What’s Up With The Skeleton In Late Night With The Devil?

Summary One of the most enduring mysteries of Late Night with the Devil is whether or not the skeleton in the Night Owls audience is the Devil.

The mystery of the skeleton character in the movie remains unresolved, leaving the character's identity up for interpretation.

Actor David Dastmalchian suggested that the skeleton may be someone from a coven, though he teased the Devil's appearance elsewhere.

One of the enduring mysteries of the found footage horror movie Late Night with the Devil is the identity of the figure wearing a skeleton mask. The supernatural outing was directed by the Australian duo Cameron and Colin Cairnes and featured a lead performance from David Dastmalchian as 1970s talk show host Jack Delroy. The movie was a hit in theaters, earning the best-ever opening weekend for IFC and going on to gross $11.3 million worldwide. It followed that success by becoming the most-watched debut on the horror streaming platform Shudder.

This success was perhaps driven by glowing Late Night with the Devil reviews, which earned the movie a Certified Fresh 97% Rotten Tomatoes score. However, it could also have been driven by the movie's many mysteries, which include the identity of the skeleton in the Night Owls crowd, who never speaks or takes off their mask despite being directly addressed by Jack. One theory as to their identity is that the character is the titular Devil, because the demonic entity channeled during the main plot of the movie seems to be a minor demon rather than the actual Devil.

Related Why Late Night With The Devil Just Broke A Huge Shudder Record Written, directed, and edited by Colin and Cameron Cairnes, Late Night with the Devil is one of 2024's best horror movies.

Was The Skeleton The Devil In Late Night With The Devil?

Late Night With The Devil's Skeleton Is A Resolutely Mysterious Presence

Ultimately, the Late Night with the Devil ending leaves the identity of the skeleton unexplained. The movie leaves many of the most important movements of its plot up to audience interpretation, including situations that are heavily implied to be true such as Jack sacrificing his wife's health, unknowingly or not, in exchange for career success. The ambiguous nature of the movie's ending is highlighted by the fact that it switches from found footage to Jack's much more subjective experience, muddying the waters even more.

Other elements that are left up for speculation in Late Night with the Devil include the exact nature of Jack Delroy's relationship with Dr. June Ross-Mitchell and everything that occurs when Jack attends meetings with his mysterious cabal.

As such, the skeleton's true identity is up to speculation. It is still entirely possible that the character is meant to represent the Devil. This could be the case because the character is an unspeaking observer, watching the show as it goes along and begins to go more and more off the rails. This would mirror some depictions of the Devil's nature as a sinister authority figure who prefers to let hordes of minor rank-and-file demons torment humanity rather than directly interfering very often.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

What David Dastmalchian Has Said About Late Night With The Devil's Skeleton

The Late Night With The Devil Star Has Weighed In On The Skeleton Mystery

Close

Late Night with the Devil star David Dastmalchian recently weighed in on the mystery while speaking with Variety. His own interpretation is that the skeleton is "someone who's come from the coven to make sure and collect," though he acknowleges that "the Devil, in my opinion, really only makes one quick appearance in the film." While this may clarify the theory that the skeleton is the Devil in spite of the fact that Dastmalchian was not involved in the writing of the movie, it does open up interpretation even more as to what devilish moment he is referring to.

Source: Variety