Is ‘Late Night With the Devil’ Based on a True Story?

This is a good weekend in horror genre, with Late Night With the Devil and Immaculate hitting the screens. The former has been generating considerable hype in the last few weeks due to its unique subject matter, and fans on social media are curious if the film is based on true events or not.

Well, despite coming across as a movie based on real events due to its trailer, Late Night with the Devil is actually a work of fiction. The trailer alludes to the movie being inspired by events that occurred during Halloween 1977, but it’s part of the plot conceived by Australian director duo Cameron and Colin Cairnes. It is a found footage horror film, which ends up giving the movie a realistic feel despite being fictional. Some other notable films to have used this cinematic technique are Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project, and Host.

What is Late Night with the Devil about?

The film draws inspiration from Horror classics like The Exorcist and loosely borrows elements from ’70s Australian talk show The Don Lane Show. David Dastmalchian (Dune, Prisoners) stars as Jack Delroy, host of a fictional talk show called Night Owls With Jack Delroy. Laura Gordon, Ingrid Torelli, and Ian Bliss have supporting acts in the film. Gordon plays the role of a parapsychologist, while Torelli stars as Lilly, a young girl. The plot of Late Night with the Devil revolves around Delroy’s attempts to reinvigorate the show’s tumbling ratings, and how it uncorks unforeseen horrific events involving Lilly.

Late Night With the Devil premiered at the South by Southwest film festival a year ago, followed by an early screening for iconic horror writer Stephen King. The movie got King’s stamp of approval, and later, IFC Films and Shudder acquired the distribution rights for North America, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

The horror flick releases on March 22, 2024, in what is expected to be a limited theatrical release. Fans can also catch the movie on Shudder from April 19, 2024 onwards.

(featured image: IFC Films)

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Evan Tiwari

Evan is a staff writer at The Mary Sue, contributing to multiple sections, including but not limited to movies, TV shows, gaming, and music. He brings in more than five years of experience in the content and media industry, both as a manager and a writer. Outside his working hours, you can either catch him at a soccer game or dish out hot takes on his Twitter account.