The latest horror film to hit theaters, Late Night with the Devil, has earned a rare perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Cheap jump scares and caricatures notoriously fill the horror genre. However, a new American indie horror, Late Night with the Devil, is changing that.
The indie horror, written by brothers Colin and Cameron Cairnes, brings a fresh storyline that follows a talk show host in the US.
The film, which was released in theaters last Friday, combines indie cinematography and a compelling storyline to bring authenticity to the oversaturated genre.
A score of 100 percent is a rare achievement. Currently, 49 critics have shared their thoughts on the show, and there isn’t a single negative word in sight.
The impressive score for the film, which comes with a host of great reviews, including from famed horror author Stephen King, has led one critic to claim, “It deserves to be a cult classic.”
Late Night with the Devil has a perfect score of 100 percent on Rotten Tomato’s. Pictured: Ingrid Torelli as Lilly (left), David Dastmalchian as Jack Delroy (center) and Laura Gordon as Dr. June Ross-Mitchell (right)
When the wife of Jack Delroy (played by David Dastmalchian) dies of lung cancer, ratings for his syndicated talk show “Night Owls,” a long-standing cure for insomnia in the US, begin to dwindle.
In a desperate attempt to turn around the ratings, Jack plans a Halloween special on October 31, 1977 to engage his audience.
But with a series of different guests, the live television broadcast goes wrong. The first guest, a psychic named Christou (played by Fayssal Bazzi), has a brief stint on the show after being forced to leave due to constant vomiting.
After his second guest, paranormal expert Carmichael (played by Ian Bliss), Jack welcomes a parapsychologist named June (played by Laura Gordon) and her teenage daughter Lily (played by Ingrid Torelli).
Ingrid is the sole survivor of a recent cult hostage – the mass suicide of a satanic church – and as a result is reportedly possessed by a small evil spirit, Mr Wriggles, as Lily calls it, due to his ability to get into her head.
Things quickly go downhill from there and Jack unleashes horror in living rooms across America with a television tuned to Night Owls.
The film marks an important career step for David Dastmalchian, who excelled in his various supporting roles in Oppenheimer, Dune, the Dark Night and Prisoners.
Now the 48-year-old has taken on a well-deserved starring role in the Found Footage horror film.
The show follows David Dastmalchian as Jack Delroy (pictured) as he tries to revive his talk show
Late Night with the Devil is ‘Certified Fresh’ on Rotten Tomato’s with a rare perfect score of 100 percent
After its world premiere at South by Southwest Film, Late Night with the Devil quickly received a slew of positive reviews.
Dennis Harvey from Variety wrote: ‘The resulting mix of vintage Me Decade showbiz cheese and ‘Exorcist’-esque demonic acts is distinctive, not to mention the dexterity with which the brothers have handled it as both writers and directors.’
Meanwhile, Trace Sauveur from the Austin Chronicle said, “Late Night With the Devil is able to extract a lot of effective and fun ideas from its premise, and it works as a powerful examination of the price of success.”
Elsewhere, Phil Hoad of the Guardian wrote: ‘The directors and Dastmalchian – high on his own faux gravitas – have fun with a fresh premise that reminds us that light entertainment is the antechamber of hell.’
‘The exciting, playful Late Night With the Devil has all the ingredients to become one of the most successful indie horror popcorn films of the year, giving the Cairnes brothers the place in the international spotlight they have long deserved’ , says Alexander Heller-Nicholas. in AWFG.
Filmed in Found Footage style, the horror shares the eerie events of a live television broadcast
Viewers took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts on Late Night with the Devil, and many were impressed
Those who managed to catch the indie horror film early or wanted to share their excitement took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts.
One said: ‘Late Night with the Devil is my most anticipated horror movie of the year.’
A second added: ‘Late Night with the Devil has to be one of the creepiest, most imaginative and unique films I have EVER seen. I want to watch it a hundred more times. Don’t sleep on this! Let’s get the audience it deserves.”
‘Oh, this looks so good, is something set in the 60s/70s? YUP,” wrote a third. Another said: ‘David Dastmalchian is just an insanely good actor. I need to see this.’
A fifth added: “Late Night with the Devil absolutely rules, starring David Dastmalchian. This is how you create hybrid found footage. A Ghostwatch for the modern age (in atmosphere and execution). Plus a huge amount of worms.’