Ray Schillaci is a professed film enthusiast whose wife thinks he’s downright obsessive. She insists he loves film more than her, their kids and their dog. Not true, he loves that dog!
He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and has over 25 years experience in the motion picture and television industry. The last five years he shared duties running one of the major unions in Hollywood, and was a director on the Motion Picture and Television Fund. He went onto be a V.P. of Sales and Marketing for a small Burbank production company, and later became an advertising executive for Republic Media. During his time in the studios, he also did a brief three-year stint on the comedy circuit working along side Arsenio Hall, Fritz Coleman and Jenny Jones, to name a few.
After quitting comedy, he decided to put all his efforts into writing. His first script, a coming-of-age horror flick, nabbed him an agent. Subsequent scripts later received option deals but have not been produced yet. He continued to write with a great deal of help from his mentor, Karl Schanzer, an old Roger Corman protégée. The man was a producer, a high profile executive at Fox and worked with a variety of talent from Coppola to Cameron. He was also the co-author of the industry book, American Screenwriters and would be an invaluable sensei for Ray.
Schillaci was also a contributor (movie critic and film commentary) to FRED Entertainment (formerly known as Quick Stop Entertainment) since 2007, and recently finished his long in the making first novel, a supernatural spaghetti western. He is also the Film Presenter Coordinator for the Phoenix Film Festival and International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival. His tastes vary and he appreciates commercial as well as independent film. His only beef is boredom, re-treads and a story that has nothing to say. His credo; life’s too short not to be entertained.
LINKS TO RECENT WORK
REVIEWS:
Late Night With the Devil
Civil War
Freaks vs. The Reich
The Stranger
Poor Things
Killers of the Flower Moon
The Killer
Dangerous Waters
The Longest Yard
Cobweb
Sisu
Talk to Me
Oppenheimer
Evil Dead Rise
Search the ARCHIVES links at the footer of this page or use the search tool for Ray’s reviews.
ARTICLES:
Barbie – Why the Controversy?
RAY’S REVIEWS:
A THRILLING LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID DASTMALCHIAN
Movie Review – Late Night with the Devil
Review by Ray Schillaci
IFC could be best described as the runner up to A24, continuing to usher in exceptional creative content and displaying the works of some true artists. After all, it was IFC that introduced us to the Oscar-winning Boyhood and several fine art films including Frances Ha and Cave of Forgotten Dreams. They are willing to take chances with newcomers as they did with Christopher Nolan’s first film, Following. IFC also is not one to shirk from controversy as they proved with Lars von Trier’s unrated Antichrist. At the same time, they have released notable comedies, documentaries, foreign films and especially horror.
They have proven to be nearly as strong of a contender in that genre as with A24. Just mentioning a short list is impressive enough; The Babadook, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Sputnik, The Innocents, and, what IGN dubbed in 2023, “One of the meanest, most sadistic, unrelenting depictions of evil you’ll see all year,” When Evil Lurks. Which brings us to 2024 and IFC delivering a demonic one-two punch with the sardonic horror show, Late Night with the Devil.
The writing/directing team of Colin and Cameron Cairnes have crafted a doozy of a tale, taking us back to the nostalgic ‘70s and into the brief history of a successful late night variety talk show, Night Owls with Jack Delroy. The show never quite beats the ratings champion The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, but it proves to have strong legs. Jack appears to be the talk of the town, meeting with celebrities, politicians and getting invited to The Grove, an elite California camp for men practicing occult rituals.
But, after several seasons Jack’s show ratings become limp and his appeal begins to diminish. At the same time his wife succumbs to lung cancer, never having smoked. Is Jack cursed?
He slightly recoups once he books his wife on the show as a farewell before she passes away. It proves to be a ratings bonanza, but still does not beat Carson. Once Jack’s wife is buried, he goes into a deep depression and leaves the show for awhile. When he comes back he does everything he can to boost the ratings until Jack comes up with the ultimate audience grabber.
Unfortunately, season six’s ending with that particular show never aired. And, now for the first time we get to witness why. That tape has been resurrected for our viewing along with what was going on during commercials and backstage.
On Halloween night, Jack plays host to a renowned psychic, a former famous magician (now skeptic) out to prove the paranormal is bunk, a parapsychologist, June Ross-Mitchell, and a young girl, Lily, who June cares for and insists has a demonic presence inside of her. Thus, the title of the film. Yes, Jack sees his chance to actually talk to a demon. How’s that for ratings! But, Jack’s sidekick proves to be very nervous about the whole thing. Some of the crew as well.
Strange goings on during the show and behind the stage have some wanting to abandon ship. Jack insists it’s all for show and everybody better stay in their places. Even June becomes hesitant about the idea of bringing out Lily to a live audience. Lily, on the other hand, is very excited to be part of the show. The little girl creeps out many people and at first glance she’ll give you the shivers (the way she cannot help but stare into the camera as if she going right for your soul).
The writing/directing team of C&C Cairnes knows when to have fun and when to turn the screws, mess with your mind and deliver unexpected jolts. The film is both witty and frightening, accompanied by terrific directing and a solid script. But, what really knocks it out of the ballpark is David Dastmalchian’s (The Suicide Squad (’21), The Boogey Man, Oppenheimer) brilliant portrayal of the late night host Jack Delroy.
His range of emotions going from light hearted swell guy inviting himself into your living room to a growing ego that ends up being crushed by heartbreak and low ratings is the beacon in this production. Watching him go from faithless to faithful and then to madness is one of the most classic performances since Vincent Price graced the silver screen. Dastmalchian over the years has been cast as the quirky kind of person that you intend not to want to hang around. But as Jack Gilroy, he displays a far more likable quality.
For some, Late Night with the Devil will bring to mind some of the best from the original Twilight Zone series, just more bloodier. It’s not bloody enough to get the gore hounds howling, but it does have its share of shocks. The performances are fun, some a little unnerving, and the production values mimic the late ’70s beautifully. A great way for IFC to bring in the scares for the new year.
Visit Ray’s blog at themonsterinmyhead.com
Directed by: Colin and Cameron Cairnes
Release Date: March 22, 2024
Run Time: 93 Minutes
Rated: R
Country: United States/United Arab Emirates/Australia
Distributor: IFC Films
RAY’S PIC OF THE WEEK:
PIC of the Week – The Longest Yard
Article Series by Ray Schillaci
Cinephiles have struck pay dirt with Kino Lorber’s release of the brilliant sports comedy 1974’s The Longest Yard. Why a studio even attempted to do a remake in 2005 of this movie replacing Burt Reynolds’ smarmy charm with Adam Sandler’s typical one-note character is beyond me. Then to add insult to injury, to replace a seasoned veteran of cinema like director Robert Aldrich famous for The Flight of the Phoenix, The Dirty Dozen and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? with director Peter Segal, known for…what? The Get Smart movie? The third Naked Gun remake and the listless Grudge Match? The studio couldn’t find anybody else after they hired Sandler? Whatever, this is one of the gripes I have about remakes that should never be attempted.
Producer, Albert S. Ruddy, Robert Aldrich and Burt developed a story full of grit and bawdy humor. It was both dramatic and laugh out loud funny while delivering a Rocky-type ending that had people cheering and chanting “Mean Machine!” in the theater in the last twelve minutes of the film. The casting is pitch perfect with Burt as former star pro football quarterback, Paul Crewe, who was accused of shaving points off a game causing his team to lose, Eddie Albert (The Longest Day, The Heartbreak Kid, Green Acres) as despicable Warden Hazen, Ed Lauter (Cujo, Trouble with the Curve, Seabiscuit) as the tough-as-nails Captain Knauer, also coach of the prison guard football team, and a great cast of character actors that you will recognize instantly.
Paul Crewe has been living the high life off of his rich bitch of a girlfriend in Florida until they get into an ugly fight. In the end, he insists on taking her Maserati for a spin. Not the best idea, because she reports him to the police. Crewe drives crazy with drink on hand as the police chase after him. As soon as he loses them, he drives the Maserati off a pier just out of spite. He then walks off to the nearest bar where two police officers approach him and once again, that smarmy charm starts to work with the officers laughing. Eventually, it becomes no laughing matter when Crewe takes a swing at one of them.
Crewe is sentenced to eighteen months in Citrus State Prison where no one is too pleased with him for the rumor of shaving points. The convicts don’t like him. The guard have no use for him. The only one that is happy to see him is Warden Hazen who is looking for a professional to coach his guard football team to win the championship against the other prisons. But, before the warden meets up with Crewe, Captain Knauer roughs him up while he is shackled and handcuffed and gives him a warning not to accept the warden’s offer. Knauer is the Captain of the guard’s football team and he doesn’t want an outsider taking away his glory.
Once Crewe turns down the offer and Knauer is threatened by the warden to change Crewe’s mind, Knauer beats him up again and sends him in for swamp detail. After the abuse of the detail and some of the crazier convicts, Crewe finally agrees to take up the warden’s offer. He checks out the prison guard team and suggests what they need before the big game is to play a game with an underdog team that they can beat real bad and boost their confidence. But, there is a time crunch and the warden has no idea where to find such a team. Crewe suggests using the prisoners. Warden Hazen finds the idea brilliant, so much that he wants Crewe to coach and play quarterback for the prisoners. Crewe finds this a near impossible task because he hasn’t played in so long and does not want to get hurt. On the warden’s insistence, Crewe begrudgingly accepts.
This is where the real fun begins with the development of the self-proclaimed Mean Machine. Football practice and the actual game has never been this mean, violently funny and incredibly exciting. Just about every player stands out with all their unique quirks that had me laughing throughout.
This 4K UHD release by Kino Lorber could not be any cleaner. For a movie that was made in the early ’70s, the picture is brilliant. This presentation is so crisp and sharp you would think it was made a couple of years ago. The reason for this is because this new HEVC-encoded 2160p transfer is sourced from a new Dolby Vision HDR master. There is virtually no grain as you would expect from a film of this era. Colors are so bright and detailed. this is a vast improvement over the DVD and Blu. Especially towards the third act when director Aldrich delivers multiple screen shots at the same time of plays, players and attendees at the game.
The DTS-HD MA 2.0 track is a far cry better than what the original DVD had to offer. Dialogue is balanced well with the soundtrack and background ambience. The real difference with this track is the sound effects of the actual plays; the crunching, punching, tackling and the roar of the crowd. And, Frank De Vol’s exciting score is more pronounced than ever.
Bonuses are scarce, but the banter between producer Albert S. Ruddy and Burt Reynolds is very enjoyable and interesting, especially one tidbit where Reynolds talks about the scene that he was most concerned with – the fight between him and the girlfriend. He thought it was too violent and would have the audience hate his character. Ruddy assured him that his charm would override that. When they previewed it (and this was back in the ’70s), the audience cheered and Burt was stunned.
There is also a second commentary by film critics Alain Silver and James Ursini, authors of Whatever Happened to Robert Aldrich. A fascinating commentary discussing the development of The Longest Yard and the special characters created for the film. They also go into great detail about director Aldrich’s career.
Kino Lorber has given us every reason with this release to invest in 4K. The Longest Yard is one of Burt’s best films and performances, right up there with Deliverance, Boogie Nights and The End. This two-disc set comes with a Blu as well. The only thing I would have asked for was a blooper reel which would have been priceless with this particular film. Other than that, this is definitely one to add to your library.
Lowest Price – $25.63 – Walmart
Visit Ray’s blog at themonsterinmyhead.com