I'm not sure how I feel about the documentary style opening, which is effectively a long exposition dump, but once we get to the live broadcast that represents the bulk of the lean runtime, I was on board. I'm a sucker for films/TV that explore their own industry, so the live gimmick was appealing. I haven't watched a lot of late night television (and even less from the 1970s), but for what it's worth, this felt pretty authentic - David Dastmalchian's central performance and the production design in particular. Combine that with a reasonably compelling, though admittedly simplistic, demon possession story and you've got a solid horror film with a unique backdrop. Ingrid Torelli delivers an suitably off-putting/chilling performance as Lilly, carrying the tension through the back half. As far as critiques go, some of the interactions during the "cut to commercial" segments feel a bit superficial/rushed (e.g., conversations with the producer and/or Gus), but it's not a major issue. As a final comment, perhaps the biggest impact of the film was making me want to re-watch This Time with Alan Partridge, which makes brilliant use the same live TV gimmick, but for comedy rather than horror.
Shout by SkinnyFilmBuffVIP 8BlockedParent2024-04-21T18:03:36Z
I'm not sure how I feel about the documentary style opening, which is effectively a long exposition dump, but once we get to the live broadcast that represents the bulk of the lean runtime, I was on board. I'm a sucker for films/TV that explore their own industry, so the live gimmick was appealing. I haven't watched a lot of late night television (and even less from the 1970s), but for what it's worth, this felt pretty authentic - David Dastmalchian's central performance and the production design in particular. Combine that with a reasonably compelling, though admittedly simplistic, demon possession story and you've got a solid horror film with a unique backdrop. Ingrid Torelli delivers an suitably off-putting/chilling performance as Lilly, carrying the tension through the back half. As far as critiques go, some of the interactions during the "cut to commercial" segments feel a bit superficial/rushed (e.g., conversations with the producer and/or Gus), but it's not a major issue. As a final comment, perhaps the biggest impact of the film was making me want to re-watch This Time with Alan Partridge, which makes brilliant use the same live TV gimmick, but for comedy rather than horror.