Brothers/Filmmakers Colin & Cameron Caires talk to The Inside Reel about concept, casting and tone in regards to their new horror film: "Late Night With The Devil" from Shudder and IFC Films.
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00:00 [Music]
00:11 Ladies and gentlemen,
00:13 [Music]
00:15 Now,
00:17 [Music]
00:18 Here is Mr. Mitch "Dark Jack" Downey!
00:22 [Music]
00:29 Late night with the devil.
00:33 I talked to David about a week or so ago,
00:36 so it was interesting to see his perspective,
00:39 but the concept of this,
00:41 especially it's sort of the three different levels of what it is,
00:45 you know, it's so dynamic,
00:47 but also very specific in its approach,
00:50 as far as tone, about scripting, as far as visualization.
00:54 Can you talk, guys, talk about that from those three different angles
00:57 in creating that?
00:59 Yeah, for us, it all comes back to the verisimilitude,
01:03 if I can use that word, the authenticity, specificity of it.
01:07 We always felt that for the, of course, the drama,
01:11 but also for the horror and comic elements to work,
01:14 we just needed to be as true to that world as possible.
01:18 So that applied to all departments, performance, costume,
01:21 cinematography, in the edit, you know.
01:25 So David probably mentioned, I mean,
01:27 we shot this with three cameras running.
01:29 We shot it like a multi-cam TV show so that the actors could just do
01:33 an entire segment wide ago.
01:35 You know, they just, sometimes 10, 12-minute takes.
01:39 And I think for some of our cast, David included, that was...
01:42 Very freeing.
01:43 Freeing, because they've got a theatre background.
01:45 David, obviously, coming out of the Chicago theatre scene,
01:48 but some of the Aussie actors in it, also a wonderful stage performance.
01:53 I think going in, we always felt there was an element of it almost being,
01:56 you know, running a play as well.
01:58 But then you bring up the visual stuff that you mentioned,
02:01 and just trying to keep it as true to the period
02:04 and to the look of those shows.
02:05 We felt that if it started to get too pastiche-y or too much of a parody,
02:10 then it'd take you out of it.
02:12 And it scares people.
02:13 It would feel real and the drama would just,
02:16 it would all get a bit superficial.
02:18 So it was key to us.
02:20 Yeah, and it just can't look like it's this show that's, you know,
02:23 rolled off the production line yesterday.
02:26 It's got to feel lived in and it's got to have that feel that it's been
02:29 on air for the last seven years and it's now struggling.
02:33 And, you know, if you look closely, you can see the set kind of looks
02:36 a little decrepit.
02:38 On Halloween night, 1977, America gathered around for a live TV event
02:48 that shocked the nation.
02:50 What happened was real.
02:53 What you are about to see is the recently discovered master tape
02:57 of what went to air that night.
03:00 The one thing, there's so much dread.
03:15 And I think it's funny because David was talking about the thing
03:17 that most scared him was that monologue because he's like,
03:20 "I'm not sure if I could do it," because it's such a specific approach.
03:24 But he says, you guys came over and said, "Okay, that was great."
03:27 You know, so he was very scared about that.
03:30 Can you talk about that?
03:31 Because it's a different kind of performance.
03:33 It's a different kind of doing this like as that kind of show.
03:37 It's such a different approach in terms of style, movement, everything.
03:41 Yeah, absolutely.
03:43 And, you know, like you're saying, there are so many layers
03:45 to David's performance as well because we're seeing his sort
03:49 of cocky, confident, you know, showman.
03:52 We're seeing the vulnerable side of him sort of backstage.
03:56 And for him, I mean, he just pitched all that stuff perfectly.
03:58 We honestly didn't have to do a hell of a lot.
04:00 It was just saying, "Great take.
04:02 Can we do another, please?"
04:03 It was, you know - but that monologue, yeah, very challenging in that -
04:08 I mean, performance point of view but also the production side of it.
04:11 You know, I think the first time when we did the meet of it,
04:15 we didn't have any audience.
04:16 So, you know, all this bi-play and banter going on with the sidekick,
04:20 with the band, with the audience, you know, people yelling
04:23 from the audience.
04:24 But he was - there were empty bleachers and us and a few, you know,
04:27 some of the crew sitting at the split laughing on cue,
04:31 trying to give something for them to work off.
04:34 And then, like, I mean, I think at one point Cam said, "Oh,
04:36 we need more people in here."
04:37 And we called the production office and said,
04:39 "Can everyone please come down?"
04:41 We just, you know, created an audience here.
04:43 So we had 20, 25 people come down from upstairs to play the audience
04:47 and we had to direct them to, "This is the joke.
04:49 This is where you laugh."
04:51 But then, fortunately, I think the next day -
04:54 We did have our audience.
04:55 Yeah.
04:56 We had them for a day.
04:57 So by that time we'd shot out that scene.
05:01 We did, yeah.
05:02 But we figured, "God, we've got the audience here."
05:04 David was just rearing to go.
05:06 Yeah.
05:07 You know, he wanted to do it in front of that hundred-plus audience.
05:11 And I think a lot of that ended up in the film.
05:14 Yes.
05:15 Now, here's Mr. Midnight, Jack Dallor.
05:22 Oh, good evening, night owls,
05:24 and thank you for allowing me into your living rooms once again.
05:29 Well, night owls, we've got a heck of a show in store for you tonight
05:32 and I'm very excited for you to see it all unfold before your very eyes.
05:36 I really hope you love it.
05:38 God, I hope you love it.
05:39 Please love it.
05:40 Love it.
05:43 I'm trying to host a passionless, indicated talk show.
05:46 And I'm trying to help you keep it on the air.
05:49 We all know how important it is to keep our sponsors and affiliates happy,
05:53 but in my humble opinion, there is only one person who really matters
05:56 in this whole darn crazy business.
06:01 And that is you, our viewer.
06:03 But for you guys, as far as picking him, why was he the right one?
06:07 I have heard different things, but it has to feel the right thing for you guys.
06:12 But then the concept and how you guys approached it had to feel that you were
06:16 doing it at the right time.
06:18 Can you talk about it?
06:19 Because those two things need to be in congruence.
06:21 Sure.
06:22 We had a really good feeling about David.
06:25 I mean, we'd obviously seen his work, sort of supporting roles in big movies
06:31 where he plays such a vast array of character types.
06:35 We knew he had the range.
06:36 If you can make an impression with your, you know, four or five minutes
06:39 of screen time and evoke, create this character, this distinct,
06:43 unique character, well, God, what can he do over 90 minutes, you know?
06:48 And knowing that, you know, having faith in him as an actor,
06:52 but also we knew about the theatre stuff, that he'd done that in Chicago
06:55 for a number of years.
06:56 So we thought that would be a plus.
06:59 But then also his love of horror.
07:01 We knew what a horror fan he was and all the writing he'd done
07:04 for Fangoria.
07:06 So it just felt like a really - I won't say an obvious choice,
07:10 but it felt right.
07:11 It just felt right.
07:12 You don't know until you get there and you're shooting,
07:14 but it just was such a joy.
07:17 Like, you know, there were times when we'd call cut and the whole -
07:21 ourselves and the crew, we just were sort of spellbound by how immersed
07:26 in the character he was, how committed he was.
07:28 But there's also something about just the look of David,
07:32 his physicality, his voice.
07:34 It feels like, you know, he would have been right at home
07:37 in '70s cinema.
07:39 Yeah.
07:40 As a, you know, a lead actor, you know?
07:44 Yeah.
07:45 Back in the day, character actors played leading roles.
07:48 Yeah.
07:49 And cinema was probably better for it.
07:52 About a month ago, a manuscript happened across my desk that,
07:57 well, I haven't been able to stop thinking about, quite frankly.
08:02 The book.
08:07 Conversations with the Devil by Dr. June Ross Mitchell
08:12 hits shelves this week,
08:15 and it is certain to challenge more than a few sceptics out there.
08:19 Now, before I bring on the doctor and the young subject of the book,
08:23 I wanted to share with you all a clip produced by June's Psy Research Center.
08:28 Hopefully catch us all up to speed.
08:30 But please be warned, anyone with young children in the room,
08:34 what you're about to see is profoundly disturbing and shocking.
08:39 Can we roll the tape, please?
08:43 Well, because there's an interesting tone, like, obviously,
08:45 the backstage versus the front stage, and obviously,
08:48 the sort of coda that you guys have.
08:51 You know, it's sort of I kept seeing like you have a mix of network and
08:54 natural born killers in a way.
08:57 And, you know, but that just comes from the love of cinema.
09:00 Obviously, you guys have such a love of cinema.
09:02 But, you know, there's so many things that can run at you that you're like,
09:06 OK, I need to do this and I'd like to include this.
09:08 What were the most important things to capture here?
09:11 Was it because I'm not sure how you guys sort of split duties or,
09:14 you know, how that works.
09:17 Good question.
09:18 I'm not sure we know.
09:20 We can give you a simple answer.
09:22 No, no.
09:23 But I think you're right.
09:25 I mean, we didn't want all those homages or references to get in the way
09:30 of a good story.
09:31 First and foremost, it was tell this story as well as we can in the most
09:36 appropriate and engaging way we can.
09:39 So that was always the priority.
09:41 But we also felt like, well, here we are, the late '70s.
09:45 It's a horror movie.
09:46 You can't avoid referencing the Exeter store network and stuff like that
09:50 because they are key influences.
09:52 But hopefully it doesn't - we just hope it doesn't get in the way of,
09:55 like I say, telling a good yarn.
09:58 No one's going anywhere.
09:59 How could you let it happen, Jack?
10:00 How could you let it happen?
10:02 Please be warned, anyone with young children in the room.
10:04 Good one for me.
10:05 Good one for me.
10:06 You're about to see.
10:07 You OK, Jack?
10:08 It's profoundly disturbing and shocking.
10:11 [music]
10:14 You get out there, Mr. Midnight.
10:15 [music]
10:18 And you knock him dead.
10:19 [music]
10:32 [BLANK_AUDIO]