Halloween may have passed, but the witching hour isn’t quite over in Netflix’s new series “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”
Released on Oct. 26, this supernatural horror is a 10-episode origin story that presents a dark twist on Sabrina Spellman, whom many viewers first met in the late 90’s/early 2000’s hit “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” Both versions of the quirky and intelligent blonde were based on the Archie Comics character whose popularity led her to receive her own series.
The trailers for “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” teased its Satanic ties and creepy visuals, but nothing could have prepared audiences for how far Netflix would dive into the world of the weird.
The story surrounds Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka), a half-witch, half-mortal teenager, and her struggles to choose between her two identities.
What I feared would turn into a tale about a young girl who just wants the best of both worlds (Hannah Montana, much?), turned into a journey of defiance and the occasional social justice cry told from the eyes of a 16-year-old.
Each episode begins with homage to its comic book beginnings, with a recap of the previous events that takes viewers through the town to visit each character and drops in splashes of blood, painted visions of demons and a hoard of undead and sinister references along the way.
I feared Netflix would play it safe, but they instead chose to test the limits and this opening sequence is a clear testimony to that.
On the surface, Sabrina’s mortal friends fight the patriarchy and dabble in the underbelly of their historic town. Their struggles are dramatized versions of real-life hot button issues that should not be taken lightly. Yet, these situations were often not solved or given the screen time they probably should have been allotted.
Viewers witness Sabrina and other magic entities meddle in mortal affairs behind the backs of her ignorant friends instead of being able to watch a strong group of women come together to fight sexism, an unfair and oppressive education system and gender norms.
Though she often learns a lesson about consequences and how with great power comes great responsibility (thanks Peter Parker), it doesn’t change my desire to not watch such important topics be thrown around for the sake of making Sabrina and her friends look “woke.” There was potential for great social commentary for younger viewers here, but Netflix doesn’t always hit the mark with these heavier topics.
The writers clearly wanted to focus more on teaching the same lesson all supernatural dramas provide: magic comes with a cost.
On the dark side of things, Sabrina, her two aunts, Hilda (Lucy Davis) and Zelda (Miranda Otto) and her on-eternal house arrest cousin Ambrose (Chance Perdomo) reside in Spellman Mortuary.
The relationships between this non-traditional family don’t grow much as the series progresses. Where I wish I would have seen the humanity and bond of the Spellman’s grow, I was met with fleeting moments of sweetness that were often mocked or swept under the rug. Many characters come so close to being three-dimensional, but they revert back to their original static state before the hour-long episodes are over.
What the show gets right is their stunning visual effects, shocking reveals and intricate building of the Church of the Night. They don’t leave audiences questioning why anyone would choose to follow Satan himself, who they refer to as the “Dark Lord” and is their representation of free-will and choice.
The series works hard to make you believe these witches and warlocks are not evil, some characters even would go so far as to defend that they are in fact good-hearted, but that there is truly a faith in their freedom there. Netflix tries to take you deeper into these characters and their motivations to help audiences move beyond their devilish appearances, but once again they don’t always hit the mark.
The show’s commitment to building this other world goes so far as to depict the Dark Lord in the likeliness of the image of Baphomet, a deity in modern-day Satanism.
This resemblance has spurred Lucien Greaves, co-founder and spokesperson for The Satanic Temple, to take legal action against Netflix. Greaves believes the statue is an appropriation of their religion and has begun to fight for its removal from the “Satanic Panic fiction,” as he called the series in a tweet two days after its release.
“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” earned an audience score of 81 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and I can’t disagree. Between the resurrections, salt circles and frequent bathroom crying scenes, it’s a decent beginning to a new take on the teenage supernatural drama.
