My guilty pleasure is scary movies, but even horror lovers like me have to admit sometimes the reboot/remake/sequel train can get a little tiresome.

When I first saw the trailer for the original Shudder film from IFC, Late Night With the Devil, it hit me as something both very new yet very familiar. Set in 1977, we are watching the recently uncovered “live taping” of a late night show from the 70s, along with never-before-seen backstage footage. The movie made its world premiere at South by Southwest Film Festival in March and then jumped soon after into theatres.

It was added to Shudder’s streaming service Friday, when I finally got to see it..and it was exceptionally well done.

Late night talk show host Jack Delroy has been struggling with everything from the ratings war to personal tragedy. On Halloween Night, during his live taping of Night Owls with Jack Delroy…something goes darkly and horribly wrong.

I want to tell you more, I really really do. Yet, I feel the less you know about this going in the better. There are twists and tiny jump scares leading up to something truly horrific. What I will say is this is one of the first original stories I have seen in a long, long time. If you were around in the 1970s, this will feel both haunting and surprisingly nostalgic.This movie hit the vibe of all that was 70s horror.

I would have been 7 when this “incident” occurred, and the culture of the era at the time was almost in stereo for me. I remember my grandmother’s 70s talk show addition from Johnny Carson to John Davidson to Mike Douglas, and this was captured beautifully from the burnt umber-encrusted color scheme to the campiness of the content to the film stock. The devil-centric horror of the 70s was also a thing. This was just a year before Halloween came out and started the new slasher age of the 80s. Horror seemed to be these witchy, eerie strings of devil possessions and demonic hauntings. Steven King offerings and movies like the Amityville Horror, The Omen and The Exorcist were all over television and movie screens scaring the holy crap out of all of us kids…and adults. Late Night With the Devil plays off all of these tropes in a very original way.

There were also the fair share of magicians, “psychics” (like Uri Geller), famous cult leaders and commercially known Satanists teeming around. Remember Anton Lavey? There were famous psychic debunkers like the Amazing Randi and his One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge hitting all the talk shows. Character Carmichael Haig is based heavily on him.

All of the performances were perfectly done, and I especially hope this one helps launch who I feel is an underrated actor, David Dastmalchian, into more starring roles. Also, bonus points if you recognized the narrator’s voice as belonging to Michael Ironside.

For anyone who is tired of forced politics and messages from either side in movies, aside from some “here’s what was happening at the time” footage at the beginning, there really isn’t any. This is a creepy, love letter to the paperback era of horror, and if you aren’t too squeamish, you’ll love it.

Late Night With the Devil is now available on Shudder, but is still in theatrical release. Catch it if you can…preferably for a late night showing.