THE HORROR FILM CATCH-UP (2024)
The stage was set for a truly magical holiday season when the bad news arrived; a wide release for Robert Egger's retelling of Dracula, the new Nosferatu remake, had been pushed to January. After so much anticipation Christmas had been ruined. Or so it seemed... as luck would have it the previous twelve months had been generous with other gifts. In this particular case I'll be taking a look at three other nightmare visions from film-makers that all bring a very distinct style. The results will of course vary but it's at least a trio that offers variety whether they all manage to stick the landing or not.
Unfortunately I have to get some disappointment out of the way first. Film-making duo the Cairnes siblings advertised a 1970s talk show meets demonic entity in Late Night With the Devil. Which is kind of what the resulting movie delivers... in some ways. The problem is that beyond the fuzzy television studio atmosphere and a lot of the sets and costumes the film has an identity crisis. It it supposed to be a full live broadcast, never before seen, or is it a faux documentary? Phoney 'behind the scenes' sequences, digital effects, and title cards made with generative AI constantly break the proposed reality.
So while it's nice to hear some exposition early on via Michael Ironside's gravelly voice not everything works as smoothly. Which is a shame when this is a refreshing central role for often sidelined character actor David Dastmalchian. Not all of the other performances fit with the central concept, some feeling almost as out of place as the distracting visual elements, but show host Jack Delroy and his side-kick Gus (Rhys Auteri) are perfect as the central pair of tired entertainers. Maybe it's the hair or the awkward comedy but the idea of these guys desperate losing a ratings battle feels authentic amongst all the artifice elsewhere.
It doesn't help that the direction of the story is sign-posted so clearly early on. Jack wants to be number one, is rumoured to have been in an occult society, and recently lost his wife after a mysterious illness. So when the obvious third act reveal ties this all together it's not enough to wrap things up in a satisfying way, and the frequent changes in supposed 'broadcast' medium derail things. It would be better served by being a straightforward narrative instead of trying to trying to keep up the chat show pretence, but that would also lose a lot of the central appeal. In the end it's a mixed bag instead of what was promised.
Onto a rather more creative endeavour, Osgood Perkins's latest horror offering Longlegs is an altogether oppressive and sinister affair. Which is strange to say when the synopsis is right out of a classic X-Files episode. Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) is a rookie FBI agent searching for the eponymous killer (Nicholas Cage). She has some kind of paranormal ability that seems be directing her instincts, while the murderer apparently has the power to make every case seem like a murder-suicide. If it wasn't for a coded letter at each scene his involvement would never be suspected.
It's a strange mixture of plot ingredients, and there are more to come as occult symbols and hand-made dolls arrive, but everything plays out with the same distinct tone. It helps that the visual style is also very slick. Everything from eerie farmhouse interiors to bureau interview rooms are set out with a clear sense of production design. Changes in visual mediums (in this case evoking Super-8 and Polaroid cameras) are consistent here and help tell a story that involves broken memories and diabolic visions. It's a dour and often very dark looking feature but it's always moody and thankfully it keeps the jump scares to a bare minimum.
Of course there are some moments that challenge this downbeat vibe, most of which involve Longlegs and his T. Rex music collection. It would be easy to call this just another wacky Nick Cage performance but the blanched animal-like look of the character and his peculiar voice make it memorable... and disturbing. It also helps that his appearances are used sparingly which is a wise choice. In the end this is a story about dark family histories rather than just being another procedural. The ESP and memory black-holes might just be a way to make some reveals seem less contrived but overall it's more than the sum of these parts.
Lastly... it's The Substance. The polar opposite of a bleak and cold drama this is instead a confidently absurd film about someone wanting to feel younger through chemical means and destroying themselves in the process. A story about real substance abuse, in which a fading star fights against part of themself which is shallow and self-destructive... again sometimes in a very real sense. The subsequent concoction is visually part The Shining and part The Fly, with nods to David Lynch (but probably not in the way you'd expect) and even 2001. It's often funny and disgusting as well as ultimately being a pretty sad affair.
The results are sledge-hammer like in nature as Elizabeth (Demi Moore) loses her aerobics class show thanks to her repulsive boss Harvey (Dennis Quaid). After many years as a Hollywood star this was her last moment in the spotlight and now it's all over. Or is it? After being given a strange video recording and a phone number 'Lizzy' finds herself in a sinister back-alley ordering a package that contains various tubes and needles, along with the titular Re-animator style green juice. All she has to do is keep to a strict bi-weekly schedule; seven days for herself, seven for 'other' self.
Of course the resulting time-share means that Elizabeth's 'better half' Sue (Margaret Qualley) gets the vacant TV show spot and becomes a big star, before bending the rules and screwing things up thanks to youthful hedonism. It's a gnarly and often gratuitous assault on the senses thanks to constant electronic sounds and candy-coloured set design before things go even further awry and it delves deeper into nightmare spectacle. Things like gyrating bodies and exploding organs might feel overbearing in the first two acts but just when it seems to reach a conclusion it manages to keep going.
Of course it's just a yarn about ageing, vanity, and the seedy side of the entertainment world, but the presentation is very sharp. Even if the story is equally as blunt. The message is nothing new and the body horror effects have been done before, but there's a constant pace which is infectious thanks to the music and the editing. Despite it being twenty minutes too long the whole thing just about crawls to a satisfying and blood soaked finale. One that is both exhausting and energizing, reflecting the two states the central character exists in. Saying it's not original or subtle is an understatement but it's certainly a distinct vision.
Late Night With the Devil 3/5
Longlegs 4/5
The Substance 4/5
