A movie released to critical acclaim has now been met with intense backlash after fans discovered it included AI-generated images. Written and directed by siblings Cameron and Colin Cairnes, 'Late Night With the Devil,' is a horror movie starring David Dastmalchian as a 70s talk show host. Through found footage, it shows a once 'lost' live TV broadcast on Halloween, in which the evening's guest, a young girl, claims to be demonically possessed.
Critics and audiences alike have raved about the movie since it premiered at the SXSW film festival — but that goodwill proved to be short-lived. In a scathing and now viral review, a user called out the movie for having AI 'all over' certain sequences, garnering thousands of likes and inciting tons of fiery discourse. The film appears to have used AI-generated images only in a handful of very minor transitions between scenes. Given that generative AI is a touchy topic among creatives who often feel the tech is stealing their art, though, it's not unsurprising that even a minor offense can be seen as a mortal sin. 'In conjunction with our amazing graphics and production design team, all of whom worked tirelessly to give this film the 70s aesthetic we had always imagined,' the directing duo wrote, 'we experimented with AI for three still images which we edited further and ultimately appear as very brief interstitials in the film.