Recently rocketing past $10 million at the global box office, indie Australian horror Late Night With The Devil is proving the recent trend of bottle-horror movies is a growing formula for success.

Written and directed by brother duo Cameron and Colin Cairnes, Late Night depicts a 1970s talk show’s dangerous bid to boost ratings, after host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) invites a psychic guest onto his show for a halloween special that goes horribly wrong.

Filmed entirely at Docklands Studios in Melbourne, the festival favourite finally hit the big screen in the US in March, reaching #7 at the box office in its second week – with a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score and strong word of mouth driving ticket sales despite strong competition and a limited budget.

Filmed over just 20 days in late 2022, the production team opted to hire out one of Docklands’ dedicated television studios rather than the 5 larger sound stages usually utilised by films, allowing set designers to repurpose the pre-existing TV set up, with studio lights, audience seating and shiny floor all ready to go.

“It felt like we actually were in a TV studio in downtown Manhattan in 1977,” explains Co-director Colin Cairnes. “It really helped bring the film to life.”

The directors say that they also benefited from the full production offerings available on-site at Docklands Studios’, as well as the close proximity to the centre of Melbourne city.

“It was also the fact that we had all those facilities there for the art department, for hair and make-up, for wardrobe, the star rooms,” explains Cairnes. “All those facilities were first class and I know that our cast loved working there. The fact we were all in the same building and we were all a one minute walk from each other, it just made our lives that much easier.”

Late Night with the Devil was supported by VicScreen’s Victorian Production Fund and made in Melbourne by a predominantly local cast, crew and creative team.

Watch the full trailer below: