Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Review

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Review

There’s no question that Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is one of Netflix’s biggest drawcards of 2018, but is it more spooky than scary?

As the show opens, viewers are introduced to almost – 16-year-old Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka, Mad Men), who lives in Greendale and is half-witch, half-mortal. Sabrina is torn between her two worlds as her pivotal 16th birthday approaches later in the week.

In order to become a witch, Sabrina must forego the mortal world, which includes her boyfriend Harvey Kinkle (My Friend Dahmer‘s Ross Lynch), and friends Roz Walker (Jaz Sinclair Easy) and Susie Putnam (Lachlan Watson Nashville ). By signing Satan’s book, Sabrina would gain previously untapped power by undergoing a ‘dark baptism’ and start attending the Academy Of The Unseen Arts, led by Father Blackwood (Richard Coyle The Fall) and the Weird Sisters (led by The 100s Tati Gabrielle as Prudence).

Of course, Sabrina is unable to talk to her friends about her dilemma, so she seeks advice from her aunts Hilda (Lucy Davis The Office) and Zelda (Miranda Otto Lord of The Rings), and her housebound-against-his-will cousin Ambrose (Chance Perdomo) – and yes, they live in a mortuary to up the chill factor

And as much as I’d love to go more into the series and story, any more detail would honestly ruin your experience in watching the stories unfold – this is a show where it’s best to go in knowing as little as possible.

Casting-wise, everyone is fantastic, but it’s Kiernan Shipka who really draws you in with her mesmerising portrayal of Sabrina, and she handles the many layers – comedy, drama, romance and horror – of the world with ease. Miranda Otto and Lucy Davis have so much fun as her aunts, but it is Chance Perdomo who is one of the series’ breakout stars.

Three of the ten episodes of the series were watched for this review, and it’s easy to say that Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is engrossing and certainly chilling. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Riverdale), the series creator, has written a script that doesn’t get bogged down despite the hour-long episodes.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina isn’t perfect and it sometimes struggles to find the right balance between teen drama and horror show, but it is the perfect Halloween binge.

4/5 Stars

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premieres Friday on Netflix with all 10 episodes.

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