Demonic possession is a sub-genre of horror which has arguably been done to death at this point. From The Conjuring franchise to last year’s disappointingly mediocre It Lives Inside and The Exorcist: Believer, the idea has ranged from reasonably frightening to downright underwhelming. That is until writer-director duo Colin and Cameron Cairnes conjured up the idea of presenting demonic possession on a live talk show.
The film stars David Dastmalchian in his first lead role as Jack Delroy, a host of 70s talk show. Being a found footage film, it is presented as a combination of documentary-style clips and the salvaged footage from the broadcast of Delroy’s show on Halloween night 1977. The supporting cast includes Laura Gordon as a parapsychologist, Ian Bliss as a former magician turned skeptic, and Ingrid Torelli as a girl who is allegedly possessed by a demon; all of which appear as guests on Delroy’s show.
The main component of this movie which compelled me to write about it was its style and editing. Its goal is to effectively convince a 2024 audience the events of the film really occurred in 1977. It opens with a documentary-style sequence narrated by prominent character actor Michael Ironside explaining the Jack Delroy’s background and what circumstances led him to divulge into the paranormal on his talk show. The rest of the film is the Halloween talk show presented as it was filmed, with commercial breaks including literal behind the scenes moments showing what the characters are doing in the meantime.
As a viewer, this makes you feel strangely more vulnerable than if you were watching a normal horror film. As with most found footage horror, it makes the plot feel much more grounded and as if the events were really unfolding in front of you. Being shot as a 70s talk show, the film also has that oddly unsettling atmosphere, with the graininess and the tension which occurs when something goes wrong live on air. In addition, Dastmalchian provides an exceptional performance as the host. He brings the necessary charisma but also that slightly insecure edge which is mostly seen in the behind the scenes footage. Torelli however was an unexpected standout. Her subtle yet effective mannerisms; glancing into the camera, distinct facial expressions, and soft yet sinister voice substantially increased the tension when she was introduced.
Throughout the film the viewer is left to ponder whether various problematic events on the show are technical difficulties or something far more inexplicable. This is directly addressed by Bliss’s skeptic Carmichael the Conjurer; calling out how certain ‘paranormal’ events are all a staged act to boost viewership. These events paradoxically place the viewer in a state of tension and comfort. You feel enveloped by the comfortably familiarity of the talk show, but also anxious as to whether the lights flashing, flickering screens, and certain reactions from characters are legitimately paranormal. The tension comes to a climax with, of course, with conjuring of a demon live on the show, which is subsequently followed by some disturbing backstory regarding certain characters, leading to a final scene which packs a horrific punch.
As intriguing and original as this film is, it may not please every horror fan. Some may interpret the ambiguity in tension as pacing issues, and the retro interpretation of the found footage genre may be viewed as a cheap way of invoking nostalgia. However, I found myself absorbed into the film’s atmosphere. It was creatively edited and acted in a way which made me feel like I was watching Night Owls with Jack Delroy on Halloween night in 1977. After all, isn’t that the goal of horror set in a certain time period?
G does Films 