“Don’t worry about your TV show. I think you’re gonna be very famous soon.”

Story: It’s the crazypants 1970s y’all! While late-night hosts duke it out for supremacy, the real world is filled with all sorts of mayhem. Y’know, like cults, devil-worshipping crazies that do a Waco, and a lone, traumatized and possibly possessed, little girl who survived a horrific experience. That last one’s Lilly, a fourteen-year-old who’s been scheduled – along with her therapist, June – for the Halloween ’77 live episode of UbcTV’s “Night Owls” midnight broadcast. Nope, nothing worrisome here. So why not also invite a psychic and a skeptic for the vibes? What could go wrong? *lights flicker*

Genre I’d put it in: Retro TV Broadcast Horror
Release Date: 2024 (theaters/streaming) 2023 (SXSW)
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Original, but harks back to other TV-centric horrors.

Gotta say: As was said very succinctly over on Twitter X? AI is a labor issue. So when creators use AI, however “sparingly”? It sets a precedent that can be pushed further and further along, until the livelihoods of artists are seriously affected. So I’m not a fan of AI, and if I’d been with-it enough to know that AI images were used in this film? I wouldn’t have seen it in theaters. But here I am telling you about it anyway. Because if, like me, you didn’t know either? Maybe that’s something you’d like to take into consideration. Maybe not. I just wanted to let you know my thoughts, and give you this film’s info, and boom. Done it.

As for the film itself? It’s got really excellent points, and really eyerolling points. Devil had me remembering other genre films where the use of a television studio, or taped shows, was the means of storytelling. The Cleansing Hour, and the V/H/S series floated through my mind during the overlong opening expositional scene. Which, by the way, was a huge eyeroll for me. Do I love me some retro “TV news footage”? I do. But the opening montage of news bits that detail way too much all at once, ends up feeling scattered. Many of these bits of backstory would have been better served as Show (during the actual story) Don’t Tell (in an opening scene exposition dump) moments. Especially as a secret, Freemasonry-esque cult plays what seems to be an important part in what happens in the climax…not that that’s not obvious from the jump, but it’s a plot point that would have packed more of a punch had it been only hinted at, instead of completely laid out early on.

The performances are spectacular in Devil, taking the groovy (retro story = retro adjectives y’all) premise and making the goings-on feel real. David Dastmalchian has been doing excellent work lately in Everyman supporting roles, and it’s wonderful to see him lead this film as the desperate, grasping Delroy, whose façade of bonhomie hides shadowy secrets. Everyone who’s got a fleshed-out character in this film delivers a layered, believable performance; I particularly loved Laura Gordon as the nervously wary Dr. June Ross-Mitchell, Rhys Auteri as Gus, Delroy’s announcer on Night Owls/guy who ain’t loving what’s going on from the jump.

Special shout-out goes to Fayssal Bazzi as maybe-fake psychic “Christou”, who gets much more than the cold readings he’d expected. I wish this character had had more screen time; Bazzi’s ability to shift from collected to shameful to horrifically affected by what’s happening around him is excellent. I really wanted this character to interact with Lilly. DAMMIT… Speaking of Lilly, Ingrid Torelli does one hell of a job portraying the confused and haunted (literally and figuratively) Lilly. She’s at once sweet, and terrifying, as Lilly constantly struggles with what’s going on within her. It’s an amazing performance. This is Torelli’s first feature film appearance according to IMDb, and if this is how she’s starting out? I can’t wait to see more from her.

Besides the performances, the whole look of the film is pure 70s wonderfulness. The use of filters to create the “you’re watching a TV show master tape” look is done exceedingly well, and the art direction is top-notch. I seriously question the “need” for the film’s AI moments – the images that are used as intros and outros to the “live show” – as it’s obvious the artists here are more than talented enough to have come up with stuff even better than what was ultimately used. Yeah yeah, “Night Owls” is supposed to be filmed in a nowheresville television studio, with pennies for sets and such. But c’mon. AI wasn’t necessary, and I’ll just stop talking about that right now.

Oh, more thumbs-up stuff? The idea itself of a talk show having a possessed guest definitely breathes life into the found-footage subgenre. Every time I think this type of film has been drained of all life? Somebody’s wonderful brain comes up with a brand new spin. use of color and black-and-white film to differentiate between the live show and the backstage/commercial breaks goings-on is a nice touch. So are the split-screens that had me harking back to Woodstock, Carrie, and other films that used that device back in the day. And while not a part of the runtime, I adored the way this film’s trailers did that 80s slasher narration and design. Chef’s kiss, y’all.

Then there’s the climax and falling action; Devil‘s climax is absolutely spectacular, awesome, and worth the price of admission alone. Y’all know exactly what kind of thing is gonna happen, but it’s a blast to see how “the show” goes off the rails so completely and totally. But the strange falling action – the bit between the climax and that last shot? Once the credits started rolling, I understood what they were trying to do…but it was done poorly. Nutshell? It’s like the film begins and ends with a messy montage that could have been done better if they’d had someone either cut down these montages, or added in some shots that blended these scenes into the overall story a bit better. I don’t know how best to do it; I’m a gal who blasts shit. I don’t have the talent to actually create shit. (Insert toilet humor joke here.)

I do know that the trippy moments between Devil‘s incredible climax and the expected-but-still-effective final shot? Well, they felt strangely out of place in what’s otherwise a found footage joint heavily dependent upon realism. Maybe a subtle filter, or slight camera tilt/off-focus touch could have kept the live-vs-maybe not life feel without ruining the “surprise” everyone was waiting for. Thank you, film school! See, college was useful, DAD.

#Protip: As Devil focuses on the “broadcast tapes” of Night Owls’ live show? I think that this film is best experienced at home, on your own television set, once it hits Shudder next month. It’d lend a touch of realism to the proceedings, that the multiplex overwhelms the creepy happenings a bit. But that’s just me though.