activity films helped to make the found footage genre as popular as it is today they also helped to run it into the ground by being the same film even single time. Yet here in this film we get something that does kind of change the game a little bit as whilst yes it is still a found footage movie it's done in a unique way as its not someone holding up a camera all the time when they wouldn't normally be holding a camera rather it's tape from an episode of a TV show that only aired once and that's it and that unique setup alone is more then enough to make what is a tired genre of horror seem fresh and new as now we get to see things that we normally wouldn't get to see like all of the behind the scenes stuff which might seem like small things at first but it's the small things that make all of the big things work as this is a concept where we have to buy into the set up in order for the film to work and if we don't buy into it then the film itself just flat out doesn't work and yet because of the fact that the makers of this film made sure to fill the screen with alot of detail alot of which could be seen as hints of what's to come later on in the film they all combine to make this films set up work all the more and it's this kind of dedication that does prove that found footage films when there done right can work but sadly alot of them like the Paranormal Activity sequels aren't done right and it's those kinds of films that we remember alot more then the good ones when it should be the other way around as these good movies when they work can be works of art and yet alot of the time they end up being terrible films that we forget right away because of the fact that the makers of those film had nothing new to say with them.
Where the film does somewhat fail is the fact that it's not really all that interesting of a film with this being due to the fact that the film does feel a bit boring at times. With the film feeling like that its stuck on repeat mode alot of the time as alot of the time whenever Jack introduces a new guest something creepy happens and the guest ends up being traumatized by it which is fine for one or two guests but the whole film is like that and it is something that dies make you feel like if the makers of this film just couldn't be bothered to come up with something fresh and new to help to carry the film and to help make the film seem alot less dull and boring as it would be very easy to write this film as being a dull film due to the fact that the film does give you alot of information about Jack right at the start and it expects you to remember it all when it is something that would have been alot more better served if it did that in pieces as then we the audience would still have this mystery about what is really going with Jack and it would also have allowed the film to break away from it's formular but given that this film is trying to do something new with the found footage formular you can kind of forgive it for not doing all that much with the formular that it's forced itself to have as the film after all is meant to be about a forgotten episode of a chat show and those kinds of shows do have this strict formular that they all seem to stick to and if this film is going to lampoon them and put it's spin on the setting then it does need to stick to that format as well even if it is something that does end up hurting the film alot more then it does help it.
As a film it easy to see why this one has pretty much been forgotten about as while it is a really good film it's also one that's not been released by a major studio. Which does mean that it more then flew under the radar it just straight up avoided it all together which is a shame as this is film that does prove that you can find these weird original films in Hollywood you just have to look for them alot more harder yet at the same time due to the fact that this film is a found footage film it is perfectly possible that alot of people might have grown tired with them and weren't ready to give this film the chance that it deserved as while yes it did still make alot of money at the ox office it is something that hasn't left that much of an impact on people and yet when you compare this film to Paranormal Activity which like this film did make alot of money at the box office but that film did something that this film as good as it is just didn't do and that's the fact that that film caught people's attention and yet due to when this film was being released it just wasn't able to do that as these days people are more quick to move on to the next big thing and because of that some really good horror films like Good Boy and like In A Violent Nature do end up being forgotten about this is despite the fact that all of those films are still really good films in there own right and could be seen as being game changers for the world of horror if only people where more then willing to take a chance and be inspired by them like how they were with the Paranormal Activity films and yet because there not this film is destined to be one of those films that will only be remembered by die hard horror fans and not by the mainstream stream audience that might have liked it in the first place.
Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and forty one minuets ad forty one seconds. Which to be fair to this film is a perfectly solid running time for this film to have as it is a film that really does need to be that long due to the fact that it does have so much plot to set up in the first place with the film just about having the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place and yet in saying this tho the film really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely due to the fact that the film really does take the time to fully develop it's plot with the film being more focused on being a spoof of seventies talk shows then it in giving us a more well thought out plot when it could have done both just by giving more scenes that help to flesh out the films plot and that help to make the plot of the film be all the more stronger then what it is in the first place with this even being true for the films characters as well as the film doesn't really take the time to fully flesh out all of it's characters and to give them much in the way of character development when the film has plenty of opportunity to do exactly that and could have done exactly that firstly by cutting one down on the really long opening company logos and secondly by having the film showcase more of what it's characters are about instead of just giving us snippets here and there which yes is true to the talk show format but what works for a talk show wont and in this case doesn't work for a feature length film as we know as much about all of this films characters coming out of the film then we did coming into the film but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is a slasher film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual scares that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual scares that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With all of the films scares being really creative and as they should be down right scary with it being made clear as day that the makers of this film really did put alot more thought and effort into this film scares then they did anything else as that's where we get to see just how creative that this film really is with the film even having some really impressive looking practical effects in it as well with the best scare in the whole entire film being when Carmichael hypnotizes Gus into thinking that worms are inside his body with worms being something that Gus hates the most with the thing that takes that scare over the top being the fact that we see Gus then rip open his chest to reveal a giant worm inside of him which then proceeds to pop out his eye with Carmichael then revealing that it was something that he only did just to prove the June was wrong about what happened with Lily with the film having alot of these over the top and creative scares that does prove that found footage films can still be scary if you have the right team willing to give you genuinely good scares and that is something that this film does have as alot of this films scares are really good scares with them being the kind of scares that do stay with you long after the film is finished as that's how good that they are in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall whilst yes this is a good film and it is one that does deserve to be talked about alot more then what it is it's also a film that you do have to be in certain mood for watching due to the fact that yes this film could be seen as bit boring at times but once you get to the good that's when this film really truly something to behold in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad thing that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8 out of 10 from me.
Now then as or where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Tenor , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images simply because Google Images actually has images from this film really are up and on Google Images and plus pretty much much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we end this review as we always do with really our one and true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams.
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