CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA S1 Advance Review: "Deliciously Twisted & Wickedly Fun"
Following the runaway success of Riverdale, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and EP Greg Berlanti head to Netflix to breathe new life into another popular Archie Comics creation, the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which debuted on the streaming giant this morning, picks up at a pivotal time in the life of Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka), a teenage half-witch, half-mortal; who’s been asked to make an impossible choice between the two vastly different worlds on her upcoming 16th birthday, which coincidentally falls on Halloween.
*This review contains mild spoilers from the ten-episode first season.*
Her decision is fairly straightforward as she has to essentially decide whether she wants to follow in her father’s footsteps and sign the Book of the Beast, which means pledging her young soul to the Dark Lord (Satan) for the rest of eternity, or if she wants to denounce the Church of Night and stay at Baxter High with her loving boyfriend Harvey Kinkle (Ross Lynch), and her two best friends Roz (Jaz Sinclair) and Susie (Lachlan Watson). Unsurprisingly, she chooses the latter by the end of the second hour, setting the season in motion and putting a massive target on the backs of the entire Spellman clan.
Following Sabrina’s decision, we’re treated to quite the wicked tale as she along with her aunts, Zelda (Miranda Otto) & Hilda (Lucy Davis), housebound cousin Ambrose (Chance Perdomo) and her familiar, a black cat named Salem, do their best to traverse the fine line between remaining true to their coven while also attempting to protect their storied family name. This, of course, leads to a series of delightfully twisted adventures, including episodes that feature the entire Spellman family finding themselves at the mercy of a nightmare demon, Sabrina going to trial against the Dark Lord, Sabrina uncovering an unsettling mystery about bullying and dead children; Sabrina attempting to put an end to a horrifying tradition, an exorcism, a resurrection, and a lot, lot, more.
Since there is an extraordinary amount of story to get through, the first four episodes do spend quite a bit of time establishing this extremely dark world and getting fans acclimated to the devil-worshipping and whatnot, it’s not until episode five that the series really gets into the meat of things and begins to unleash its more twisted aspects, although that’s not to say there isn’t plenty of blood and sex in the first few hours, but it’s mostly just a precursor for what’s to come. The show basically grows as Sabrina does and as she further embraces her witchy side, so does the series, which makes the back half of the year all that more compelling.
Sabrina is easily one of the darkest coming-of-age tales to ever grace the small screen and it could prove to be one of the most influential as it tackles real-life issues, including growing out of adolescence, women’s rights, bullying, and censorship, amongst other things, in a more refreshing manner. Unlike some more of the heavy-handed shows on network television, Sabrina doesn’t waste much time trying to push any sort of agenda, never veering off-course from the main storyline, but instead opts to relate to its likely young viewer base by featuring subplots that not only feel very timely but also very real.
There is also a very, for lack of a better term, high school feel to the entire show, which obviously suits the teen-oriented series considering its source material and target audience, but for slightly older viewers, it may bring some unintended humor from time to time as Sabrina and her friends do occasionally veer into melodramatic territory, especially in the first half of the season. It’s not a knock on the series by any means, because these characters do feel like fairly authentic portrayals of everyday teenagers, save for the witchcraft, but it’s hard not to laugh - and maybe reminisce about your own high school years - when Sabrina or one of her friends makes a short-sighted decision or treats a trivial high school issue like it’s the end of the world. If only they knew what was coming.
Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men; The Blackcoat’s Daughter) is a star and should be one to look out for over the next several decades. She’s absolutely phenomenal as Sabrina, commanding every scene she’s in, and carrying the weight of the entire series on her 18-year-old shoulders with almost little-to-no effort, which makes the season all that more enjoyable to watch. While some of the Netflix/Marvel series have often strayed away from their title character’s story to establish supporting players, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina rarely makes that mistake by keeping the focus solely on our heroine for a vast majority of the season. The entire show hinges on Sabrina’s journey to learn what it means to be a Spellman and that everything always comes with a price, which is initially a hard lesson for the bull-headed teenage witch to learn.
Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings) and Lucy Davis (Wonder Woman) are both tremendous fun to watch as aunts Zelda and Hilda, respectively, and each brings their own unique flavor to the series. Otto plays the stern, traditionalist Zelda with just a dab of over-the-top theatricality that perfectly fits the series while Davis plays the beautifully eccentric and slightly soft-spoken Hilda with the same loving affection and scene-stealing charm she showed us last year as Etta Candy. The sisters both love Sabrina with all their hearts, but have very different parenting styles, which tends to lead into a hilarious predicament or two, including an early one in the premiere when Zelda actually kills Hilda. However, while they do spend plenty of their time fighting with one another, as any siblings do, they’re also quick to band together and take action if anyone or anything threatens their beloved niece.
As for the rest of the supporting cast, Chance Perdomo is the clear standout as Sabrina’s über-cool cousin Ambrose, a warlock that’s been put on house arrest after a particularly hysterical crime that happened before the events of the series. While he does spend most of his time trying to get out of his punishment, he’s also Sabrina’s best friend and is always there to watch out for her, regardless of whatever apocalyptic mess she may have gotten herself into. Ross Lynch is also very good as the new Harvey Kinkle and is arguably the heart of the series as, outside of her own family, he is the single most important person in Sabrina’s life and is frequently the biggest factor in all of her decisions. They have a tender, but relatively cute, love story, which should bring back fond memories of their previous live-action incarnation when Melissa Joan Hart and Nate Richert were playing the parts. Like Sabrina and her journey to uncover the truth behind the Spellman name, the kind-hearted Harvey finds himself on his own quest to learn more about the Kinkle family, a decision that could have huge ramifications for Season 2.
While everyone is undoubtedly having fun playing around in this world, it seems that the villains, played by Michelle Gomez (Doctor Who), Tati Gabrielle (The 100), and Richard Coyle (A.D. The Bible Continues) might be having the most fun of them all. Gomez plays Sabrina’s favorite teacher and master manipulator Mary Wardell, who comic readers will know by an alias that I won’t spoil here. She has a very specific agenda and unbeknownst to Sabrina, is using her knowledge and abilities to sway the young witch into a very specific direction that could have horrifying consequences for everyone involved. Outside of Satan himself, she’s probably the most nefarious character introduced and Gomez is at her wicked best when she’s simultaneously mentoring Sabrina and plotting her demise. It’s a very similar dynamic to the one shared between Barry Allen and Harrison Wells in the first season of The Flash. Meanwhile, Gabrielle plays frenemy Prudence, a pureblood witch that holds a personal disdain for Sabrina, and is probably the character that takes the biggest 180-degree turn over the course of the season. It’s not dissimilar from the dynamic shared between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, but it’s significantly expedited. Then, there’s Coyle, who plays Father Blackwood, and is probably the most ridiculously entertaining performance on the entire series. He’s the High Priest of the Church of Night and the Dean of the Academy of the Unseen Arts, so he has a big role to play in Sabrina’s life, but due to the teenage witch’s rebellious nature, he finds himself thrown for a loop when he finally meets a young woman that’s unwilling to succumb to his will and is openly challenging his belief system, something that is seemingly happening to him for the first time ever.
For those wondering, yes, Salem Saberhagen features heavily and is an excellent addition to the cast, but don’t go in expecting any sort of wisecracks. The black cat is actually Sabrina’s familiar and has sworn to protect her, but he never speaks, using only meows to communicate. He actually operates similarly to Groot, in that regard, as only Sabrina and the Spellmans can understand him.
Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a deliciously twisted and wickedly fun series that should make for a highly entertaining watch and the perfect companion series as Halloween swiftly approaches. While some of the episodes may feel a tad overlong - possibly suggesting the initial pitch was for a twenty plus episode season - the storytelling is incredibly sharp as showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa weaves a splendid tale that will have you absolutely clamoring for Season 2 as soon as the tenth witching hour is up. Don't miss it!
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina imagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft. Tonally in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, this adaptation finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature — half-witch, half-mortal — while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina features:
Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina Spellman
Ross Lynch as Harvey Kinkle
Miranda Otto as Zelda Spellman
Lucy Davis as Hilda Spellman
Chance Perdomo as Ambrose Spellman
Michelle Gomez as Mary Wardell
Jaz Sinclair as Rosalind Walker
Tati Gabrielle as Prudence
Adeline Rudolph as Agatha
Richard Coyle as Father Blackwood
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is now streaming on Netflix
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