There’s a feared and hated monster hiding on the screen of “Late Night with the Devil.” And,
no, we’re not talking about Mr. Wiggles. Here’s
why the filmmakers’ use of AI has exploded into controversy.
One of the most acclaimed horror movies of the year opens this week:
"Late Night with the Devil," a mockumentary from filmmakers Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes,
starring David Dastmalchian. Dastmalchian has built a solid career as a supporting character
actor in films like "The Dark Knight," "Prisoners," and "Dune," but "Late Night
with the Devil" gives him the chance to shine in a lead role. The actor plays Jack Delroy,
host of the late-night 1970s "Tonight Show"-like talk show "Night Owls with Jack Delroy."
“I’m trying to host a nationally syndicated talk show.”
“And I’m trying to help you keep it on the air.”
The film takes the form of footage from one of Jack's shows — specifically a show that aired on
Halloween night in 1977. Desperate to improve his slipping ratings, Jack has put together a
special episode where his guests include a parapsychologist and her patient, a teenage
girl named Lilly. Lilly is the only survivor of a suicidal satanic cult, and to make things extra
disturbing, she claims to be occasionally possessed by a demonic entity she calls Mr.
Wiggles. Jack reasons that if he can get some sort of demonic action live, on air, it'll send
his ratings through the roof. As you might guess, things go horribly wrong with terrifying results.
"Late Night with the Devil" has been playing film festivals for over a year and built up
strong word of mouth in the process. Some have compared it to the classic
BBC Halloween mockumentary "Ghostwatch," and the reviews have been overwhelmingly
positive. Even legendary horror author Stephen King sang the film's praises online. In short,
"Late Night with the Devil" has been riding high. But in the last week or so,
things have taken a negative turn when users on Twitter (aka X) noticed what was clearly
AI art lurking in the frames of the movie. The reaction to this revelation has been
overwhelmingly negative, so much so that the filmmakers and Dastmalchian have weighed in.
To be clear, the AI art in "Late Night with the Devil" is not abundant. It appears briefly in the
form of interstitial cards meant to be part of the aesthetic of "Night Owls with Jack Delroy."
But even brief AI art is proving to be too much for some viewers, many of whom are calling for a
boycott of the film. The boycott is based on the idea that if even a tiny bit of AI
art slips through the cracks, then studios and filmmakers will think it's okay to start using
it in abundance — a concept that would put real human artists out of work. It's also worth noting
that "Late Night with the Devil" isn't the first recent production to use AI art. Most notably,
the Marvel series "Secret Invasion" used AI art for its opening credits,
and the newest season of "True Detective" got caught using a bit of AI art as well.
As the backlash against "Late Night with the Devil" has grown,
filmmakers Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes released a statement that reads in part:
“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.”
Star David Dastmalchian also weighed in, saying:
"The only thing that makes me sad is we had an awesome graphic design
team working on this film, but I get it ... [AI art] is something
we've learned so much about in the last few years since we made this movie."
Unfortunately, these statements have not quelled the backlash.
People on X continue to decry the film's use of AI. One user wrote,
"I think the most frustrating thing about this is how many
horror fans would have done this gig for cheap."
Another user wrote,
"Why would they do this? It looks stupid and totally breaks the illusion that this
is from the 1970s. How expensive could it be to pay someone to make
a few interstitials? You're already funding a MOVIE."
Some folks have attempted to be understanding about the issue. As one Twitter/X user wrote:
"Seems highly unnecessary and I don't like AI, especially when artists are looking for
work ... But also, I'm not going to boycott an indie movie and the work of everyone else
for what amounts to 20 seconds of AI title cards, because that doesn't help artists either. Sorry."
The bottom line is that viewers will have to decide for themselves whether the film's brief
use of AI is a bridge too far. But here's hoping the filmmakers have learned from
this issue and will never employ AI art again. Much like the demon at the heart of the film,
it’s wiggling its way inside the entertainment
industry and taking much-needed work from real flesh and blood artists.
"Late Night with the Devil" is now in theaters. It will stream on Shudder starting April 19, 2024.