By Finnlay Victor Dall
Cameron and Colin Cairnes came back with a vengeance this year at MIFF for their third feature. Their second for the festival, and one of the first to be screened. Seeing as they’re considered indie Australian horror darlings, I thought it would be worth a shot. I wasn’t familiar with their two previous films until I corrected that mistake in the lead-up, but allured by the star power of David Dastmalchian (Oppenheimer, 2021’s Dune), a late-night screening, and a full house of horror buffs too, it seemed inevitable that Late Night With the Devil would be my first festival highlight.
The feature opens on a documentary covering late-night TV personality Jack Delroy (Dastmalchian). Following his storied career, we see his rise to stardom and, very quickly, his plummet into obscurity. This all culminates in 1977 when, in a last-ditch effort to salvage his image, Jack decides to air a particularly spooky Halloween special, complete with a garish psychic (Fayssal Bazzi), a magician turned skeptic (Ian Bliss), and a mysterious stone-eyed girl (Ingrid Torelli) reported by her handler (Laura Gordon) to be possessed by a demon. The only evidence left behind of this paranormal concoction was a recording: the last, horrifying, All Hallows’ Eve episode of Night Owls with Jack Delroy.
Sticking to a late-night talk show format – in-camera zooms, bright lights, sallow colours and a 4:3 aspect ratio – the film creates a distinct visual style; something I felt the Cairnes’ previous works lacked. While it was shot on digital, cinematographer Matthew Temple was familiar with that era’s TV equipment, having worked at the ABC in the early 80’s. He even used a vintage crane to achieve some of the jankier camera movements. Typically, found footage horrors use handheld cameras and onboard mics to achieve something authentic without necessarily breaking the bank. But this can lead to a generic home video look, not to mention the scarcity of characters to choose from (teens, reporters and ghost hunters). So, it was nice to see the brothers pull their shoestrings together to create that old TV studio look. And the best thing about the visual style: because it’s so specific to that place and time, it’s all the more fun when it corrodes and eventually breaks.
But what’s a show without its star? There’s no smoke and mirrors here, folks! Dastmalchian quite simply is late-night. As soon as he boogies into frame and utters his first line of dialogue, he’s already stolen the show. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take long for the other, predominantly Australian actors – sporting pitch perfect American accents – to wrestle it back from him. Torelli gives a particularly ghoulish performance as young Lily, who, despite her age, can at once have the audience on the edge of their seats in silence, jumping up in fright at her sudden bodily changes, or bursting out laughing at her little quips.
Yes, as much as this film is a horror, it’s also a comedy. And while the brothers have struggled with past projects in finding the balance between the two, they absolutely nail it here. I haven’t seen a horror ending like this since Saint Maud; something that elicits nervous laughter from the audience one second and then has them recoiling at grotesque gore the next. The brothers’ signature use of practical effects, started in 100 Bloody Acres, expanded upon in Scare Campaign and now mastered in Late Night, helps sell this comedy/horror balance. Gore, besides a few computer-generated touch-ups, was crafted with a whole suite of make-up, rigs and prosthetics to bring their horrific images to life; the kind that worm their way into your brain long after the show’s over. The actors had their own part to play in the in-camera trickery as well. In order to play Carmichael Hunt – the ex-magician and recent skeptic – Ian Bliss was taught by an actual magician in live stagecraft so he could perform some of the tricks shown in the film.
Despite Late Night playing it straight with many genre expectations, I still appreciated the brothers taking time to subvert the expectations of longtime fans. Cameron and Colin’s works tend to focus on underdogs trapped, either by choice or by force, in an unethical system. Reg in 100 Bloody Acres is under the thumb of his older brother Lindsay, and only frees himself from their human mulch business once his psychotic sibling becomes interested in “live produce”. Emma chooses to work under her former lover for the titular Scare Campaign, but similarly becomes disenfranchised when the safety of her cast and crew is jeopardised.
At first it seems like Dastmalchian’s Jack falls into this category of slighted hero as well. A late-night host, bogged down by his network and constantly fighting to save a failing show, just to get a shot at beating Johnny Carson in the ratings. But as the night stretches on and the events prove too strange and dangerous for his cast and crew to endure, does he stop? No, he doubles down, even if it leads to a path of total chaos and destruction. Cleverly, we’re led to believe the film follows a victim falling prey to the television industry, only to have the illusion break and reveal the maggot of a man squirming in front of our eyes.
Late Night is the Cairnes brothers’ best work to date and shows how far they’ve come in terms of both technical skill and a distinct directorial vision. If you’re in for a scare or a laugh, there’s no better start than this. That’s a Cairnes brothers guarantee!
Late Night With the Devil can currently be seen at the Melbourne International Film Festival (running from August 3rd until the 20th in cinemas, and online through MIFF Play from the 18th until the 27th). Writer-director-editors Cameron and Colin Cairnes will also appear at the free MIFF Talks event Something in the Water: New Australian Horror. For sessions on standby, some tickets may become available to purchase after 5 pm the night before the session, or you can join the standby queues at venues on the day, which do not guarantee entry but generally have a high success rate. Interested in writing a review of anything in exchange for a free ticket? Just fill out this form or send us an email at unimelbfilmsoc@gmail.com.
MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY FILM INQUIRER 