JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Late Night With the Devil Team Shares How They Made Haunted ’70s Set On Low Budget; READ
The indie horror Late Night with the Devil had a theatrical release on March 22 and premiered on streaming on April 19 on Shudder.
Touted to be the most diabolically twisted movie of 2024, Late Night With the Devil is now finally streaming. After its release on March 22, the indie horror has raked 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Written, directed, and edited by Cameron and Colin Cairne, the film revolves around Jack Delroy (portrayed by David Dastmalchian) who is the host of a late-night program called Night Owls with Jack Delroy.
Once a trusted long-term companion to insomniacs around the country in the 70s, the ratings of the show have fallen drastically ever since the tragic death of Delroy’s wife. To rise up and above his contemporary Johny Carson, Delroy in the hope of raising his TRPs plans a unique Holloween special but little did he know that “he is about to unleash evil into the living rooms of America.”
This is the story behind the idea of setting the film in the 70s and creating a period-appropriate U.S. talk show in Melbourne and that too on a limited budget. Check out what the makers have to say.
![Ian Bliss, Laura Gordon, David Dastmalchian, Ingrid Torelli, and Rhys Auteri in Late Night with the Devil [Photo Credit- IMDb]](https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/2024-04/1713622074_1280-x-720-2024-04-20t192655-898.jpg "Ian Bliss, Laura Gordon, David Dastmalchian, Ingrid Torelli, and Rhys Auteri in Late Night with the Devil [Photo Credit- IMDb]")
From Idea To Execution Of Brining a 70s Set Alive In 2024
During a conversation with Variety, Cameron spoke about how staying up late to watch television during the 70s was “something of a taboo.” “Those late-night shows were very exciting for us as young boys. …we would see things that children probably shouldn’t see,” he said. In the movie, Cameron said he was trying to “ capture that vibe, as well as the danger of live TV, the unscripted nature of it.”
For making the set Cameron wanted, Production designer Otello Stolfo studied and referred to shows like Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett, and others from the 70s and how their sets worked. “I knew how I’d done these interview sets before, so I had an idea. We looked at their backgrounds and the finishes and the colors and things and went from there. I said, ‘Let’s go predominantly browns and oranges’,” he said.
However, his first draft was over the budget, had to rethink the entire process, and make adjustments. “Money and time budgeted us,” he said. Despite the limitations, he liked that he had to seek and brainstorm fresh ideas and methods and resource things.
![Ian Bliss, Laura Gordon, David Dastmalchian, and Ingrid Torelli in Late Night with the Devil [Photo Credits- IMDb]](https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/2024-04/1713622262_1280-x-720-2024-04-20t192934-418.jpg "Ian Bliss, Laura Gordon, David Dastmalchian, and Ingrid Torelli in Late Night with the Devil [Photo Credits- IMDb]")
How an 80s Scrapbook Became The Bible For The Camera Crew
Meanwhile, Cairne released that the set couldn’t do the magic alone, it needed the camerawork needed to capture a certain era in television history. So, he roped in Matthew Temple as their director of photography since he was a seasoned professional with experience in handling pedestal cameras in studios during the late 1980s.
“He unearthed his old scrapbooks from the ’80s when he was a trainee camera operator. It was what all the old school guys from the ’60s and ’70s had taught him about how to shoot television. That became the Bible for his camera crew,” said Cairne.
He further spoke about how the crew embraced a new style of filming and said, “they had to unlearn how to be cinematic to make an authentic television show.” For the lighting, Caines mentioned, how the crew visited several old warehouses and dusted off all the old lights and other things that were left unused for 30 years.
And, after all this, the team utilized a limited budget of $150,000 VFX budget and created nearly 300 visual effects for the film.
![David Dastmalchian in Late Night with the Devil [Photo Credits- IMDb]](https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/2024-04/1713622300_1280-x-720-2024-04-20t192816-247.jpg "David Dastmalchian in Late Night with the Devil [Photo Credits- IMDb]")
It is a ‘labour of love’ for Colin Cairne
Talking about how surreal it feels to be validated, Cairne said, “We made the film nearly two years ago, at the tail end of COVID. It was still a pretty dark time. We were in lockdown for 100 days on end, several times. So coming out of that and being able to make a film that has been a labor of love for years has been very special. We feel we’ve made something decent.”
Cairne brothers also added that they understood that any real-life object that appeared out of place would instantly zap the audience out of the experience. Hence, authenticity was crucial both in front of and behind the camera.
AI Controversy Regarding Late Night with the Devil
But, still, soon after the film’s release, the film’s trailer stirred controversy for its alleged use of AI-generated imagery. Netizens took to X (formerly Twitter) to dissect some of the imageries from the trailer including an illustration of a skeleton dancing and the occasional "We'll be right back" message.
However, the makers issued a statement to Variety addressing the allegations. “In conjunction with our amazing graphics and production design team, all of whom worked tirelessly to give this film the 70s aesthetic we had always imagined, we experimented with AI for three still images which we edited further and ultimately appear as very brief interstitials in the film. We feel incredibly fortunate to have had such a talented and passionate cast, crew and producing team go above and beyond to help bring this film to life. We can't wait for everyone to see it for themselves this weekend.”
Latest Articles
