Late Night With The Devil (film review) S2E8 Cade and Kit

🎬 Late Night with the Devil (2024)

📹 The Setup

A late-night talk show host hits his breaking point during Halloween sweeps in the 1970s—and decides to go full spectacle. Paranormal guests. Hypnotists. Psychic children. A live studio audience. And one infamous book called Talking With the Devil. It’s all supposed to boost ratings. Until it turns into something a little too real.

🎥 The film plays out like a behind-the-scenes broadcast, blending on-air drama with backstage descent. A slow burn where the lines between suggestion, possession, and madness start to blur.

🎥 The Format

A “found footage” horror setup staged like a retro talk show, complete with broadcast transitions, commercial bumpers, and live-audience chaos. Everything starts tongue-in-cheek—and ends with a demon on stage.

✅ 70s live TV setting

✅ Studio crew walkouts

✅ A hypnotist with too much power

✅ Ratings-obsessed host spiraling

✅ What Makes It Work

• Incredible set design: The production nails the 70s aesthetic. From the studio layout to the graphics, every visual detail adds to the eerie realism.

• Clever broadcast framing: Black-and-white shots signal backstage moments, while vivid color captures live TV. It helps guide the viewer through what’s real—or at least what’s being aired.

• • Strong central concept: The idea of desperation pushing someone too far on live TV is compelling. You want to buy into the stakes.

  
  

  ⚠️ What Doesn’t Land

  • Storyline feels muddy: Too many angles (grief, demons, cults, ratings, hypnosis, ghosts) without any clear message.

  • Performance tone is confusing: Acting veers between campy and deadpan with little emotional core to hold onto.

  • No emotional payoff: For all the buildup, the climax and ending feel confusing rather than cathartic.

• • Too many ideas, not enough execution: Some scenes (like the ghost wife, worm hallucination, or cult hints) felt like art house distractions rather than plot progression.

  
  

  💸 Should It Have a Bigger Budget?

  No, the budget worked for what it was. The visuals and production design were strong. It just needed a tighter script and clearer emotional arc—not more money.

  
  

  🎯 The Verdict

  Cade: 3.0
  Kit: 3.0
  “We liked the set. That’s about it.”

  If you’re big into 70s aesthetics, you might appreciate the vibe. If you’re looking for horror with substance—or even just coherence—this probably isn’t it. One of those “the trailer was better” situations.

  
  

  📺 Where to Watch

  Streaming on Shudder and select platforms. Not a Shudder original, but part of their catalog.

  
  

  🍿 Pair This Movie With...

  • Snack: Half a granola bar (because you won’t be hungry after Act 2)

  • Drink: A lukewarm coffee from a Styrofoam cup

• • Activity: Reading Reddit threads about movies with “great concepts, bad delivery”

  
  

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