Horror movies dwell and die by their conceits. And generally, the easiest way to make a film scary is to put it in an surroundings that’s not scary in any respect.
Is there something farther from spooky than a brightly lit TV studio? The shock field workplace darling Late Night time with the Satan, which hit horror streamer Shudder this weekend (and is perhaps extra suited to dwelling viewing), tries to make some of the innocuous American broadcast traditions right into a terror. David Dastmalchian, a personality actor who you’ll acknowledge from the margins of half a dozen Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve motion pictures, will get a uncommon star flip as Jack Delroy, the host of late-night speak present Night time Owls. However in an period the place Johnny Carson guidelines after-hours broadcast, Delroy’s second-place program is on the verge of getting canceled. The one method to put it aside, Delroy believes, is to air a unprecedented Halloween episode concerning the occult in the midst of sweeps season.
Apart from a little bit of superfluous expository setup, all the movie is fake discovered footage of the episode, full with a dwell studio viewers and industrial breaks. (Between advert gaps, there are some behind-the-scenes photographs as effectively.) If you happen to like a low-budget horror film that constricts its location to a single home, you’ll dig that Late Night time restrains itself to a convincingly rendered ‘70s speak present set. Because the friends’ paranormal options escalate, so do the demons — private and literal — till reaching an inevitable, violent finish.
Generally, a horror film might be satisfying sufficient simply by pursuing a robust conceit and never embarrassing itself alongside the best way. Nonetheless, issues are performed a bit secure right here. With out giving a lot away, Late Night time does really feel a bit by the numbers within the last act. Most individuals will acknowledge the beats — vomit, levitation, Satanic voice — from any film about demonic possession. (Although in a realizing second, one character says, “‘Psychic infestation’ is the time period we favor.”)
Positive, nothing right here touches the sensible novelty of final 12 months’s Skinamarink, however the perfect factor going for Late Night time is its dedication to the self-esteem. The disparity between the cheery TV format and the creeping dread sustains the stress all through its temporary 93 minutes.
Principally, Late Night time with the Satan is charming and intelligent, and Dastmalchian and his sideburns make the work look easy. Like several speak present host value their salt, it’s all about committing to the bit.
