There's a competition between rival TV stations to outdo
each other with shock and controversy. A lot that is apparently an accident or
gaffe is secretly a part of the plan, for example see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2022/03/that-slap.html.
However, this can sometimes lead to a genuine catastrophe. Late Night with the Devil is a very unusual horror film that tells the story of a fictional massacre in the studio of a late night TV variety show
in 1977. It is a "found broadcast tape" story, so to speak; an
adaptation of the found footage horror genre. The presenter of the programme is
a suave and professional individual called Jack Delroy who wisecracks
confidently on screen, but deep down he is plagued by insecurity. He is locked
in a bitter battle for ratings with a rival show that airs concurrently on
another channel and his beloved wife falls ill; eventually she dies. In a
desperate attempt to restore his television prominence as well as his personal self-esteem,
Jack broadcasts a Halloween special in which he plans to shock the nation and
upstage his adversary forever by conjuring up real supernatural phenomena. The results are cataclysmic and
terrifying. One of the characters is a skeptic and is very closely based on
James Randi. There is some humour at the end of the film where he tries to hand
over his famous cheque, something he thought he would never do. There is also a
powerful hint that Jack is more aware than he seems to be of the occult. He is
a member of Bohemian Grove and is dating a parapsychologist who is
rehabilitating a young girl who was a slave of a satanic cult. The cult leader
is a man who looks and acts very like Anton LaVey. This is probably quite a low
budget film. The cast are all B and C-list and it was an independent production
based in three countries, but technically it is very slick. The acting is good and
the script is cleverly polished. The style and atmosphere of 70's light entertainment TV is very well reconstructed. The result is surely the most original horror
film for many years. It's a strange combination of Network, The Exorcist and
Ghostwatch. It is pretty horrific
though and therefore definitely not for the fainthearted. It is currently
streaming on most major platforms for a few pounds rental.
See here for background: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2020/05/network.html.
And: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2022/11/ghostwatch-30-livestream.html.
And: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2021/08/skeptics-portal.html.
See here for background: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2020/05/network.html.
And: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2022/11/ghostwatch-30-livestream.html.
And: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2021/08/skeptics-portal.html.
2 comments:
Hi Ben. First of all, correction: main character - TV newscaster - is being played here by new Hollywood A lister, David Dastmalchian. Guy has appeared recently in "Dune part 1", "Oppenheimer" and "Suicide Squad", so definitely big-budget, epic productions. Apart from this, imho premise of this movie was known to experienced horror movie fans looong before final conclusion. And i felt that they have thrown too many scares and shocks in it for good measure, towards the end i felt it was just bit preposterous. Unlike many good "satanic possession" flicks from 70's (there was more than just "Exorcist" alone) or even some "satanic panic" horrors from the 80's (which were rather daft and funny for their sake). It just could have been executed differently, leaving viewer guessing until the end. Still, a decent one.
Hi Bro Po. I had not seen him before, but then I perhaps do not watch enough mainstream movies. I'm glad you thought it was decent, although you clearly did not enjoy it as much as I did. I love it's originality and style. I do watch some horror films although not all the time, so I did find it really scary.
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