Well, Halloween has been and gone and people are now trying
to play Christmas songs in the office (which I have swiftly put a stop to), but
this blog is only just getting round to covering Netflix’s big content play for All
Hallows’ Eve 2018: Chilling
Adventures Of Sabrina. I wasn’t
going to watch this at first, even though posters were everywhere. A quick trip to see friends in Hamburg
revealed that most of their rail network’s out-of-home display sites had been
booked by this show, which, in German, actually has the same name. But then I felt the need for something dark
and gothic in my viewing life, and, before I knew it or could regain control of
my actions, I was eyeballs deep in episode one.
Part of my resistance came from the fact I saw no need for Sabrina, The Teenage
Witch to be overhauled. That show
lives on in Millennials’ memory for all the right reasons, dominating our
viewing from 1996 to 2003 (coinciding exactly with the seven years I spent at
secondary school). But this new version
was billed as darker, more relevant, and as closer to the original source
material: some old Archie Comic thing we
didn’t really have in the UK. More than
that, these Chilling Adventures also acknowledge one of the fundamental truths
about witch folklore: these women were believed to sell their souls to the
devil to obtain powers. Therefore, one
of the main points of divergence between the two imaginings of this teenage
witch is the amount of devil. The 1996
version had almost none. The 2018
version is really rather devilish with an overload of devil.
Sabrina has been aged down, with perfect casting seeing Kiernan Shipka in the
lead role. As a child star known by me
(and maybe you) for playing Don Draper’s bratty daughter in Mad Men, I keep expecting her to stamp her
feet and throw a tantrum at Betty Draper’s bitchy comments, but her tantrums
are instead directed at her aunts. Aunt
Hilda is our own beloved Lucy
Davis, qualified for British national treasure status since appearing in The Office, while Miranda Otto brings
luvvie steeliness to Aunt Zelda. While
the actresses are British and Australian respectively, Zelda seems to be an
American to Hilda’s Englishwoman. But
then, cousin Ambrose, a sort of housebound, open robe-wearing smart-mouth, is
very very English, whereas Sabrina is as American as apple pie. This isn’t that interesting, but it’s one of
many things that just seem a bit strange about the adventures.
Other things follow here.
Everything seems to be filmed through an Instagram filter. The edges of the screen are all blurred and
this is distracting for the first few episodes.
In addition, it’s hard to know when this is set. The hair, the costumes, some of the lifestyle
choices all smack of a bygone decade, maybe even the seventies. You never see a smartphone or hear tell of
the internet. But this niggle ends up
adding to the overall charm – what’s a bit of styling if it doesn’t add to the
spooky atmosphere? And spooky is just
what Greendale is. Dry ice roams the
streets, while the school is staffed by all manner of paranormality. And because witches aren’t enough, Sabrina’s
friends all inevitably take on supernatural tendencies of their own, a bit like
werewolves needing magical friends in Teen Wolf. In fact, the likenesses with high school-based
teen dramas featuring mythical creatures calls to mind that other great oeuvre
in the genre, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Sadly, though, it’s only really Lucy Davis’s
Aunt Hilda who has the witty lines, and she delivers each in a performance that
makes you want her on screen the whole time.
Vamping things up, we also have Scottish actor Michelle Gomez, in a
very sinister role as Miss Wardwell, a teacher possessed by Mrs Satan, bringing
a lot of the darkness into the show. I
swear I can still see a twinkle in her eyes that betrays her madcap antics in Green Wing
and The
Book Group, but she remains, as ever, a joy to behold.
The ten episodes take us through pivotal times in Sabrina’s
life as a school girl who is half mortal, half a witch. Turning sixteen, she must decide between two
destinies, and the initial tension comes from which she will choose: signing
her name over to Satan, or remaining at normal school because there are boys
there (and this time Harvey Kinkle isn’t played by someone who looks 35). The pressure to pick overwhelms both Sabrina
and us the viewers for the first few episodes, but once her initial decision is
made, we move into a more episodic format, with different demons showing up for
neat containment within the one-hour running time, and things feel a lot more
fun because of it. But the series’
climax builds back up to the initial struggle between humans and witches, culminating
in a great set up for more seasons, and further potential to get even darker.
So, should you watch this?
It’s a yes from me if you love a teen melodrama, think real life is
better with added supernatural powers or you simply want an antidote to the
saccharine Christmas nonsense that starts to get wheeled out at this time of
year. Some elements of the Sabrina
universe’s mythology are all over the place, as is the tone struck by the
action, characters and dialogue, but the atmosphere almost makes up for
this. You’ll jump if you’re jumpy, but
this is safe to watch in the dark and home alone. Most of all, it’s a lot of fun and a welcome
addition of difference to the Netflix canon.
I sadly can’t promise you an animatronic Salem jerking about, but
Sabrina can promise you a good time while she has her chilling adventures.
