WWWednesday: October 30, 2024

The 2024 World Fantasy Convention, held in Niagara Falls, NY, was a lot of fun. The World Fantasy Con on Sunday, October 20. They included The Reformatory by Tananarive Due for Best Novel, Half The House is Haunted by Josh Malerman for Best Novella, and “Silk and Cotton Awards were announced and Linen and Blood” by Nghi Vo for Best Short Fiction.

I am posting a picture of a black squirrel I saw at Niagara Falls park, because I had never seen that color variation before, and a picture of the waterfalls veiled in mist, because if you go to Niagara Falls, you have to see the waterfalls. I think that’s a city ordinance.

The rest of this column is a movie review, just in time for Halloween—tomorrow night!

Last week I watched 2023’s demonic horror film Late Night With the Devil. This is a true horror movie, not dark fantasy or horror-humor. I watch a lot of horror flicks during October, and most of them are old and/or cheesy (every single 1980s teen-horror flick, anyone?) I stumbled across this one on Shudder, AMC+’s horror line.

Several things immediately stood out. The first were the performances. I used the plural, and that’s right, because every single one was good, but David Dastmalchian, who plays the lead, delivered a subtle, layered performance that anchored the entire film. Without him at the center I don’t think this story would have worked. The second thing is the commitment to the setting. As the name suggests, the entire story takes place on the set of a late-1970’s late-night talk show, Night Owls, with Jack Delroy.

The film opens as a documentary or compilation of “found footage,” about a live episode—a catastrophic live episode—of Night Owls in 1977. “Until now,” the narrator tells us, this footage has never been viewed. We can see why!

The “documentary” provides Jack’s backstory; his breakout performance in late-night that put him head-to-head with Johnny Carson; his fairytale marriage to the beautiful and popular stage actress Madeline; his invitation to join the secretive group of influential men in “the Grove,” in northern coastal California; the tragic illness and death of Madeline; Jack’s slide in the ratings. This Halloween night in 1977, Jack and his producer are making a desperate bid for a ratings comeback by including a guest who is supposedly possessed by a demon. What could possibly go wrong?

A lot, it turns out. The headset-wearing tech guy on set is constantly arguing with someone off-set, who is seeing odd electrical readings from the start. Jack’s first guest is a psychic medium, Christou. After several spectacular misses, Christou does connect with the dead son of a woman in the audience. Leaving that encounter, Christou suddenly roars in pain and shouts out words that have no meaning to anyone except Jack. Jack’s next guest is a professional debunker, who mocks and belittles Christou until the medium stands up to leave the stage. This is the first moment of gross special effects, and they serve the story. A weakened, semi-conscious Christou is carried off the stage, while Jack looks worried.

But the best (and by that I mean the worst) is yet to come, as Jack introduces parapsychologist June and the thirteen year old girl she has guardianship of—Lily. Lily was raised in a Satanic cult (remember the “Satanic panic” of the early 1980s?) and believes she is possessed by a demon.

Lily is played by Ingrid Torelli, another virtuoso performance. The moment this pretty, nicely dressed girl appears on the set we see there is something seriously off about her. Torelli perfected an unnerving stare from minute one. This was a five-star performance, but I think without the humanity of Dastmalchian’s Jack—desperate performer, caring man, grieving, guilt-ridden widower, and affable talk-show host—Lily would have looked over the top, or at least over the top before she’s supposed to go over the top.

When June “releases” the demon within Lily, it greets Jack with familiarity, and when he says, “We haven’t been introduced,” the demon reminds him that they met among “the tall trees.” This is a reference to the Grove, which is, by the way, a real place and a real group. It’s Bohemian Grove, a meeting place for the Bohemian Club. The film even uses as owl, the grove’s “mascot,” throughout the film.  I don’t know about now, but in the 70s and 80s, the Grove was proud of its no-women-members policy, and was a hotbed of the ultra-rich and influential, who in between getting drunk and acting like twelve-year-olds, often cut major back-room deals. Members included political figures as well as millionaires. This isn’t just gossip—I live a few miles from the place, and I knew people who worked there. It’s no surprise to me that someone who was inducted into the Grove met a demon there.

Oh wait, this is fiction.

With the demon’s appearance, that night’s episode goes off the rails in spectacular, horror movie fashion. Jack is forced to face his guilt, real or imagined, over the death of his wife. Carnage ensues.

On the surface it’s a simple story, but for this film to work, every puzzle piece has to fit seamlessly, and they do. The set looks exactly like a Carson-lite set. The clothes are right. The three-camera set up is right. The cheesy talk-show dialogue, the presence of alcohol and tobacco on the set are exactly right. And so is the demon, and the deal Jack made. It’s a good, intriguing, deeply creepy movie. Recommended.