Use Of AI Art Tempers Enthusiasm And Prompts Controversy For Indie Horror Flick 'Late Night With The Devil'

Late Night With The Devil, an indie horror film that generated buzz after a SXSW showing in March 2023 and has been steadily building interest ahead of a 2024 theatrical release, has found itself in the midst of controversy after viewers spotted and its creators confirmed the brief use of AI art in the movie.

Late Night With The Devil is a found-footage horror about a 1970s late-night television show that brings on a survivor of a satanic cult. The trailer seems to suggest that Exorcist-style shenanigans ensue throughout the film.

While the film was generating a lot of hype ahead of its theatrical release this weekend, some users on Twitter / X spotted that a piece of art used to advertise the fictional TV show of the film was AI-generated.

The filmmakers Cameron and Colin Cairnes confirmed to Variety that the images were AI-generated as well.

The AI-generated piece appears very briefly in the film, but it has sparked a wave of debate between AI hardliners who now refuse to see the movie and those who still have expressed interest in seeing it.

For some, the use of AI is barely noticeable, and it shouldn't overshadow the work done by the entire cast and crew of the film.

However, others argued that the apparent innocuous use of artificial intelligence made it all the more insidious, as it replaced the type of small art job that they feel needs to be protected.

It's unclear how the backlash surrounding the film's use of AI will affect its performance at the box office when it releases in theaters this weekend. It is also scheduled to stream on Shudder in about a month, and some have expressed hope that the filmmakers will replace the AI pieces in the movie by the time it hits streaming.