You're 100% correct with the commercial break idea, it would have made it work so much better as a found-footage film. Then they could have put up the behind the scenes moments as either clips in the credits or as featurettes to see 'what happened when the cameras weren't rolling'

I kinda disagree with the commercial idea because the film was parodying the illuminati confirmed type of conspiracy videos that evangelicals were producing in the 80s and 90s. Those types of videos never left in advertisements and only focussed on the subject at hand. I did agree with your poing on the black and white segments but it did not keep me from enjoying the movie

very fun video! Fake ads are so great: so many chances to add in information that is meta, or refers to bigger themes, or adds to the period piece element

banger!! thanks FD Signifier

I’m only 2 minutes in and just had the most visceral memory of everyone in my middle school fully believing with their entire hearts that the Blair Witch Project was real (it had just come out that summer).

I disagree, I thought the black and white segments actually added to the overall film! You mentioned it broke the “found footage” aspect right, but I think I can see a way it works. In the opening, it is framed as a documentary of the found footage, but it is also mentioned that this found footage was collected in addition to the behind the scenes footage. In a lot of late night TV shows, there sometimes were cameras that would film/go up close with those behind the scenes. Generally kind of filming everything, and obviously this couldn’t later be edited for a behind the scenes cut because well everyone died and I assume soon after fell into possession of law enforcement. So I think it makes sense that a universe could have a documentary years after this incident, take both the live footage, and also the pieces of behind the scenes footage that would have otherwise probably have been sold separately. Also without the behind the scenes segments, the tension would not have built nearly as well as if it had just cut to commercial. For example, the black and white footage really drops the mask during those periods to show the chaos these performers go through, the dialogue in their head has a moment to pour out without the filter that performers have to use in front of an audience. We learned new information each time there was a cut: the rumor of Christu dying which amped up the fear of the unknown, another example is right before returning to air in one section, Lily asked a panicked Jack if he is alright (right after it finally dawned on him that Minny is somehow connected to Lily), this build up of tension, racing thoughts, and setting the stakes would not have seemed to been possible without this backstage element. Maybe I’m wrong but just my opinion. I liked yourinterpretation thought and I think you were right about everything else.

I had seen trailers for this movie several times, and only just now learned that it’s a found-footage movie.

I never thought about the ad breaks, but had another issue with the ending not matching the opening. The way it opened with the narration and exposition dump, set it up as this weird documentary that was showing both the show and the behind the scenes that happened in commercial breaks and it felt totally ignored in the end. I’m guessing this was a pacing and/or we went weird at the end and abandoned that framing thing, but it felt like a failure to commit to that setup and my only real gripe with the movie.

Interesting video essay. :) I haven't seen Late night with the Devil but your description of it reminds me a lot of BBC's Ghostwatch. I wouldn't be surprised if it was inspired by that program.

I think the switching between found footage and ... something else ...can definitely really break the immersion. I watched The Moor last year and it's almost the opposite - more traditionally filmed with Found Footage added in. I felt (like you said for Late Night with the Devil) that the filmmakers also didn't have faith in their ability to tell the story in the original format, but the found footage elements in The Moor felt awkwardly shoe-horned in and took away from the larger message of the film. It was like they felt they needed to make it scarier and didn't know how.

A great discussion about the nature of found footage horror in general, but I have to disagree with your read on Late Night With The Devil in particular. The breaking down of the framework, of ultimately all frameworks through which we form meaning around things beyond our understanding (the supernatural, the inner lives of celebrities or others' intimate relationships, the fiction of the screen) is the central theme of the film. As events continue to get more and more strange, the central figures (the psychic, the skeptic, the doctor, and the core crew members) become more and more insistent on viewing things through their own framework (science, psycho-spirituality, christianity, viewership numbers, and so on) only to ultimately have that framework stretched beyond what it can contain. The behind-the-scenes segments absolutely break the illusion, but much less so than the later scenes involving mass hypnotism, which in turn break the found-footage framing less so than the protagonist's final, purely subjective experiences at the film's end. Each stretches the framework a little bit more, so that the next successive challenge against it can push even further still, without ever fully breaking it. By the end, we no longer have any context for what's "in the footage" and what isn't, which actually serves to preserve the core unknowability that the film is speaking to. It isn't attempting to ask simply "what's real and what isn't?" but whether or not we can ever truly trust an answer to that question, even when it comes from ourselves. It's asking if it's even possible for us to know ourselves outside of the frameworks and appearances that we construct, and how much of ourselves are dependent on the perceptions of ourselves that we believe others to hold. Every major character, from the psychic to the girl to the host himself, are actively trying to prove that their conceptions of themselves are real, with their own sense of success or failure pinned entirely upon the audience of the broadcast, and in turn the real audience of the film itself. Rather than failing to maintain the framework of found footage, I think it very cleverly, and intentionally, breaks it in a new and intriguing way. The actual supernatural elements are, frankly, pretty tired, as are most of the character tropes included. What makes them all fresh and interesting is the unique way in which the genre is being played with. The inclusion of AI is frustrating though, and has stopped me from recommending it to others, despite how much I enjoyed it.

This sounds like Ghostwatch with extra steps. I watched that movie on Halloween night all alone with my phone, laptop and TV remote hidden away in a cupboard. Without any ability to look up the Wikipedia page or pause the movie it really felt like I was there on that fateful evening in 1992. Because it's a British production it just had to be about a cross dressing serial killer, but put that to one side and it's one of the most magical experiences I've had in film. It was a huge scandal in England, too causing a moral panic and getting it's production crew fired because it was that convincing. The problem being that most viewers missed the initial warning telling them it was fake, and the phone line the program repeatedly refers to broke down about 5 minutes into the original broadcast. Meaning everyone who would have received a prerecorded message telling them they were pranked got a dial tone instead. Not only did ofcom change their broadcast standards to ensure nothing like it could happen again, but the BBC has never rebroadcast it and simply refused to release the film on video until 2005, meaning it was only viewable via amateur recording.

Going to the backstage footage made me think that they treated this more like a horror version of the Larry Sanders Show than an actual found footage movie. It felt very similar to that show

your blazer game is so fire. i need to step it up.

Huh, I don’t agree, primarily because I think the commercial breaks would be hard to pull off over and over again without a lot of finesse, and may have radically changed the pace of the film. Like you said, I don’t watch found footage for realism. I’m not taken out of the film if they go backstage, I don’t need the way they are capturing the footage explained. A lot of the meat of the film was explained in those backstage moments so removing them makes a completely different film.

I like your video essays. Not overblown, not pretentious, well written and interesting material. Thanks for sharing!!

Great video and fantastic editing here!

just wanted to say that i love the commitment to the 3:4 format in this vid

One of the behind the scenes camera perspectives appears to be shot from behind a rack of clothing or some other material one could hide behind. I immediately took that as an indication that there would be some sort of phantom-esque stalker, but I guess not. Overall I did enjoy it a lot, but it's definitely a good movie that could've been great. The AI interstitial didn't even last long enough for me to notice anything odd about the picture. If they had just paid a human to make the design, I'd be buying it on a shirt at hot topic. I love that art style, and it's a shame they didn't care enough about it to make it feel authentic.

It’s not supposed to be found footage. It’s supposed to be Ghostwatch which was a real show broadcast on UK tv in the 90s.

I don’t know, in a weird way, I don’t think of this movie as actual “found footage “. It’s just supposed to be viewing a repeat of a live talk show, that was originally broadcast live, to home viewers. So technically it’s not lost footage that was lost or recorded by an amateur. The glitches you see occurring doesn’t appear to be known, until the video/tape is run back. Also, why would there be actual commercials? Ads would have been edited out.

I only disagree about the notion of found footage movies not being "good" I mean, I agree that horror fans are more forgiving towards garbage then.... literally anybody else, really, but I think this also means that horror is open to a kind of experimentation to a level that other genre films don't And found footage allows filmakers play with ways to tell a narrative that are just very inventive and entertaining I think other reason I love movies like that so much is because of how they kinda stuck me in a particular point of view Like, I'm stuck with the kids from The Blair Witch Project, or with those monstruous soldiers in redacted, is a very unique feeling of empathy/vouyerism that other movies rarely give me Like, I feel like I'm investigating the Tarsus Club with the main characters of Conspiracy, so when the characters start to few threaten, I have the raw feeling that I'm being as well Is the reason I find movies like that so special, or at least those that I actually like By the way! Amazing video! And sorry for the rant! Your work is excellent!

I was disappointed by this movie for all the same reasons you were. I'm surprised this didn't have commercials like the WNUF Halloween Special. Although I wasn't a fan of WNUF honestly. Also I appreciate your clever observation about the whole losing control aspect of most found footage.

I feel that, more than with any other subgenre of horror, found footage relies on commitment. the director, actors, camera operators, everyone- must be entirely dedicated to the illusion. In Late Night With The Devil's case, I would argue that the AI art is the only seriously immersion-breaking element. Every other element is technically proficient. I don't think it would work with commercials. Not only are the core themes of the movie unrelated to ads, but the interstitials serve to present the differences between how the show is displayed to the viewing audience and the problems Delroy is facing in his personal life. In addition, these interstitials are completely plausible, because taking B-roll during commercial breaks was and still is a common practice for talk shows, and the B-roll would be included in any archived copy of a given talk show. This is a pretty good analysis, though, and I like hearing about found footage as much as possible, even if I feel Late Night With the Devil is a disappointing entry in the subgenre overall.

Wow. Very insightful commentary. Well done. 👍

I agree with you completely about that backstage scene. Without watching the film, it feels "entire film ruining." Now, the commercial break thing, it definitely depends on how it's presented. Is the fiction of those found film that someone found a VHS that an average home user/customer/viewer recorded on their own, or did some studio employee stumble upon the master archives of and old talk show? In the latter case, the commercial wouldn't have been on the master tapes. Of course, there's also the clear and blatant issue that the footage from each camera was cut together, but it could be argued that the editing was done by the makers of the "meta film." Oh no. I'm thinking too hard about this. And I think that's a bad sign, right? If a found footage film has you questioning logistics, then you just aren't into it like you should be.

"love and forgiveness" is exactly my relationship to the entire fantasy genre. Thanks for helping me put a finger on that lmao. omg jumpscared by "my friend Sam" while typing this

so basically you want a WNUF Halloween special approach

This was so refreshing. Love your POV and honest criticism, subbed!

It's kind of funny but I didn't even realize it was found footage. I mean, there was a part where someone grabs the camera and sticks their face in it so it should of been obvious... Maybe because it's suppose to be a live TV show the format doesn't really feel like "found" footage. I agree that commercials should of been in there because the perspective seemed to be more about being a watcher at home watching this on your TV. Why would we be privy to what happens backstage?

Maybe they should have shown the b/w segments at the end to tie things up.

I find it interesting that the backstage parts are discussed so heavily and yet the entire scene with Jack and his wife is not mentioned at all. i feel like the two are inextricably linked. i actually think the immersion breaking of the backstage aspects prepares the viewer for entering directly into Jack's delusional perspective at the end. Without the backstage parts, that jump would have been even more jarring than it already was. When considering the nature of the film's 'found footage-ness' not being 'real' because of the backstage portions, i would argue that being able to see Jack's delusions (and not whats actually occurring on stage) calls the 'realness' of the entire film into question, and is done intentionally. i dont necessarily see this as the directors using an 'ill-fitting narrative framework' for a story that doesnt fit it, but rather intentionally distorting a framework by undermining the viewer's expectations of it

Oooo can't wait to watch this video after I see the movie

I appreciated this criticism. I'm not sure if i agree completely, mainly in that I didn't feel like that loose commitment to the framing device really harmed the story. I think for me the thing that kept me in the story was the fact that even with the backstage segments outside the frame, we're still watching the story unfold in real time. Seeing the story happen without any real interruption felt like a really cool thing about this movie. That said, you are absolutely right that these choices do prevent the movie from really being able to interrogate the questions that found footage is so well equipped for.

Dude my biggest fear in life is the zombie apocalypse. The only thing that got me over it was subjecting myself to deep study via The Walking Dead. I understand that zombies are not a real thing. But even still. I mean if the dead rise we are all absolutely screwed. So you see…it’s a perfectly rational fear.

Also syfi . A sifi ⭐⭐ is a go for me 😂

I love found footage and will have to check this one out. You’re also making me want to rewatch Cannibal Holocaust which I don’t think is actually a good idea lol

Great essay! I had the same issue with the film. Breaking diegesis, subverting verisimilitude, violating the form, whatever you want to call it. The film technically gets away with this by way of its prologue where this is all framed as a doc-style presentation of the “Night Owls” Halloween broadcast, but this is dropped immediately after the opening and it seems obvious to me that A) it doesn’t fit the paranormal, “subjective” camerawork late in the film and B) was likely added in post to help contextualize the story of “Light Night.” (And, as an aside, I believe this is why the BTS segments were scripted and filmed; the directors feared undercommunicating to the audience.) It’s a shame because the film would’ve benefited from some subtlety, some ambiguity. That’s part of the form it half-heartedly replicates. Ultimately, I think “Late Night” is half of a good movie patched up with formal duct tape and Elmer’s glue. Not that those disparate elements are *bad* but they are *disparate*.

Ghostwatch meets WNUF Halloween Special.

I enjoyed the movie for the most part, but when the first commercial segment started up, I did go “Oh! oh. there’s no way this could be diegetic” and then spent every commercial segment thinking if there was any way it could be diegetic. So I guess you could say it took me out, but also that’s just kind of a fun scenario for me to think about, as a found footage fanatic. I’ll watch any found footage movie, no matter how bad it is. I’ve watched The Pyramid. I don’t like the use of AI and I’m a little disappointed by it, but I think a lot of people are overblowing the issue. The top reviews on Letterboxd are filled with 0 stars because of the AI issue and it feels like an overreaction for a small usage in an indie movie that was produced a couple of years ago. If the creators kept using AI art for future projects, I’d definitely be way less interested.

I understand the vision you had of the movie and why it didn't meet your expectations, but I'm not sure it's really a found footage film. It seems to have more in common with giallo horror because of the focus on the character of Jack in the context of evil being real. The reference to the live show has more to do with the contrast of Jack being relatively ordinary but wanting fame and the choices that he makes to get something that might not have been really earned have real consequences.

I feel like this might have been inspired by the 1992 British film Ghostwatch. I recommend it if you can find it!

Master Tapes or kinescopes or whatever don’t really ever include the commercials. Especially in the context of it being a presentation of that master tape, why would it include commercials? They aren’t recording what’s going out on the air. If it was taped live (very unlikely in 1977) by someone at home, then it would make more sense, but not in the context of using a tape the people making the show was using. But the movie doesn’t necessarily need to be so rigid like that, and the commercials might serve to be pretty cool. Some of the direct references to real life stuff took me out of the movie. But I enjoyed it just fine. I think you did a good job breaking it down.

Nothing to say, but I am engaging

If yall haven't seen Spree. You should. Excellent found footage comdey horror. Loved it!

They coulda made something fun for the ads & interstitials a la Cheddar Goblin from Mandy, but they chose AI garbage. This will never cease to disappoint me.

Spoilers ahead: I could be wrong here, but I think viewing this strictly as found footage misses the mark a bit? I went in with the assumption that it was found footage, but by the end I figured it was meant to be a subversion of that. Like the documentary reel at the beginning, or the aspect ratio change and shift to digital cameras. You address in the video that the tape may be influenced by an external power, but I don't read the film as actually being a lost tape at all. I think we experience the end result of Delroy's faustian bargain at the same time he experiences it, the medium of the tape and documentary being a cruel joke on part of the demon. What we actually see is some magical/demonic warping of reality which Delroy is forced to experience and we witness as it unfolds. The behind the scenes shots are jarring as you watch the film but on this realisation I actually have come to like them in hindsight. This is a wholly subjective criticism lol but yeah I just don't think it's a straightforward found footage

I LOVE the movie!🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Correction: Jonestown didn't occur until a year after the movie is set, and Heaven's Gate was 20 years later.

proud to be the 666th view of such a great video

Doofy trying to be a movie critic.😅

God I would love fake commercicals in a movie like this! I understand a lot of people would find them immersion-breaking but you could probably get away with short snippets during ad breaks, as if someone paused and un-paused their VCR recording during a live broadcast. Maybe even cut back to the show mid-sentence if they had particularly bad timing lol. Seeing only the beginning of a bizarre commercial would be so great.

Omg this was always my big issue with the Batman the Animated Series episode Heart of Ice. It’s like the most popular episode and it has earned its praise by pushing emotional boundaries of animation/comic adaptations blah blah and so on But also there is like a 2 minute found footage sequence that is so dumb. Lol and it takes me out of the whole thing just a little bit!!

Your idea about including fake commercials for artistic reasons reminded me of this fantastic song: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y82AqKti3su-YGw.html The artists took a survey of what people most hated to hear and combined them all into "the most unwanted song." It's very 90s but also timeless, and I think it's just a masterpiece (but also a grower... I certainly didn't like it on my first listen). It's also over 20 minutes long and includes annoying commercials for Wal-Mart! Now I have to go listen again, so there's the rest of my day... Anyway, fantastic video as always! What a shame about the AI art. I feel like there is so much discourse about it online, but irl most people are neutral or positive about it. That's been my experience with meeting up with other artists, getting commissions, and visiting indie galleries. It's a bummer.

I'm disappointed this isn't about a talk show hosted by Satan. This remind me of French youtuber Durendal review of episode 50 a very low budget/low quality found footage movie, since he is from filmmaking crew background, the incoherence in the found footage presentation drive him nuts.

I was kinda disappointed watching this movie. I also wish they committed to the periodic limitations of the 70's, even going far enough to use cameras only from that period, or, doing something like the SkyCorp Home Video KZfaq channel. That channel has that 80's-90's retro video recordings all the way on lock. If y'all ain't seen the awesome periodic videos that SkyCorps makes, then I can't recommend them enough. Even the audio of their videos sound hecka dated. Late Night with the Devil was a solid 6 for me, didn't find it scary and the acting was so theatrical a lot of the times, that I didn't know when I should have been laughing, or "scared".

Ur a she or a he?