Editorials
“Riverdale”: Dazzling High School Horror
Horror television is in a good place right now. The Exorcist, Channel Zero and Stranger Things are all taking small screen horror to interesting new places, and The Walking Dead and American Horror Story are still going strong against all odds. But there are also some brilliant horror-inspired shows that might be slipping under the radar. Bloody’s Zachary Paul sang the praises of Freeform’s giallo-inspired Pretty Little Liars ahead of the series finale earlier this year and I’ve got a similar left-field horror recommendation: The CW’s Archie Comics (now… he fucks) show, Riverdale.
The first season had moments to savor for genre fans – the inciting mystery of the death of the high school quarterback made for a thrilling Twin Peak’s riff – but that pales in comparison to the gonzo giallo slasher that is season 2.
*SEASON 1 AND MILD SEASON 2 SPOILERS BELOW*
Even after the vice-ridden truth behind the murder of Jason Blossom was revealed, all was not well in Riverdale and the first season ended on a shocking note: with Archie Andrew’s dad (Luke Perry) being shot by a masked attacker.
Season 2 picks up right after the shooting and sees an obsessed Archie (KJ Apa) desperate for vengeance on the so-called “Black Hood” killer (a tribute to the 1940 comics creation). But the mysterious killer doesn’t stop at Fred Andrews, and the first few episodes of season 2 see him pick off a few more Riverdale locals.
The show was already laced with teen melodrama, but the multiple murders up the ante from season 1’s comparatively tame tragedy. The violence may only come in bursts, but it’s all midnight movie thrills: from drenched gang brawls to sexed-up teenagers getting slaughtered in the backwoods.
The series’ biggest wild card, though, is its gialli-inspired visuals. I honestly think it’s the best-looking show on the air, at the moment. The color work is outstanding, drawing on Suspiria-esque primaries that pop with 50s style production design and costuming. The directors and cinematographers aren’t afraid to go bold with the show’s look. Each shot is lathered with stylistic foreboding and every scene looks destined to end in murder.
There is depth beyond the colour palette, though. Like the best horror, Riverdale is highly, almost confrontationally, socially conscious. Season 2 doubles for a study of crime and punishment in contemporary America, with the ensemble representing different forms of justice. Archie, for example, sets up an Order of the Phoenix-style vigilante gang, the Red Circle, to hunt down the Black Hood and provide safety to the people of Riverdale.
There’s also the clash between the affluent north and the blue-collar Southside and the rampant sociological profiling that plagues the town. And the media plays a vital role, too, as Archie’s neighbor and childhood friend Betty Cooper (Lilli Reinhart) rebels against her controlling journalist mother (Twin Peak’s Mädchen Amick) and restarts Riverdale High’s school newspaper to bring the tough truths to the people. The show is unafraid to indulge both the youth’s thirst for drama and their evolving and ever-growing sense of political engagement, without undermining either.
This unexpected genre twist was always on the cards seeing as showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s two film credits were for penning Kimberly Peirce’s 2013 Carrie remake and the meta-sequel to The Town That Dreaded Sundown. He and his writing room are first to acknowledge the influence. Each episode is titled after a movie, and that recent weeks have gifted us with the likes of “The Watcher in the Woods” and “When a Stranger Calls” is an extra treat for horror fans.
Ghostface himself Skeet Ulrich does great work as Archie’s best friend’s biker gang Dad. The Scream influences don’t stop there, as Betty begins to receive phone calls from the Black Hood, embroiling her in his twisted crusade. Plus, we’ve got horror legend Tony Todd to look forward to in this week’s episode, “Tales From the Darkside” (airing Wednesday 29th).
Aguirre-Sacasa is obviously enjoying playing in the horror sandbox. On the back of Riverdale’s success, another famous Archie Comics character is getting her own show: Sabrina. Though, The Teenage Witch, this ain’t. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina promises to be an occult coming-of-age story “in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist.“ That’s a tantalizing interpretation and, after Riverdale’s genre delights, my hopes couldn’t be higher!
The trailer for Ti West’s upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol raised a lot of eyebrows when it dropped earlier this week. While plenty of folks initially dismissed Ebenezer as a derivative project meant to cash in on the recent wave of unnecessary prequels that expand the backstory of beloved characters (such as 2023’s Wonka), Charles Dickens’ original novel already made a point of exploring Ebenezer Scrooge’s origins in detail – meaning that this new film is likely just a particularly faithful adaptation of the source material under a different name.
Couple that with the fact that the movie is being helmed by a genuine horror auteur and I think it’s safe to say that the latest iteration of the first modern ghost story is in good hands.
That being said, one detail that immediately jumped out at me during the brief teaser (other than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nod to Johnny Depp’s iconic bedroom death scene from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street) is the fact that many of Ebenezer’s ghosts appear to have been directly lifted from the iconic John Leech illustrations that accompanied the first edition of Dickens’ novel.
Here are a couple of stills from the trailer compared to the original artwork:
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
The Phantoms in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Ebenezer’
Marley’s Ghost in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
Mainly working with old-school wood and steel engravings that would later be transferred to print, Leech was instrumental in crafting the iconic look of history’s most influential phantoms – especially since Dickens is said to have been deeply involved with the creation of these so-called “comic illustrations.”
And since the novel is commonly said to have popularized spiritualism in Victorian England, much of the ghostly iconography that we still see in genre media to this very day (including some of Ti West’s previous films) can be traced back to the author’s partnership with Leech.
Ebenezer won’t be the first A Christmas Carol adaptation to borrow heavily from these designs, but I can appreciate how Ti West is incorporating an important part of horror history into his latest film.
Ebenezer will be available in theaters starting November 13.
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