<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>330409</docID> <postdate>2024-10-20 04:00:10</postdate> <headline>Nostalgia meets horror in the race for ratings</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-330410" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/late1-jcpq-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600-resized-e1728278580448.jpg" alt="" width="760" height="507" /></p> <caption>David Dastmalchian as Late Night With the Devil's charismatically creepy host Jack Delroy.</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">Nostalgia is an incredibly powerful force, says streaming columnist <strong>NICK OVERALL</strong>.</span></p> <p><b>Modern audiences can't resist a series that winds back the clock a few decades, putting on show the sights and sounds of an entirely different era</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><img class=" wp-image-220714" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Nick-Overall_2020.jpg" alt="" width="328" height="350" /></p> <caption>Nick Overall.</caption> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Combine nostalgia with horror and you get one potent concoction indeed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That's exactly what a new film called Late Night With the Devil has done, streaming on Netflix from October 18.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This one is directed by Australian filmmakers Colin and Cameron Cairnes and serves as a wickedly satirical look at late-night TV and the extreme lengths some will go to chase fame.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It takes place in 1977 on the set of a popular entertainment program during Halloween. The props, music, costumes, even the grainy camera work, are all designed to replicate the feeling of watching a late-night show on the small screen from 50 years ago.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The live television event that shocked a nation!", the film's wryly retro poster reads.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">David Dastmalchian, who viewers might have seen before in The Dark Knight and Prisoners, plays the show's charismatically creepy host Jack Delroy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a bid to boost ratings, Delroy invites a girl who some say is "possessed" on to his program as a guest. It's from there that things spiral into insanity.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Entirely original, Late Night With the Devil is one of the most unusual horror offerings out there on streaming.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In an era where these movies are pumped out by the truckload, to see one do something this bold and succeed is a treat, even better that it comes from two brothers here in Australia.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Those looking for a special scare this Halloween are sorted.</span></p> <p><strong>STAYING on the topic of Aussie talent, Disney Plus has just launched a new series created and filmed down under.</strong></p> <p><strong>It's called Last Days of the Space Age and coincidentally, it's also set in the '70s.</strong></p> <p><strong>The drama series takes place in and around Perth and follows the daily lives of a dozen characters as the social and political fabric of the world rapidly changes around them.</strong></p> <p><strong>Among the ensemble are Judy and Tony, a couple who both work at a local power plant they are striking against.</strong></p> <p><strong>Their daughter Tilly has aspirations to be one of the first female astronauts, despite society telling her to focus on finding a husband.</strong></p> <p><strong>Then there's Jono, the eldest brother of a Vietnamese family who immigrated to Australia and who is trying to carve out a life on the meagre profits from a food truck.</strong></p> <p><strong>Last Days of the Space Age is trying to capture a moment in Australian life by touching on as many social issues as possible through as many characters as it can muster up.</strong></p> <p><strong>Perhaps the most notable appearance here is from Scottish actor Iain Glen, a star of Game of Thrones.</strong></p> <p><strong>There's plenty of Australian talent on display though, including Jesse Spencer, famous for his roles in House and Chicago Fire, and Radha Mitchell, who kick-started her career on Neighbours.</strong></p> <p><strong>Last Days of the Space Age walks a fine line between period drama and soap opera, a misty-eyed look back at the end of an era with social commentary that occasionally hits its target.</strong></p> <p><strong>Performances from its main cast do help the series stay afloat and for Australian viewers, this look at a different era might be enough to keep them coming back for the show's slightly-too-long eight-episode-run.</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">THAT'S enough of wistfully gazing back; those looking for something more action-packed can now stream Challengers on Amazon Prime Video.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On its surface, Challengers is a movie about tennis, but those who click play will soon learn that there's much more here than meets the eye.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Zendaya stars as Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach after suffering a devastating ankle injury.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tashi now vicariously lives out her career through her husband Art, who she's turned into a grand-slam champion. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Things take a turn when Art has to compete against Patrick, his former best friend and Tashi's ex-boyfriend who's now determined to win back more than the game at hand.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Challengers present love like a game of tennis, an energetic and addictive back and forth.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some pithy cinematography backs it up. In one particularly clever shot, the audience becomes the tennis ball, getting hit between both players on the court.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All of this makes Challengers double up as a great sports movie and a great romance movie. For those looking for an entertaining watch, this one serves up an ace indeed.</span></p> </body>