Late Night with the Devil

Screened at Regal Cinemas, Rancho Mirage, California.

Whooooooooo boy! The hype on this one was sudden and heavy. Understandable, the trailer was well put together, and the idea was unique. But riding the nostalgia vibe with filters, old school title cards and all that didn't really add all that much for me, and frankly I think it took away from what could have been the utilization of a plot that did have something of substance to present. There IS something REALLY frightening and scary somewhere in this idea.

Overall, the technical execution, especially on a low budget, was pretty solid. The lead (and really, the entire cast) was also quite good - he should have his own late night show. I also enjoyed how tight the entire film was, even though I think it could have been fleshed out more, specifically with the character development of which there isn't much. It was short, sweet, and compact, and it felt like it.

I feel overall if the filmmakers concentrated more on nuance, subtleties and that aforementioned character development, instead of current cinematic trends, they would've had something really special here. Perhaps it's a "first time director(s)" situation as they do seem to have a lot of promise in their future. But here, I wish they had focused more on the strengths we do see on display. Doing something new with the very tired "demonic possession" film was very welcome, but as much as people want to love this film because of it standing out amongst the rest of today's horror scene, I don't think it rises to the level of the kind that has been breaking through with mainstream audiences of late. Not that audience size matters, it doesn't, but I'm speaking more on it being so good, even those audiences can't deny it.