Late Night With The Devil (2024)-- Ending Explained with spoilers

 

Plot: Desperate for ratings, Jack Delroy plans a live show on Halloween that takes a horrifying turn.

Even before you heard of the movie, you probably heard about the positive reviews.

Stephen King certainly had good things to say about this movie when he was sent a screener. For some time at least, the movie had garnered 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Even now, the movie has almost 200 reviews and stands at 97%.

So is LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL worth all the hype?

Yes it is.

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL is innovative horror at its best. In blends nostalgia well into the story so that you will find yourself hooked from the very start.

Of course this only works if you have watched enough late night talk shows. Only then will you appreciate David Dastmalchian's Jack Delroy.

You will find yourself believing that you are watching a late night talk show called Night Owls and find Jack Delroy completely relatable. He makes a remarkable host and before you know it, you are rooting for the show to work out for him and for Jack Delroy to make the perfect comeback.

And then the finale happens and it completely takes you by surprise. In fact, you may just be horrified.

But again, all this works only if you have watched enough talk shows to actually get caught up in the momentum of it.

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL Plot

It is the 1970s and the world is facing a turbulent time. Luckily the world is distracted from all this thanks to the efforts of the entertainers, mainly the late night talk show hosts.

One of them is Jack Delroy. His show Night Owls manages to give tough competition to Johnny Carson's show because of his choice of odd guests and entertaining skits.

Jack Delroy manages to pull in audiences every night and rise up the ratings chart.

However, in 1976 Jack's beloved wife Madeleine passes away due to lung cancer. Jack had invited Madeleine to his show too and she professes her love for her husband.

Jack is naturally devastated when his wife passes away and goes into hiding. However, a year later, he makes a comeback and is pressurised into planning a show to increase his ratings. But it is a tough path for him and he is often mocked by his guests.

Then in 1977, on Halloween, Jack Delroy plans an exciting show.

The narrator ends his narration here and informs us of some never seen footage from behind the scenes.

It was the show that shocked the nation.

We then see the opening of the talk show and meet Jack Delroy, his partner Gus and producer Leo.

Jack gives a heartwarming introduction, thanking the audience for their support during his difficult time. He also makes a joke and the show begins with the first guest, a psychic named Christou.

He tries to enrapture the audience by telling them that someone with the letter P is trying to contact one of them. He fails on his first attempt and his almost humiliated but Jack gives him another chance.

He approaches a mother and daughter and tells them about their late son and brother who is trying to contact them and tell them it wasn't their fault and that he is ready to move on.

Christou manages to gain some respect after that. Right before Jack is about to cut to commercial, Christous seems to get another contact. He asks the audience members if they know anyone called Minnie.

Behind the stage, Jack is perplexed and tells Leo that he used to call Madeleine, Minnie but that no one knew about it. Leo dismisses his concerns and tells him to focus on the show.

Next up is Carmichael who is pompous and annoying. Jack doesn't like him much and isn't impressed with his magic tricks. Carmichael tries to get under Christou's skin by mocking his talents.

The two begin to fight and Jack tries to take Christou's side. Christou starts to feel sick all of a sudden and keeps saying that something evil is present here. When Carmichael makes a snarky remark, Christou pukes black slime all over him, ruining his jacket.

Christou is taken to the hospital while Jack cuts to commercial. While he is dealing with all this, his next guest June is trying to get him to talk but he isn't able to give her time.

Eventually when he does speak to her, June voices her concerns of being in the show but Jack pacifies her. You can see the spark between them and it seems obvious something may be going on between them.

When the show returns, Jack introduces June who is a parapsychologist who is also a guardian to Lilly who was the sole survivor of a Satanic Church mass suicide.

Lilly is polite and seems all together. During the break, June tells Jack how she isn't certain about putting Lilly through a trance and that she kept saying his name last night.

Jack assures her by saying Lilly was probably excited and it would help him if she brings the demon that is possessing Lilly, out in front of the whole world.

Lilly calls the "demon" inside her Mr Wriggles because he wriggles inside her brain and makes her say and do things.

After the break, a reluctant June straps Lilly to a chair and puts her under hypnosis. Lilly suddenly transforms. Her silky hair becomes weirdly sweaty. Her skin cracks and her voice becomes hoarse.

She turns to Jack and directly addresses him, referring to their earlier meeting near the tall trees.

Jack is horrified and then embarrassed when Lilly remarks how June cannot stop saying how handsome Jack is, implying that they are having an affair.

In the next moment, electricity surges and Lilly's chair levitates. June tries to bring her back but Lilly remains in her demonic state. Finally, June pulls out a rock pendant thing that she says is the only thing that works on Lilly. It finally works and she is back to normal.

Cut to break and Jack goes over to Lilly to soothe her as she tries to understand what happened to her. For some reason the straps on her chair don't open and they have to use the dagger June brought with her to cut through.

During the break Jack learns that Christou died on the way to the hospital. Jack doesn't want Carmichael to find out because he might create additional drama.

Gus warns Jack not to play around with devil stuff but Jack doesn't listen.

Frustrated, Gus reveals to Carmichael that Christou has passed away. Carmichael decides to use it to his advantage.

After the break, Carmichael calls June's attempt to bring forth the demon inside Lilly, hogwash. He promises to debunk her in one minute.  Carmichael had previously also set a bet on whoever proves him wrong, and turns out to be genuine, will receive a generous amount from him.

He calls Gus and hypnotizes him. Gus doesn't think it has worked on him but reacts to whatever Carmichael suggests. Even to the point of ripping out his stomach so that the worms can escape his body. Gus has a fear of worms and so sees worms crawling all over his insides.

Carmichael brings him out of the hypnotism and we see that Gus is completely normal. While everyone else present saw worms squirming out of Gus, Lilly keeps asking June what is going on.

Clearly, the hypnotism did not work on her. Only June has the power to put her under.

Carmichael makes Jack rewind the tapes to show the power of hypnotism.

Lilly asks Jack to rewind the tape with her segment as well. Jack sees the same thing but is shocked when he catches a glimpse of his wife standing right behind him.

LATE NIGHT SHOW WITH THE DEVIL Ending Explained with Spoilers

While Jack is shocked to find his wife, Lilly suddenly becomes demonic again. June tries to get her under control by using her necklace but she is pulled up into air by it.

Gus tries to play hero by showing his cross and screaming that the power of Christ compels her. Lilly twists his neck around.

Carmichael is in terror when he sees Lilly's head split in two and flames coming out of it. He pulls out his cheque and offers it to her but is burned alive.

June tries once again to control Lilly by her necklace is pulled and her throat is slit.

Everyone else present in the set is killed while the audience members panic.

Jack keeps being pushed from one scene to another. He keeps jumping back into previous episodes and screams for help. In one instance, he even begs the viewers to switch off their TV.

He is then brought to a large hall where we see the same cult leader that Lilly was under too. Behind him is the costumed audience members. The scene shows that Jack had made a deal with the devil which is why he is now after him to collect his end of the deal.

Jack had fame and in return he had apparently given his wife's life.

In the next scene, Madeiline calls him to her bedside. She is sick and in dire pain. Jack expresses his remorse but Madeiline pleads with him to put her out of her misery.

Jack picks up the dagger and tearfully stabs her. Suddenly he finds himself back on set.

He has stabbed Lilly instead.

Around him there are bodies and blood. Police sirens are heard behind him.

He keeps muttering Dreamers. Stay. Awake.

The footage cuts to End Transmission but changes to So it is done.

The movie ends.

Apparently the deal was completed with Jack getting success after giving up his wife. But did he really achieve success?

Didn't he face a downfall after Madeiline passed away?

The demon remembered and mocked Jack but it actually never did keep its end of the deal and practically destroyed Jack's career.

Clearly he is going to be accused of killing the people in his set. He certainly did stab Lilly and that is caught on camera.

Just goes to show that you must never make deals with demons. They never properly keep their end of the deal. Jack never managed to beat Carson in ratings and lost his wife in the process.

Better to stay away from cults, folks.

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