Late Night with the Devil, I went into this slightly hyped, looking forward to it, going as blind as I can only knowing the creative premise. For that alone it's worth the watch because it's really well done. It sucked me right into the movie and didn't let go (for the most part).
I have to say the first half is fantastic, it's stays subtle and the underlying creepiness starts to set in more and more and you can feel it. The subtle spooks help even more and I was uneasy. The directing is fantastic and the film looks genuine, love the formats and color changes not being gimmicked. A great opening sequence, good editing for the most part. Really just for the concept it's really enjoyable and well executed.
That said, the later half starts to go off the rails and for me it was hit and miss. It started to veer out of the real world (that makes it scary) and become a fictional one more and more. And sadly, the VFX did not help with that, they're.. budget. And those parts, pulled me out more than I'd liked. I wished, really wished they kept the horror part more subtle for longer, and choose a more paranormal or disturbing angle than what we got. For me, this did not nail the landing. It's fine, but missed potential. The editing towards the end also gets quite creative, but not always with intent that made a lot of sense.
Acting, Dastmalchian is fantastic, love the stuff I've seen from him so far and this is no doubt a big showing from him. Everyone else is really good too, Bliss was a standout and the tough role for Torelli was good as well and kept me on my toes.
Music was good too, sound design worked well and was effective. Set design, perfect.
Scares/scare factor. It's got 1 or two good jumps, but it's not every scary, though the first half did make me tense up. Once it gets going, it quickly becomes entertainment and ''what is going on...'' than disturbing or scary. I just wish they didn't do the whole VFX thing at all, kept it simple and practical. There are some practical effects and they're pretty great.
The story, very much a underlying/background thing, that gets reignited in the finale, but doesn't really have impact. In turn, Lilly becomes somewhat unexplored even though she was build up as a more interesting character. She just kind of does her thing.
That said, very worth your time.
I have to say the first half is fantastic, it's stays subtle and the underlying creepiness starts to set in more and more and you can feel it. The subtle spooks help even more and I was uneasy. The directing is fantastic and the film looks genuine, love the formats and color changes not being gimmicked. A great opening sequence, good editing for the most part. Really just for the concept it's really enjoyable and well executed.
That said, the later half starts to go off the rails and for me it was hit and miss. It started to veer out of the real world (that makes it scary) and become a fictional one more and more. And sadly, the VFX did not help with that, they're.. budget. And those parts, pulled me out more than I'd liked. I wished, really wished they kept the horror part more subtle for longer, and choose a more paranormal or disturbing angle than what we got. For me, this did not nail the landing. It's fine, but missed potential. The editing towards the end also gets quite creative, but not always with intent that made a lot of sense.
Acting, Dastmalchian is fantastic, love the stuff I've seen from him so far and this is no doubt a big showing from him. Everyone else is really good too, Bliss was a standout and the tough role for Torelli was good as well and kept me on my toes.
Music was good too, sound design worked well and was effective. Set design, perfect.
Scares/scare factor. It's got 1 or two good jumps, but it's not every scary, though the first half did make me tense up. Once it gets going, it quickly becomes entertainment and ''what is going on...'' than disturbing or scary. I just wish they didn't do the whole VFX thing at all, kept it simple and practical. There are some practical effects and they're pretty great.
The story, very much a underlying/background thing, that gets reignited in the finale, but doesn't really have impact. In turn, Lilly becomes somewhat unexplored even though she was build up as a more interesting character. She just kind of does her thing.
That said, very worth your time.