The 2024 Horror Movie That’s Secretly The Best Film Of The Year

Key Takeaways

• Late Night with the Devil, a horror movie released in 2024, can be considered the best of the year.
• The film excels due to David Dastmalchian’s performance and a captivating, unpredictable plot.
• The movie remains underrated, despite receiving positive reviews and top rankings on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.

2024 has been a memorable year when it comes to horror movies. Fans of the genre have been treated to the likes of Alien: Romulus, The Substance, Terrifier 3, A Quiet Place: Day One, and Smile 2, to name but a few. However, there is one scary movie that was released this year that’s better than the rest and might actually be one of the best movies of 2024. That movie is Late Night with the Devil.

First, it has to be stated that the movie was technically released in 2023, having premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in the United States on March 10, 2023. However, it only ended up getting a wider release in 2024. Late Night with the Devil was released in cinemas in the United Kingdom and United States on March 22, 2024. This means that it should be considered a 2024 movie, not a 2023 one.

What Is Late Night With The Devil About?

The film stars the wickedly talented David Dastmalchian as Jack Delroy, a late-night talk show host whose show has been experiencing a rapid decline in viewership. Jack decides to do something drastic in order to get his show’s ratings up on a very spooky Halloween night, and it all ends up going horribly wrong — for him and for everybody involved with the show.

That’s a pretty vague account of what happens in the movie. However, it’s best not to spoil anything for those who haven’t had the chance to watch the film yet. There are some twists and turns that viewers might not see coming, and some terrifying scares along the way. However, there are two key factors that make this film so good.

What Makes Late Night With the Devil So Good?

Dastmalchian’s performance is outstanding. He’s able to make the viewer root for him despite the fact that he’s clearly embarking on a perilous journey, and he’s putting a lot of innocent people in danger. His actions are incredibly selfish, yet Dastmalchian makes the character likable all the same.

Second, Late Night with the Devil has a barnstorming finish, which is one of the best final thirds of any film released in 2024. It goes to some wild places at the end, but the slow build-up means that its over-the-top ending feels warranted. It’s a testament to everybody involved in making this picture, from the writers/directors (Cameron and Colin Cairnes) to the actors.

The movie also perfectly captures the look and feel of the late seventies. The costumes are terrific, and it all adds to the sense of foreboding and doom that is ever-present in Late Night with the Devil. That feeling stays with the viewer long after the film ends.

Late Night With the Devil Is The Best Horror Movie of 2024

Even though, as mentioned above, 2024 has been a particularly good year for horror, there’s no other movie in the genre that was able to do what Late Night with the Devil did. The film is both horrifying and fascinating. The way it’s shot also adds to that, flitting between behind-the-scenes footage and footage of the actual late-night talk show.

Every time the show goes for a commercial break, the movie shows viewers what’s going on behind the scenes. In these moments, the viewer really understands what’s at stake, what Jack Delroy is up to, and how much danger he’s putting everyone in to increase his ratings.

Why Is Nobody Talking About This Movie?

This is a very good question, but it’s also slightly inaccurate. People have been talking about the movie. It’s been getting good reviews from critics, and the people who have watched the film have been very positive about it.

The film has a fairly impressive overall rating of 7/10 on IMDb after over 100K reviews. Late Night with the Devil has a whopping 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which also puts it in the number one spot on their “50 Best New Horror Movies of 2024” list. It ended up beating the likes of The Substance, Terrifier 3, Oddity, In Flames, Smile 2, Longlegs, and I Saw the TV Glow.

All of these horror movies were incredibly well-received, and yet, Late Night with the Devil — a little independent film with a relatively small budget — came out on top. That speaks for itself, and it also suggests that, since 2024 was such a strong year for horror, it might be one of the very best released this calendar year. It deserves to be seen by more people, and hopefully, it will be.

Late Night with the Devil is available to stream on Shudder and can be purchased on VOD.