If one is going to make a retro-styled motion picture about the devil manifesting itself on a late-night talk show, the filmmakers had better lean into it and make good on such a premise. With the devilishly entertaining new release, Late Night with the Devil, writer-director siblings Cameron and Colin Cairnes do, in fact, lean into it with a skill and wit that is missing from most of today’s horror films.

The movie opens with a clever faux documentary (narrated by Michael Ironside), setting the tone for the times. Taking place in 1977, montages of war and civil unrest unfold to explain why the country needed to shake it all off at the end of day; looking to lose themselves in the relaxing lightness of late-night television. Tipping his hat to Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett, David Dastmalchian is excellent as Jack Delroy, host of “Night Owls”, a talk show with a decent following and a soon to expire contract. Jack’s ratings are in decline and his show needs to keep up. With his eye on the ratings prize, on Halloween night, Jack goes all in with one hell of an idea for a show.

Jack’s guests include a weird psychic (Fayssal Bazzi), Lilly (Ingrid Torelli), a young girl who claims to be possessed by a demon called “Mr. Wiggles”, Dr. June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon), a demonic expert who cares for Lilly, and Carmichael the Conjurer (Ian Bliss), a smug skeptic who offers $100,000 to anyone who can actually prove the supernatural. To give the show an extra punch, Dr. Ross-Mitchell communes with the demon who supposedly dwells inside Lilly, live on air. What follows is a wild and inventive horror thrill ride.

Once Lilly’s demons take the stage, the filmmakers take glee in their creation, using an interesting structure (the film plays out in real time, as the show continues) and having a visceral blast with the purposefully cheesy retro FX. Those who grew up on the Drive-In horror of the 1970s should feel a sense of nostalgia, as the goo and gore flow in the most gloriously kitschy ways.

Late Night with the Devil is quite the gas, starting at a slow boil until spilling over in its final act. The way the film is put together (the excellent retro feel, the black and white behind the scenes documentary style, demons on television) is certainly gimmicky, but the gimmick works. Overcoming their low budget, the Cairnes bros put more effort and originality into their story than the last 20 Hollywood horror films combined. Their tongue-in-cheek approach blends well with a few moments of pure crazy horror. There is, of course, a possession sequence and while moments like that are long passé in the horror genre, the directors make it fun and somewhat fresh. Their work isn’t as macabrely playful as Sam Raimi, nor is it deadly serious; each scare scene plays out like a funhouse thrill ride and the directors show the right amount of restraint during the demonic possession.

If the film has an issue, it is in the conclusion. The screenplay tries to branch out beyond their simple yet clever premise, veering too far off course. The brothers Cairnes don’t know when to put the stopper back into the bottle, stretching the good graces of the audience in a final act that fails to sync up with the rest of the picture. This one issue hurts the ending, but not the film.