CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA: 10 Horror Movie Homages And References You Might Have Missed

Netflix's awesome Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is jam-packed with homages and references to some classic horror movies, and to celebrate Halloween, we've gathered 10 of the best together. Take a look...

By MarkCassidy - Oct 31, 2018 10:10 AM EST

Filed Under: Sabrina

All 10 episodes of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina have been available to stream on Netflix since Friday, so chances are most of you will have binged the entire first season by now!

In addition to being genuinely creepy in its own right, CAOS contains numerous references and homages to some classic horror movies all the way through. Some are obvious, others are a little more subtle, but we've gathered 10 of the best for you guys below.

Have a look, and let us know if we missed any in the comments down below.

To view the references all at once, simply click on the VIEW LIST (ONE PAGE) button below!

Night Of The Living Dead

We'll start with arguably the most obvious one!

When we first meet Sabrina and her pals they're watching Night of the Living Dead at their local theater. Then, when Harvey is walking 'Brina home he quotes the seminal zombie flick's most famous line, "they're coming to get you Barbara!"

Rosemary's Baby

There are a couple of references to Roman Polanski's terrifying Rosemary's Baby.

The first is a very subtle nod to the character of Doctor Saperstein when Mrs. Wardwell/Madame Satan picks up what she believes to be a young woman in distress on the side of the road. Then, in a later episode, Sabrina has a vision of twin babies and one of 'em has cloven hooves instead of feet.

Pet Sematary

Hilda actually mentions that The Spellmans have a Pet Cemetery out near their human graveyard, but later on we get a far more sinister homage to Stephen King's classic tale when Sabrina resurrects poor Tommy Hinkle.

Like little Gage in the novel and film adaptation, Tommy comes back as a soulless shadow of himself, seemingly with a taste for human flesh.

Salem's Lot

When Ambrose's new boyfriend Luke pays the housebound warlock a visit, he scratches on the window before appearing in the doorway and saying, "open the window Mark."

If you've seen the 1979 TV movie adaptation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot, you'll know this is a reference to one of the scariest scenes when a vampire child comes calling on his best friend.

Evil Dead

A very direct homage to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead occurs when Sabrina is fleeing her Dark Baptism.

As the conflicted young half-witch is running through the forest, the branches of the trees attempt to stop her by coiling around her limbs. Fortunately, things don't go quite as far as they do in Raimi's movie! After all, the infamous scene is known as the "tree rape" for a reason.

Hellraiser

At one point, Father Blackwood gives Sabrina a puzzle known as The Achyron Configuration to solve as a test to see if she's ready to take conjuration class. Solve it she does, and releases a demon in the process.

This is very similar to what happens with the Lament Configuration box in Clive Barker's Hellraiser - although Batty Bat is not quite as kinky as ol' Pinhead.

The Shining

The rather aggressive way in which days of the week flash up on the screen in CAOS is most likely paying homage to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, but there's also Roz and her Nana Ruth, who exhibit a precognitive power they call "The Cunning."

In the movie and Stephen King's source novel, Danny Torrance and Dick Halloran posses a very similar ability known as... well, you already know that!

The Exorcist

When Suzie's uncle Jessie is possessed by a demon while working in the mines, Sabrina takes in upon herself to perform an exorcism.

There are some very clear nods to William Friedkin's classic here, including a variation on the head spin, and a bit of projectile vomiting for good measure.

The Craft

There are obviously many thematic similarities between Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and The Craft, but we get a far more obvious wink to the movie when the titular teenage witch and The Weird Sisters are seen walking in slow motion towards a group of jocks they plan on tormenting.

The Devil And Daniel Webster

When Sabrina finds out that a human attorney once managed to defeat Satan himself (at least, temporarily), she pays him a visit and hires him to defend her family name in the infernal court.

The lawyer's name is Daniel Webster... presumably the same Daniel Webster from the 1941 film, The Devil and Daniel Webster!

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16 Comments

GhostDog - 10/31/2018, 10:34 AM

Damn. Show being sued by the Satanists

https://www.thewrap.com/chilling-adventures-sabrina-satanic-temple-threatens-sue-netflix-baphomet-statue/

knocturnalzen10 - 10/31/2018, 10:46 AM

@BlackBeltJones - wow ..... today's society lol so much i can say about this ..... but i'll just say..............

wow lol

crawley - 10/31/2018, 1:09 PM

@BlackBeltJones - lol, baphomet is definitely public domain.

AnthonyVonGeek - 10/31/2018, 10:37 AM

The show is actually really good but the whole “witches worshipping Satan” is odd since witches don’t worship anything except the earth and the elements. 🤷‍♂️

CaptainElrond - 10/31/2018, 11:46 AM

Great series.

JohnnyTBP - 10/31/2018, 1:27 PM

I loved the show. Kiernan Shipka is fantastic. Can’t wait for Part 2

MUTO123 - 10/31/2018, 2:01 PM

So the show’s... good?

I guess I’ll have to give it a watch, then.

NatchiosElektra - 10/31/2018, 3:51 PM

The show was good. The best character was Ambrose (as I was expecting) and the aunties. I like Sabrina but she annoyed me sometimes.

BlackPhillip - 10/31/2018, 5:22 PM

Great show. I want more!

AckbarsTrap - 10/31/2018, 7:07 PM

No mention of the Nightmare on Elm Street Easter Egg with Harvey in that half shirt on his bed?

CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA: 10 Horror Movie Homages And References You Might Have Missed

Netflix's awesome Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is jam-packed with homages and references to some classic horror movies, and to celebrate Halloween, we've gathered 10 of the best together. Take a look...

Night Of The Living Dead

Rosemary's Baby

Pet Sematary

Salem's Lot

Evil Dead

Hellraiser

The Shining

The Exorcist

The Craft

The Devil And Daniel Webster

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