Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures recently teamed up to produce the horror film Late Night With the Devil, headed up by the Australian writing and directing duo of Colin and Cameron Cairnes (100 Bloody Acres) and starring David Dastmalchian – whose previous credits include The Boogeyman, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and The Suicide Squad. For a good number of genre fans, including myself, it’s one of the most highly anticipated horror releases of the year. The film has gotten positive reviews from the likes of Stephen King and Kevin Smith, not to mention JoBlo’s own Tyler Nichols (you can read his 9/10 review at THIS LINK), and it’s now playing in theatres, courtesy of IFC Films. But as Late Night With the Devil reaches the big screen, it’s also stirring up controversy, as it has been revealed that the movie features a few pieces of art that were created with AI.
With viewers pointing out and complaining about the AI on social media, the directors released a statement to Variety to explain why they decided to drop some AI art into the movie: “In conjunction with our amazing graphics and production design team, all of whom worked tirelessly to give this film the 70s aesthetic we had always imagined, we experimented with AI for three still images which we edited further and ultimately appear as very brief interstitials in the film. We feel incredibly fortunate to have had such a talented and passionate cast, crew and producing team go above and beyond to help bring this film to life. We can’t wait for everyone to see it for themselves this weekend.“
Late Night With the Devil is a “supernatural chiller” that tells the story of the live broadcast of a late-night talk show in 1977 that goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. Dastmalchian plays Jack Delroy, the host of the show Night Owls.
Colin and Cameron Cairnes previously provided the following statement: “In the ’70s and ’80s there was something slightly dangerous about late-night TV. Talk shows in particular were a window into some strange adult world. We thought combining that charged, live-to-air atmosphere with the supernatural could make for a uniquely frightening film experience.”
Late Night With the Devil has been making the festival rounds, racking up awards as it goes. The film had its premiere South by Southwest, won best screenplay at Sitges Film Festival, and won both best feature film and best lead performance (for Dastmalchian) at Toronto After Dark.
Spooky Pictures was founded by It producer Roy Lee and the Paranormal Activity franchise’s Steven Schneider. They are producing Late Night With the Devil alongside John Molloy, Derek Dauchy, and Future Pictures’ Mat Govoni and Adam White. Dastmalchian serves as an executive producer with Rami Yasin and Lake Mungo director Joel Anderson.
I have seen some horror fans who were looking forward to the movie say they’re going to skip it, or at least knock it way down their “to see” list, just because it has a few AI images in it. To me, it seems like the issue is being blown out of proportion – especially since, as the Cairnes pointed out, they did already have a graphics and production design team working on the film when they decided to drop a few pieces of AI art in there as well. AI art was then edited by humans.
What do you think of Late Night With the Devil using AI art? Are you completely against the use of AI art under any circumstances? Share your thoughts on this issue by leaving a comment below.
Once Late Night With the Devil wraps up its theatrical run, it will be heading to the Shudder streaming service on April 19th.