Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is, in fact, incredibly chilling. For those who grew up watching Sabrina: The Teenage Witch, which premiered on ABC in 1996, the spinoff is nothing like its predecessor.
Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka), starts out as a carefree 15-year-old girl growing up in a fictional town called Greendale. To some, this town might sound familiar. That would be because the town of Greendale plays an important role in the first season of another Archie Comics show, Riverdale.
Spellman plays the role of an intense feminist who will do anything for those she cares about, no matter the situation. She is able to navigate her supernatural life while also maintaining the secret of who she really is.
The show is filled with many dynamic characters, including Spellman’s boyfriend, Harvey Kinkle (Ross Lynch), her aunts Hilda (Lucy Davis) and Zelda (Miranda Otto), and her “cousin” Ambrose (Chance Perdomo), who plays a pivotal role in guiding Spellman throughout the show and providing comic relief.
Similar to Sabrina: The Teenage Witch, Spellman is an orphan who lives with her two aunts. It is also true that her “familiar” — the being, usually an animal, that protects her — is a black cat like it was in the original show.
Sabrina: The Teenage Witch is strictly a teenage drama, and the magic in it is really just an added bonus. It is a fluff piece that features superpowers but really focuses on a young girl who is juggling a boyfriend, her two aunts and the lighthearted idea of being a witch. But Chilling Adventures of Sabrina hits the heart like a ton of bricks.
The original Sabrina Spellman (Melissa Joan Hart) did go through similar conflicts that the new Sabrina faces. The decision to become a witch with the possibility they would have to give up their mortal lives was a choice both teen witches weren’t able to make. The only difference is that Melissa Joan Hart’s character wasn’t tortured or threatened with unspeakable acts of evil if she didn’t follow through with becoming a full witch.
The house Spellman lives in sits on a person and pet cemetery, and just to add to the eeriness, the house is also a family-owned mortuary.
Spellman is wrapped up in this gory coming-of-age story as she struggles with some very hard-hitting topics: educational censorship, feminism, poverty and the struggle between good and evil.
As the season goes on, it is clear Spellman is struggling not only with accepting what is meant to be her true destiny — a life full of evil and fiery freedom — but also her lack of faith in anything real.
Spellman — who is frequently called a “half-breed” because her mother was mortal and her father was a warlock — is faced with the difficult decision of having to either become a full witch or give up her powers and watch them slowly dwindle away. To become a full witch, Spellman would have to participate in a blood ritual on her 16th birthday, which also falls on an eclipse and just happens to be Halloween night, called a “dark baptism.”
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a true work of art. It adds subtle slow motion frames into situations that would normally be fast paced to add emphasis to what is going on in those particular scenes. The old-timey music used in the show adds to the old fashion setting and sends its viewers back in time. The detail intertwined in every scene is shocking, breathtaking and absolutely captivating.
Like Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is indeed a teen drama. It focuses a lot on the need for strong friendship and this is seen through the parallel between Spellman and her friends and Riverdale’s Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) and Archie Andrews (K.J. Apa).
However, there are some incredibly big differences between Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The latter is a gruesome horror story that highlights demonic possession, satanic rituals, cannibalism and witchcraft, unlike Riverdale, which never really touches on religion. The comic relief provided by most of the characters in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina hides this underlying evil that resides in each episode and makes the show a very smooth watch.
The clothing the characters wear are delicately chosen to match each of their personalities. In the first few episodes, Spellman is typically found in something red, whether it’s a red button-down coat, red lipstick or a red blouse.
Christianity considers red as a color-evoking blood and is usually tied to martyrs and the death of Christ on the cross. In the religion, red also symbolizes fire. This is important to note because it shows the sly connections the shows creators made between religion and certain details.
To characters like Prudence (Tati Gabrielle) and her two sidekicks, Spellman is considered a martyr because she was not born of full witch blood. In one scene in particular, Spellman appears next to Prudence and her girl gang, “The Orphans,” dressed in a red coat which fiercely shines in comparison to their black dresses.
Those details are what the audience should be living for. It takes the show to the next level and really makes it a work of disturbing art.
This show twists the whimsical perspective of a young teenage witch and turns it into a taunting story about growing up in a coven devoted to the sinister presence of the Dark Lord.
For those looking for an amusing teenage drama, the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is not the show for them. For those willing to tap into the darker side of things, this Netflix Original Series is exactly the place for them, so log on and enjoy.
