10 EVEN MORE Horror Movies You Knew Would Be Good After The First 10 Minutes
4. Late Night With The Devil
Late Night with the Devil is framed like a documentary that explores an infamous episode of a variety show called Night Owls with Jack Delroy. In this particular episode, the host (David Dastmalchian) speaks to a supposedly possessed teen, hoping the spectacle will boost his flagging ratings.
This Ghostwatch-inspired thriller starts with a four-minute summary that condenses Jack Delroy's career up until the airing of this infamous episode. Normally, starting a movie with a drawn-out exposition-dump should spell disaster. However, the prologue is flawless as it helps truncate everything we need to know about the enigmatic host's background, ambitions, fears, relationship with his deceased wife, and cryptic references to a secret group he belongs to.
The opening also highlights Jack's ratings battle with talk show rival Johnny Carson, which compelled Jack to perform goofier and more lewd acts on the show, compounding his insecurities. Even though many of these snippets only last a second or two, you can tell the cast and production team went all out to bring every one of them to life. Many of these set-pieces are so elaborate, Night Owls with Jack Delroy looks like a legit talk show.
By the time the sequence ends, there should be a great sense of who Jack Delroy is and what he's trying to accomplish. As a result, the audience will be 100% invested in the character before the real story begins.