Love how the one skeptic on the shows panel was a parody of The Amazing Randy

I love to see David Dastmalchian in a starring horror role like this. He's been such an underrated actor for decades and he deserves the spotlight. Always a memorable performance from him.

If you like this, may I suggest an obscure old BBC Halloween special called "Ghostwatch". It is set in the UK in nearly the same era as this movie and is framed as real paranormal investigation show that goes horribly wrong. It even used real BBC snews commentators and presenters for versimilitude and was so effective it created a War of the Worlds style panic across the country as people thought it was real. Due to the legal fallout of the resulting panic, the show never got a proper release but if you hunt around on-line, you should be able to find it. P.S. if you watch it, always look in the background.

I really liked it, especially the end part where the demon is let loose. Her head splitting open to reveal, something cool, is what I would think a fallen angel might look like.

David Dastmalchian was born for this role. This is what I’d consider a career defining performance. However, I was incredibly confused on their choice of "demonic entity". If they'd done a little research they'd have found that Ipos wouldve made much more sense than Abraxas.

everyone in the comments is saying that it wasn’t really horror but i was already shaking in my boots the first minute 😭 i just can’t watch these kind of movies..such a scaredy cat 🫠

KZfaq recommended this video out of the blue. Your first few sentences encouraged me to pause and go find it. David Dastmalchian being the star sealed the deal, I had to see it. Now I'm back and really enjoyed your video essay on it. The only thing I don't think you touched on was Lilly saying she knows Jack from the tall trees (the Grove). There were hints earlier that the Abraxus cult were charged with kidnappings. I did wonder if Lilly was part of the Grove's creepy gatherings, facilitated by the cult's human trafficking services, and that her inner demon remembers what she's blocked out. Those are the dark places my mind went anyway. It might have just been the demon saying he knows Jack was at the Grove gatherings. You watched 3 times? Does Lilly in her human form also mention Jack in the tall trees?

I loved how it switched from "found footage" to " movie footage" in between breaks. Im assuming these black and white sections are not part of the docu as the video quality is way too modern for that. Love how it shows the neglect of the guests and the situation they gradually put themselves in as they progress the show. Even my gf loved this movie despite the fact that the generally only likes the more gory horror movies. Really well done movie and I can't wait to see what these guys do next

THANKS FOR CALLING OUT DR. PHIL

I think you could have also talked about how woman seem to play a part in this movie; its a MENS only club, he killed his wife, the person he exploits in the show is a young girl! my personal take on this is that the movie is probably pointing out the fact that powerful men exploit woman and girls frequently and why that is.

Came back a week later, had to watch the movie first. Great video covering this film, glad it popped up on my feed. Fantastic movie too! David Dastmalchian is becoming one of my favorite actors and this is another excellent performance from him.

Like others in this comment section, KZfaq randomly recommended me this video essay and i had to pause it and go see the film before continuing this vid. Well I'm back and I am glad that i got to watch this one stille in theaters. Most interesting and fun to watch horror film I have seen since hereditary. Thanks YT gods for the random recommendation

Solid job. Subscriber earned. You are very articulate with your words and I find your view on American television in the 70’s to be quite entertaining. It’s obvious you have a great passion for films and I hope you continue to make good content!

I watched this movie and it literally left me creeped out for days. Definitely one of the best horror movies in awhile

I normally don't just subscribe to a channel unless I've watched multiple videos and have plans to watch more...but you did such a great job here I'm absolutely subscribing!!! Well done

“Oh my gosh, Politicians are just actors and capitalist corporations and consumer brands rule everything, I hate modern day America so much!!!😩😩😩” America in the 1970’s:

The term "video essay" popped into my head about halfway through, can't believe this is your first attempt at one!

The movie felt unique in a way to where it set the standard for its own category. It also reminded me of some aspects of the Conjuring franchise like the interview and presentation moments shown.

This was an amazing breakdown and for it being your first amazing job! I’ll definitely be watching more!

I think it had a cool premise, but ultimately did nothing new, and didn’t use any older concepts effectively. The set up was better than the pay off.

For your first video essay, this was really well done! You've convinced me to add this one to my movie list.

the black and white scenes are to mimic 35mm cameras used back stage i think, considering in the opening of the film they say it was bts

Great video keep it up man! I'm definitely going to see this movie tonight, thanks to you.

Those people back in the 70s..if they were so fearful and disgusted of that Exorcist movie, why did they go see it? Is it perhaps that they craved a concentrated shot of those negative emotions?

Yoo the video was super good. Congrats

Excellent video man! I really enjoyed this filo personally, I liked the twists and non-standard approach to a scary movie that it took. And as to your review specifically, I appreciate you speaking about the real world context that enhances the film. I wasn’t born yet to see the release and reception of the Exorcist (and never really watched or considered the cultural inportance of late-night TV) so I would’ve missed that entire layer of the film if you hadn’t put this video together.

I stumbled upon tthis video snd immediately stopped to go and watch the movie, I thank you for that. This movie truly shows that the creators did their homework to a T.

I just watched this. There was just so much stellar work at every level. It's a true delight.

First, I enjoyed your video. If this video is your first time at this format, I would say your future is good. And I’d say your interpretation is not one I’d previously thought of, for a reason that I’ll get into in a moment, but it’s a good one, and I’ll have to see the movie again after I’ve given it a good pause. Spoilers, naturally, will follow. What bothered and distracted me-even though I really enjoyed the movie-about _Late Night With The Devil_ is that it seemingly broke its rule: what we are about to see is the footage interlaced with backstage documentary of the episode. And why wouldn’t Jack Delroy want behind-the-scenes footage of what would likely be his most infamous episode? He seems like that kind of guy. But we get a set piece that seemingly breaks the footage rule. Go ahead and laugh, but I stayed awake for two hours trying to come up with the solution. Then one hit me, and it made the film that much creepier. At one point in the movie, a character is hypnotized with a lot of fanfare, and we see the entire hypnotism set-up before we are treated to a scene with worms, nasty and monstrous, wriggle out of the body of the primary subject in a gross horrifying way. (Tangent: the demon is called “Mr. Wriggles,” by Lilly, and there seems to be a fair amount of phallic imagery, like really big worms, throughout the movie-more details pointing to Jack’s use and abuse of women?) After the tape is rewound to where the subject believes he’s pulling worms from his body and worms start bursting out, we see no worms, just a guy acting like he’s being attacked from the inside by wriggling creeps. It turns out our magician/hypnotist has hypnotized nearly _everyone_ watching. Why we don’t see worms on replay is that we didn’t see the magician’s prep work, or build up, into his act of mass hypnotism. Later, Abraxas manifests itself in the body of the girl. Lots of really bad things happen. But the weirdest and I think, most frightening thing is that we, the viewers, were _hypnotized a second time._ This accounts for the breaking of the footage rule. I think we cease to see view footage (until the end) just before Jack believes he forces his way backstage. I imagine we were hypnotized by Abraxas, but I also wonder if it wasn’t Jack’s psychic scream as he sees the Hell that awaits him. Maybe it’s both. I don’t think it’s ever clear. And having squared that circle in my mind, I feel a bit more satisfied, but I’ll watch the movie again as I think your ritual completion angle has a lot of merit.

Well done video! I had never heard of this show... thanks for sharing! 😊

Well done! I enjoyed this analysis. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the great breakdown of this film. What a unique and thoughtful approach they took with this film.

extremely great and well paced video, man.

This was such a well-done video. It's given me something new to watch too as I'm always on the lookout for great films Keep up the good work my guy :)

this is such a good video dude! I'm definitely going to watch the film now

I love you interpretation of the ending.

Excellent video essay!

Thanks so much for the movie recommendation (I paused to watch it before finishing the video) and the amazing review/interpretation!

Well done. Subscribed.

Excellent content. This channel is going places! Kudos

Really entertaining movie worth a watch, i wish they changed a few details and ways they filmed some of the behind the scenes shots but still a fun movie

Great work. I agree.

Fun flick, but not horror imo, not tense or scary at slightest. But really enjoyed it.

This is an unexpected gem. Not only does found footage general suck these days, but Australian horror too. Australian horror normally has a vibe to it, I think it’s the cinematography. I can look at a horror movie and can generally tell where it was made. Australian horror has a grittiness to it. But this, I would not have been able to tell that it’s Australian nor is it anything like regular found footage films (regardless of the grade). I am a big fan of this movie now.

While people have been bringing up "Ghostwatch" (which is true) it also reminds me just a bit of a movie called "Noroi the Curse" a Japanese film, which has a somewhat similar narrative device, not of being a tv episode, but like a documentary, which also looks very much like an actual documentary from the time. While it is slightly different in style I think you should check it out if you liked this movie. Also great essay and thanks for convincing me to finally check this movie out before finishing the video

Nice video, never heard anything about the movie but definitely gonna give it a watch.

You spoke very well. Easy to listen to.

Enjoyed your essay, and I really enjoyed this film. One I'll enjoy repeat viewings of for many years to come, i think. I knew he was being shown a super dark version of his show at the end, but it never occurred to me that it was Abraxis giving him a quick taste of what Hell would be like after he dies. It's an interesting theory and it makes a lot of sense. But it was pretty clear his soul was damned. I had mostly thought of it as an elaborate trick to get him to sacrifice the girl who got away from fulfilling her role in the cult. I thought that maybe even the intention was to have Jack sacrifice Lily in the end all along because even after his wife died he never got those ratings. So they use that first "sacrifice" as part of the plan to trick him into doing the second one. Crazy devious. Oh btw, I'd call this a mixed medium film. Definitely not pure found footage, which, apparently i like better than you. I thought a couple of the Paranormal Activity sequels were pretty good. 😂

Pretty good video. Thank you.

Amazing work

I wish it messed with my head more. Would have been better as a Twilight Zone short imo. It made me think of an episode of Black Mirror called 'Game Over.'. Gimmick aside, that episode messed with me a lot.

Amazing video make many more please

I dont think anyone captures uneasy anxiety like Mr. Dastmalchian

This movie is so well paced it’s crazy

I really liked 2/3rds of the movie untill it decided to go for a possession storyline, the last sequence really nailed the cursed footage vibe, but i kind of wish we had gotten more of that in the final third of the film instead of the played out posession, a story.

14:20 So when you said they feel real fear.

Excellent presentation. Subbed

6:40 yes this is the point I think I think if Dr Phil plays the part of the doer of good and they play the part of the doer of bad it is on TV.. though it is on TV... I get it buchanowhat?

Love this video, gave me 2 more hands.

Just watched it and thought it was absolutely fantastic 😜 well worth a look 🍀

I love how the guy who ended his career by going after wendigoon said this movie was a “conservative” horror movie.

So good I already watched it twice

Found footage you need to watch if that's your opinion of found footage: Lake Mungo, Hell House LLC, As Above So Below, Deadstream... Can anyone else think of good suggestions? I feel like the genre is easily dismissed but there's some real gems. Also, the constraints tend to produce really original ideas

Does anyone else agree that the flamboyant skeptic was "James Randy"? 😮

18:15 Is bad because skipping the line?

One of the best horror films in years.

Just like them all…starts well…ends rubbish. 6/10

Did … did Jack make a deal with Stolas?

Felt like I was on acid the whole time watching this movie

Reminds me of The Network😊

I agreed with the narrative 💯% congratulations 🎉🎉🎉

I don't know why the devil would punish those who help him. If I were the devil I would give rewards to my underlings.

Ok so I just finished watching it and it was a great flight until it was time to land this thing. When he realized that it was the girl instead of his wife, suggesting it was all in his head, imagine if everyone who was thought to have died, was really alive and staring at him in the end like, "wtf did u do that for dude, everything was going great."

An intriguing and well made movie, and I got not a single trailer for it. I hate what’s happened to advertisement.

I thought it was good. But, not as good as other similar things I've seen. I did enjoy the lo-fi old school look tho.

Sometime reality is stranger than fiction.

7:39 is this an Exorcist reference?

If I'm being honest I loved the idea but the delivery I didn't care for. While it didn't suck as bad as a lot of horror. That doesn't mean it's good.

It’s an incredible movie. It’s unique.

Not to call anyone in the comments out, but how can you talk about suspension of disbelief for a horror movie? Thats like saying fast and the furious had an amazing plot that carried over many movies. You dont watch horror for suspension of D. Just a weird comment.

This movie owned

This was the craziest damn horror movie i think i have ever seen

nice

Why were the camera men filming them during the commercials?

Michael Ironside is in this???

I think a deeper dive into your arguments would have been compelling but this reads like an undergrad presentation.

Excuse my previous comment because it seems that differences in goal or horizon

So are the X-Men just possessed?

17:05 life for me

Well I have watched a lot of people take this movie apart. However I still can’t understand stand what the body count is. I mean really who died. How many died? Who did the killing? If anyone can newer that I would appreciate it. thanks. So he killed one person.

Paused at 1:42 to go watch the movie

Good, vid, algo, boost, plus, plus.

Started pretty good but got more and more ridiculous. By the end I thought it was quite shit indeed.

the movie's great but the fact they used AI art for intermission messages sucks

Was there AI used for some of the footage?

Was disappointing tbh. Just didn't commit to the concept hard enough. There's a segment in V/H/S 85 that does it much better.

Dastmalchian was incredible in this…but I didn’t love the movie.

meh, I didn't care for it. PPl over hyped it for me so I thought I was going into something absolutely AMAZING. also... suddenly EVERYONES favorite actor is david dastmalchian. I tuck and rolled off the hype train.

18:45 I feel only a want of God.

My favorite scene is when skeptic sees a devil and then immediately pledges his alliance xD