A couple of years ago, the Australian director Leigh Whannell set out his stall for the horror genre while talking to Empire magazine about his upcoming movie The Invisible Man: "My goal with this is to have people feel like the whole film is a vice."
That wisdom finds its latest exponents in Whannell's compatriots Cameron and Colin Cairnes, sibling writer-directors whose Late Night with the Devil is a found-footage rager that's made to be seen in a packed cinema.
We're back in 1977 for "the live TV event that shocked the nation" - the Halloween episode of Night Owls with Jack Delroy. With its host mired in grief, falling ratings, and contract negotiations, the New York chat show needs something huge to stop the Carson colossus. Enter parapsychologist June Ross-Mitchell and her teenage patient Lilly D'Abo as the coast-to-coast workout for bowels and bladders begins.
A great concept, a brilliant central performance by David Dastmalchian as Delroy, a super cast of unfamiliar faces in support, and the relentlessness of the real-time set-up make Late Night with the Devil a must-see. It also says the Cairnes brothers can name their price in the future; their big-time calling card has a nice line in black comedy and showbiz satire complementing the terror. And although the never-before-seen backstage moments break the spell somewhat, they're short and used sparingly, with the audience ushered back to their seats before the ads end. Perhaps you'll be glad to catch your breath while you can.
The finale is a bit rushed, but the Cairnes brothers still go above and beyond to ensure their application for the cult pantheon is a successful one. Give the Devil his due as soon as you can.
