The 90s remake everybody should be watching
Netflix's Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina has landed — and it's so much more than a teen show for grown-ups
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Your support makes all the difference.Supernatural Sabrina Spellman — the teenage witch who lives with her centuries-old aunts and Salem the talking cat — is back. Based on the Archie Comics series, the character was played by Melissa Joan Hart for seven years in a madcap Nineties sitcom loved by young teens.
Fast-forward to 2018 and Netflix has revived the character for a new generation. But unlike its relatively fluffy predecessor, Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina — starring Kiernan Shipka (Don Draper’s daughter, Sally, in Mad Men) — is an altogether spookier, gorier and more adult ride. This 10-episode revival ain’t for kids: horror aficionados may be surprised to learn that Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina has some of the most impressively-crafted scares of the year. Alongside The Haunting Of Hill House and The Raid director Gareth Evans’ cult film-in-waiting, Apostle, the series continues what’s been an impressive month for the genre on Netflix.
The latest cog in a machine of shows aimed at young adults, Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina was devised as a companion series to teen sensation Riverdale, another Archie creation, now in its third season on the streaming service.
It takes viewers to her hometown Greendale where the young witch is about to succumb to the Dark Lord on her 16th birthday. Things go awry as the hesitant teen’s life is hijacked by the supernatural.
Gruesome spooks aside, this series embraces the slow-burn horror of films such as Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Wicker Man (1973), and delivers something surprisingly indelible and, at times, genuinely unsettling — an entire episode is even dedicated to William Friedkin’s 1973 classic The Exorcist. This new show is a world away from its cosy Nineties sibling and all the stronger for it, but don’t be completely scared away if you’re someone who frightens easily.
If you’re brave enough, the show’s influences are laid bare in such a way that it could prove a horror entry point for newbies — no bad thing.
It’s refreshing to watch a revamp that feels warranted. Enough has changed for things to feel fresh. Social issues also pervade the show with showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa championing women’s rights and creating a pansexual character in Sabrina’s cousin, Ambrose, played by impressive newcomer, Chance Perdomo.
With memorable turns from Lucy Davis (The Office), Miranda Otto (Homeland) and Michelle Gomez (who channels Doctor Who’s mesmerising Missy as Madam Satan), not to mention a star-making role for Shipka, this new series is a rare beast among the bustling amount on offer: something that can be enjoyed by generations young and old.
With so many shows unable to bridge that gap, Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina is a beguiling standout.
Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina is on Netflix now
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