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Finally, a worthy spinoff to the original Pretty Little Liars is here. In keeping with the 2007 ABC series, HBO Max's readaptation brings teen drama coupled with slasher horror to the screen in a way that is sure to leave viewers on the edge of their seats.
The plot revolves around five girls, Imogen, Tabby, Noa, Mouse, and Faran, who band together to fight their nemesis, who bullies and terrorizes the school. Little do they know that a greater horror awaits them and they may have to pay for the "original sin."
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin starts off with a classic '90s teen horror plot
Original Sin opens with a flashback that takes us back to 1999, when the suicide of a high schooler named Angela Waters at a rave party shocked five girls who ignored and berated her. Fast forward to the present day, and we meet the daughters of the girls from the flashback, who are about to face a similar situation.
Not only that, but a bigger threat awaits them as a notorious stranger in a spooky costume haunts them and follows their every move, clearly waiting to avenge something. But for now, the girls have a more obvious threat to deal with—annihilate the school bully, a queen bee straight out of Mean Girls, Karen.
Karen is literally a "Karen" and makes everyone's life a living hell by bullying them into complying with her. She would go to any lengths to try and get her way. So, when Karen becomes the victim of a number of minor accidents, the girls assume that it is staged to get them into trouble, oblivious to the notorious force at work behind all the spooky happenings.
To get back at Karen, the five plan to make public her shenanigans with a secret video made on a certain night of a party at her house. This leaves her devastated and scheming for revenge.
Little do the two parties realize that the hulking masked man following them around is actually pitting them against one another to create animosity. Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin appears to be leaning more towards horror than its original counterpart. The main source of terror is A, the masked man who ends up murdering people and threatens to go after the five friends, endangering their lives in various ways.
Cult-horror references abound
Hiding behind his distorted and repulsive mask, A is a direct reference to the infamous character, Michael Myers, from John Carpenter's Halloween. There is also a Carrie White reference, which we see playing out at the end of the second episode that goes horribly wrong. It leads to a murder that gets covered up as a suicide.
In an effort to exact revenge for her humiliation, Karen and her twin sister plot a horrible plan to put Imogen down when she is crowned Spirit Queen. But that goes wrong when the masked intruder shows up at the flyer where Karen planted herself and pushes her down to her death.
Only Imogen and her friends witness the scene, and the rest believe it is a suicide. As a result, the five girls find themselves in hot water because the sheriff believes that his daughter, Karen's, death was caused by her humiliation in front of the entire school, and that the five friends were responsible.
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is rife with horror references. So much so that Tabby, the character who makes them, comes across as an annoying know-it-all at times. Quoting Peele and metaphorizing situations with movie title references, the story becomes slightly tedious in parts.
Keeping the classic elements of any horror slasher, like sneaking through deserted warehouses and spooky school corridors, the HBO series brings to viewers a well-made teen horror drama that is sure to leave viewers on the edge of their seats. Adding to the horror element are the spooky texts from an unknown number, a plot point directly adapted from the original.
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin values sensitive character portrayal
It might be going too far to call the HBO series an upgrade from the original. But it suffices to say that it lives up to the original Pretty Little Liars, especially with the changes it has brought to the characterization.
The tendency to stereotype characters as "nerds" or "queen bees" in teen dramas has been discarded by Original Sin. The characterization does not follow the binary of black and white, and they are made more wholesome and rounded off with good and bad sides.
This would appeal to viewers today who are looking for a more sensitive portrayal of pop culture. The supporting characters are given substantial time to develop their backstories and personal lives independent of the group, which adds to the holistic portrayal.
The casting and production of this version of Pretty Little Liars is indeed commendable as it maintains representativity and uniqueness. Bailee Madison, who essays the character of pregnant teen Imogen, has done justice to the role of the protagonist. She has the demeanor of a serious investigator, trying to piece together the puzzle of her mother's suicide and the current horrors she is experiencing with an unforgettable past that took place 22 years ago.
The good thing about Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is that it has made an attempt to maintain similarities to Pretty Little Liars, the original. From conniving cops to anonymous texts, not to mention the malicious intruder, there are several connecting lines between the two. But it does not come off as an adaptation of the original and makes sure to maintain ingenuity by adding in darker twists and more menacing threats.
Overall, the series is a fresh take on teen slasher horror, which makes it an interesting watch.
It looks like the HBO spin-off to the Sara Shepard’s novel adaptation for ABC is here to stay. Catch the series, now out with its first three episodes, on HBO Max.
