Aussie horror has been having a moment, from Goran Stolevski's dark fantasy You Won't Be Alone premiering at Sundance to the insane global reach of the Philippou brothers' Talk To Me. Ahead of the release of their upcoming SXSW sensation LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL, we chatted to Melbourne filmmaking duo Colin and Cameron Cairnes on all things filmmaking, the Australian horror niche, and demonic possession.

From as far back as cinema’s origins, filmmakers and audiences alike have been fascinated by the paranormal. Audience fervor reached an all-time high following the '73 release of William Friedkin’s landmark, The Exorcist, a critical and commercial success with an impact felt far beyond any qualitative measures. The Exorcist brought artistic credibility to horror in a way few films had done before, and, in the years following the film’s release, public fascination catapulted with reports of a substantial increase in exorcisms, visits to medical professionals, and the mainstream media’s coverage of reported possessions.
 
Since Friedkin’s iconic flick, a slew of filmmakers have tried their hand at bringing the ‘spirit’ of exorcisms to the screen to varying results. Contemporary titles such as The VVitch, The Wailing and Saint Maud breathed fresh air into possession pictures while also shining a spotlight on some of cinema’s most exciting emerging voices. Elsewhere, comedy heavyweights Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg paid homage to some of The Exorcist’s most iconic sequences in their star-studded apocalypse-comedy This Is the End, while Australia’s own James Wan sparked a cinematic universe unto itself with The Conjuring. However, not until now have audiences born witness to an exorcism broadcast live on late-night television.
 
Melbourne’s own Colin and Cameron Cairnes’ comedy-horror romp, LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL crafts a suspenseful narrative as late night television host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) sees his ‘Night Owls' broadcast take a host of surprising turns from the amusing to the bizarre to the deliciously sinister. The writer-director duo point to their childhood fascination of 80s talk show hosts such as Australia’s “favourite export” Don Lane as the foundation for their idea to combine the late night staples of scary movies and talk shows.
 

“LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL is our sometimes nostalgic, occasionally satirical, but always suspenseful and slightly twisted love letter to that era and those formative viewing experiences,” the duo says.

 
“Some will recall that Don (Lane) had a genuine interest in the paranormal and would often run one-hour specials on the latest psychic or spoon-bending marvel to tour the country. (Johnny) Carson would have never given these charlatans that much airtime, but Don did and Aussie audiences lapped it up”.
 
However, the duo shared that the inspiration for Delroy’s wisecrack capability paired with a sense of intellectual superiority is derived from their perception of Jack as more of a Dick Cavett school, with Cavett’s influence extending to the film’s look.
 
“With the set design, we purposefully went with more of the open Cavett-style seating arrangement to make it seem more of an intimate conversation between friends than the classic host seated on his throne behind a desk, with the guests swapping places on the couch,” they said.

“Jack Delroy kept evolving though, especially when David threw on that beige suit and truly made the character his own. His performance brought to light a whole range of nuances and motivations that one would have been hard pressed to find in the script! It feels like it was a role he was born to play”.
 
When asked about the guests that they imagine Delroy might have hosted at the peak of his powers, the duo point to names such as Orson Welles, Germaine Greer, and Truman Capote as likely regulars of the show, before sharing how their star would have separated himself from the pack.

“Jack wouldn’t have had too many exciting new comedians on the way Carson did, he would have been the one needing all the laughs. We imagine Joni Mitchell probably premiered Hejira on ‘Night Owls with Jack Delroy’”.

The US-setting is a first for the Australian writer-director duo, with all of their previous features taking place in their native country. The choice to take the plunge into international waters for LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL, they say, is an important one.

“It just made dramatic sense for us to set the film in the US - when we think of tonight shows our minds go to Letterman before they do Vizard,” they said.

“Early on we had entertained the idea of doing a talk show in the mould of Gra Gra’s IMT or The Don Lane Show, but in the end it’s all about audience share, and we’re not sure Australia had enough of a population back then to warrant the Devil’s interest”.

“We’ve been lucky enough to attend a bunch of cool festivals this last year or so and it’s been great fun watching overseas audiences react to all those big ghastly moments that the film is getting a reputation for”.

Despite its US setting, the Australian production of LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (the film was shot in Melbourne's Docklands Studios) positions the Cairnes brothers’ latest as a likely addition to the list of contemporary Aussie horror hits, a list that the duo hope only continues to expand.

“Whenever there’s a theatrical release for an Australian-made horror film, it’s time to celebrate,” they said.

“It’s great to see films like Talk to Me make a big impact at the international box-office and help pave the way for films like LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL and hopefully many more. We think strong local genre voices are vital to the long-term sustainability of cinema in this country. If there is one genre you can count on for a memorable theatrical experience it’s horror movies”.
 

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL is now showing at Cinema Nova. Get tickets.

Spencer Gilder-Smith - Creative Growth Coordinator, Cinema Nova