TV: Critic's Choice for August 23
Hungry GhostsCredit:
HUNGRY GHOSTS
New series ★★★★★
Monday, August 24, 9.25pm, SBS
Part supernatural fantasy, part thriller, part inter-generational relationship drama, this triumph of a series is set in Melbourne during the Vietnamese Hungry Ghost Festival, when the dead are said to seek recognition or revenge. A brilliant cast including Bryan Brown and Susie Porter, headed by Catherine Van Davies in her breakthrough TV role, tells stories of grief and buried secrets. Visually, it is an intoxicating whirl of ancient superstition and urbane beauty. Psychologically, it’s dangerously addictive.
Halifax: RetributionCredit:
HALIFAX: RETRIBUTION
New mini-series ★★★★
Tuesday, August 25, 8.45pm, Nine
Rebecca Gibney and Anthony LaPaglia shine in this slick sequel to Halifax f. p., which finds Gibney’s retired forensic psychologist, Jane Halifax, a role she has inhabited since the 1990s, in the crosshairs of a sniper terrorising Melbourne. The slow, ominous build around stylish domestic scenarios, intensifies the shock development in this opening episode. Claudia Karvan plays against type as a scheming drifter. The cast also includes Jacqueline McKenzie, Stephen Curry and John Waters.
The Salisbury PoisoningsCredit:
THE SALISBURY POISONINGS
New mini-series ★★★★★
Monday, August 24, 8.30pm, SBS
Told primarily through the eyes of Tracy Daszkiewicz, the public health director credited with preventing untold tragedy in the UK in the wake of the 2018 Novichok attack, this is a searing inside view of such unenviable positions. The stories of those physically affected and their families are relayed with the same detail and care. As with HBO’s Chernobyl, and perhaps, one day, similarly well-executed re-enactments of the current health crisis, it’s impossible to look away from the retrospective real-life fear.
The DeceivedCredit:
THE DECEIVED
★★★½
Stan
Fun B-grade psychological horror/thriller with a touch of Rebecca about it. If you can get past a nubile student forming a relationship with her much older literature professor (and you must) there’s a lot to enjoy in the misty Irish countryside, the decaying mansion which bumps in the night, faithful and not-so-faithful retainers, and the spirit (maybe, like, actual spirit) of the glamorous dead wife hanging over it all. Only four episodes, too, so perfect to binge. MH