Horror movies reside and die by their conceits. And typically, one of the best ways to make a film scary is to put it in an atmosphere 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 Evening with the Satan, which hit horror streamer Shudder this weekend (and may be extra suited to residence viewing), tries to make one of the vital 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 discuss present Evening 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 manner to reserve it, Delroy believes, is to air a rare Halloween episode concerning the occult in the course of sweeps season.
Apart from a little bit of superfluous expository setup, your entire movie is fake discovered footage of the episode, full with a reside studio viewers and industrial breaks. (Between advert gaps, there are some behind-the-scenes pictures as nicely.) Should you like a low-budget horror film that constricts its location to a single home, you’ll dig that Late Evening restrains itself to a convincingly rendered ‘70s discuss present set. Because the visitors’ 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 powerful 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 Evening does really feel somewhat by the numbers within the remaining act. Most individuals will acknowledge the beats — vomit, levitation, Satanic voice — from any film about demonic possession. (Although in a understanding second, one character says, “‘Psychic infestation’ is the time period we choose.”)
Positive, nothing right here touches the good novelty of final yr’s Skinamarink, however one of the best factor going for Late Evening is its dedication to the vanity. The disparity between the cheery TV format and the creeping dread sustains the strain all through its transient 93 minutes.
Largely, Late Evening with the Satan is charming and intelligent, and Dastmalchian and his sideburns make the work look easy. Like all discuss present host price their salt, it’s all about committing to the bit.