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[Review] “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Midwinter’s Tale” Overstuffs With Yuletide Boredom

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Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Christmas

The special one-off episode of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a holiday-filled episode that sees the Spellman family celebrating the Winter Solstice, a festive but Satanic take on Christmas. All of the holiday traditions make appearances, but the word Christmas is swapped with yule. Despite the merriment and yuletide celebrations, “A Midwinter’s Tale” isn’t much of a holiday special and instead casts a glaring spotlight on the series’ biggest flaw: overcramming its narratives so full it loses a lot in the process.

The episode picks up not long after the events of the season one finale, which means that it’s much less of a standalone special and more of a holiday themed bridge between seasons. It picks up some of the loose plot threads from season one while concluding with dangling threads that will clearly have to be addressed in the following season. However, those plot threads are secondary to the monster of the week nature of “A Midwinter’s Tale.” Or monsters, plural, considering how many various different stories this episode tries to tackle in dizzying fashion.

A flashback opening sequence that sees young Sabrina (played by Mckenna Grace) and little Susie Putnam (Lachlan Watson) in line for a department store Santa seems to set up the ep’s premise in which present day Sabrina performs a séance to find out why Sabrina’s mother is in limbo- she misses her terribly after all. The séance might have been successful, but the yule log goes out and with it an opening for evil spirits to enter the Spellman residence. In another concurrent storyline, it turns out that the opening scene has much more to do with Susie, who was so enamored with the memory that she got a job as Santa’s elf. The store’s Santa, Mr. Bartel, quickly reveals himself to be much more sinister than a simple grump when he kidnaps Susie after her first day on the job.

But this is Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and the very excellent Krampus-like story that’s being set up with Susie takes a backburner for most of the episode in favor of poltergeists, changelings, yule witches obsessed with orphans, and more. They all eventually connect in the end, but at the expense of the plotline with the most potential, which is explained then wrapped up with a mere few sentences of exposition. The monster of the week episodes are usually the most fun of the series, but “A Midwinter’s Tale” tries to juggle too many, and it doesn’t really give any insight or forward momentum to its characters.

Almost all of the main players of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina make an appearance, stuffing an already overstuffed episode to bloated levels. The Weird Sisters are strangely friendly and without a trace of previous antagonism. Poor Ambrose continues to be one of the most intriguing and neglected characters of the series- his storyline sees him arrive at a swank club for a date and that’s literally the last we see of it. Most frustrating is that Sabrina spends a lot of the episode still forcing magic upon a magic-averse Harvey, despite how catastrophic that’s been for her previously. This Sabrina learns nothing. Considering how the season finale left her dramatically different, well, this is a step backward.

Oh and if you were hoping for more Salem, keep that hope for season two.

“A Midwinter’s Tale” is an overfilled episode that isn’t much of holiday special, and it doesn’t propel the series or its characters forward at all. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina continues to demonstrate a serious struggle in balancing its characters. In this case, it put the yule poltergeists front and center, while Susie Putnam’s yule demon captor and his creepy modus operandi should have been the focus. The result is a dizzying exercise in tedium and disappointment.

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

Books

‘In Search of Darkness’ Book Review: A Must-Have for ’80s Horror Fans

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In 2019, the documentary of 80s horror In Search of Darkness became an instant hit with horror fans. Now, a beautiful coffee table style companion book is available and is a must-own for all fans of one of horror’s greatest eras. The book is a walk down the horror aisle of the best mom and pop video store in the heyday of VHS, featuring full color photos, poster art, insightful essays and more. More than just a nostalgic throwback, In Search of Darkness is the kind of book I wish I’d had back in my years as a burgeoning horror fan but is also satisfying for the film fanatic I have become in the years since.

The format is beautifully and simply laid out, with at least a dozen (usually more) movies from each year of the decade presented in order of release accompanied by informative and insightful essays by the authors Heather Wixson and Patrick Bromley. Both authors have been mainstays of film journalism, specializing in horror, for many years. Wixson began her career in 2007 with Dread Central and has spent the past ten years as the Managing Editor of Daily Dead, from which she recently retired to focus on books and other projects. She has devoted the past several years to interviewing and writing books about the Make-up and Special Effects wizards that have brought so much to film over the years, specifically the horror genre.

Bromley is a film journalist and critic whose work can be found all over the place including right here on Bloody Disgusting. He recently provided the commentary for the Vinegar Syndrome release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and is known as something of a Tobe Hooper expert. He is also the founder and editor of F this Movie!, an eclectic film website, and host of its accompanying podcast. So, to be clear, the authors know their stuff.

Wixson and Bromley divide writing duties roughly in half and though each has a distinctive voice, their writing styles dovetail beautifully into a cohesive whole. Each author plays to their strengths. Being familiar with both their work I didn’t even have to look at the bylines to know that Heather covered Christine and Terror in the Aisles and Patrick took on The Funhouse and Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers. Wixson’s passion for make-up effects is clear and comes through in many of her contributions. In general, Wixson takes on the “big” titles, the movies that defined the decade the most, and Bromley covers what the more cynical among us might call schlock, but he would likely call pure cinematic bliss. There are exceptions and surprises, of course, as there should be (Patrick covers The Shining for example). Each essay dives into the history behind the film, the major players involved, the reception, and legacy with often surprising aspects drawn from interviews with the filmmakers from various sources and insights from the authors.

For all their in-depth explorations of each film, in general the authors keep their critics’ hats safely stowed, keeping in mind that every entry on the book has its fans. In fact, they may well have sold me on finally hitting play on some of the schlockier offerings of the decade like Evilspeak, Nightbeast, and Blood Diner. Hell, I may even give The Beast Within a spin for shits and giggles. The point is that this book is a celebration through and through. The authors are honest about the critical receptions of the films, which were often unkind, and sometimes let their own opinions shine through, but recognize how beloved even the schlockiest films can become given time and availability. And that is an ongoing theme of In Search of Darkness. What may have been dismissed in its day often becomes revered as the years pass. Variations on the phrase “the years have been kind to…” referring to various maligned projects like The Thing, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, The Blob and many, many others, can be found throughout the book for good reason.

Each chapter of the book also includes a rundown of the top horror movies at the box office for the year as well as the top movies of all genres for context. The final page for each year highlights some of the major news and pop culture events including the top songs, albums, and television shows. There is a large central section that pays tribute to the talent involved with the greatest horror films of the 80s including directors, actors, effects artists, and more. This section includes brief biographies of John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Stephen King, Tom Savini, Barbara Crampton, Robert Englund, and many others presented in a dynamic and engaging fashion.

One of the beauties of the book is that it covers so much ground. Sure, you’ll find Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, and the Halloween sequels in it, but you’ll also find deeper cuts like The Changeling, The Being, and Tetsuo: The Iron Man. I was happy to find the same love given to Frank Henenlotter and Larry Cohen as to George A. Romero and David Cronenberg. In other words, In Search of Darkness is extraordinarily eclectic, highlighting the diversity that truly defined what is often viewed as a homogenous decade. The authors make the case that the 80s was horror’s greatest decade, and with what they lay out throughout this book, it’s tough to argue against that. I even came across a film or two I hadn’t even heard of before, which has become increasingly rare as the years go by.

At just shy of $85, the cover price may give some horror hounds pause, but believe me, it’s worth every penny. This is a beautiful volume that every fan of 80s horror will want on their shelf or prominently displayed on their coffee table. Filled with favorite titles, hundreds of full color photos, insightful and informative writing, this is simply a must own.

You can order your copy now.

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