Chilling Adventures of Sabrina -- a review

Not having seen the original Sabrina TV series (and not really having any great desire to) I went into the brand new Chilling Adventures of Sabrina completely cold and unknowing of whatever the previous incarnation was about. But I wound up enjoying the new version immensely. Thankfully, the new Sabrina has ditched the cheesy sitcom trappings of its predecessor in favor of an hour-long drama format--and thanks to it being on Netflix, we really get full-hour episodes. Also thanks to Netflix, the new Sabrina series is allowed to fully embrace its horror-movie inspirations.

This was the first great thing that the new series has done: diving head-first into the horror genre with full-on gore and some genuinely frightening scare moments that managed to catch this old horror movie fan off guard. Like the original sitcom, Sabrina is a teenage witch who lives with her two witch aunts and whose familiar is a cat named Salem. Unlike the sitcom, the cat never speaks but transforms into a really scary creature that protects Sabrina from supernatural threats (little Salem’s rescue of Sabrina in a maze was one of those classic horror movie jump scares that managed to catch me off guard).

The second best thing the new series has done was to cast the amazingly good Kiernan Shipka in the lead role of Sabrina. Perhaps best known for her role in Mad Men, Shipka shines here as Sabrina by creating an engagingly warm and sympathetic performance without being smarmy. Shipka is surrounded with a sturdy cast of actors like Miranda Otto (who plays Zelda, one of Sabrina’s aunties), Lucy Davis (auntie Hilda), Michelle Gomez (Missy from Doctor Who), and Chance Perdomo as Sabrina’s warlock cousin Ambrose. The entire cast in this series is superb.

Developed by the same creative team that gave us Riverdale (the Archie Comics TV show that’s seemingly too embarrassed to name itself after its source material), the new Sabrina has a nice blending of comedy, drama and a healthy dose of horror (there are nods in here to The Exorcist, Night of the Living Dead, and even lesser known horror gems like Mario Bava’s Black Sunday). Given these elements, Sabrina reminds me fondly of another favorite horror/drama/comedy series of mine: Buffy The Vampire Slayer. If you’re looking for a fun series that will tickle your ghoulish side, then spend some time with the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Happily, a second season is already on its way. Bring it on! --SF

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The View From The Mountain

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