Late Night with the Devil: parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated R for violent content, some gore, and language including a sexual reference.
A clever, retro found-footage horror film for older teens who are fine with gore. Framed as a lost 1977 Halloween broadcast, it follows a desperate talk-show host who brings a possessed 13-year-old girl onto live TV for ratings. The slow build gives way to strong, bloody violence in the final act, including a throat torn open, a man slicing open his own belly, a person burned alive and a child character dying violently. Expect strong language including f-words, a few crude sexual references, and on-set smoking and drinking. The gore, the occult themes and the girl's fate put it at 16.
What's in it
Violence
StrongStrong gore late in the film: an invisible force rips open a man's throat, a man cuts into his stomach and worms spill out, an eye pops out, a head is wrenched around, a stabbing, and a man burned alive. Archival war footage appears.
Language
StrongStrong language at intervals rather than nonstop: f-words (one in a crude sexual line), s-words, 'bullshit,' 'asshole,' 'cock,' 'bastard,' 'whore' and 'goddamn.' No source gave an exact count.
Sex and nudity
MildNo sex or nudity is shown. There are crude sexual remarks and brief talk of a cult's nude ceremonies and orgies.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateTrue to 1970s TV, the host, guests and crew smoke cigarettes on set, and there is some drinking. One guest does a magic trick with a cigar. No drug use.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongA demon-possessed girl speaks in other voices and leers at the audience, a psychic vomits black sludge, and a hypnosis segment spirals into nightmare imagery. Brief references to a cult's mass suicide by fire and to a family grieving a suicide add darkness.
Sensitive topics
- Death of a child
- Suicide
Worth talking about
The host trades everything for ratings. Talk about how far media will go for attention, and how easily an audience can be fooled by what looks real on screen.
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, bbfc.co.uk, Wikipedia, the MPA, ageratingjuju.com, Parent Previews. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.