Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is the latest installment of the popular franchise, though it is its own thing, with no connection to the original 2010 series or 2019’s Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists.
The series opens on New Years Eve 1999 in Milwood, PA. A tight knit group of teenage mean girls are attending a rave when their classmate Angela storms in, upset and crying. But when everyone ignores her and pretends like she doesn’t exist, the night ends in tragedy. The girls decide never to speak of that night again, and keep what they did a secret. However, 20 years later, they’re all grown up with daughters of their own, and someone wants revenge—it’s time for them to pay for what they did, and the sins of the mothers are about to be revisited upon their daughters. A mysterious Creeper with the calling card “A” starts texting and leaving notes for teenagers Imogen, Tabby, Faran, Mouse and Noa, who are unaware what happened with their mothers 20 year earlier.
The girls, who nickname themselves the “Losers Club”, are all dealing with their own things—the last thing they need is a sadistic masked killer stalking them and trying to punish Milwood High’s bullies. Imogen (Bailee Madison) is 16 and pregnant and a recent tragic event at home has turned her life upside down; Noa (Maia Reficco) has just returned from juvie after being held on drug charges, and is forced to wear an ankle bracelet while she completes her community service; Faran (Zaria) is a ballet dancer who’s trying to please her overly-demanding dance instructor; Tabby (Chandler Kinney) is an aspiring filmmaker who works at the local movie theater; and Mouse (Malia Pyles) is a shy, intelligent introvert who prefers spending time on her computer than in the real world. At school, the girls are constantly being harassed by queen bee Karen and her twin sister Kelly (Mallory Bechtel), whose father is the local Sherriff (Eric Johnson).
Unlike the previous shows, Original Sin takes on a slasher/horror genre tone, with obvious nods to Halloween, Carrie, and others, and The Creeper is reminiscent of the mask-wearing Michael Myers. I enjoyed how the series is very self-aware that the girls are living a horror movie, and as the group’s resident film fanatic, Tabby is constantly making connections between the events and situations that are happening in Milwood with those of classic horror films. As the girls find themselves targets of this killer, they start to look into the town’s past and uncover the secrets their mothers have been hiding from them for two decades. At the same time, each of the girls has some secret or trauma in her own past that they must confront and come to terms with. The series does a nice job of exploring both of these aspects—the slasher villain mystery and the personal trauma for each of these characters.
The characters feel fully fleshed out, and are allowed to grow and change over the course of the season. The girls also have this great chemistry with one another, and feel like they’ve been friends for a long time. At the same time, the series manages to keep this spooky horror movie vibe, with lots of unexpected twists and turns. As the girls investigate the past, the series often bounces back to 1999 to let the viewers see what actually happened with the mothers, and what ultimately instigated the events in the present.
Each episode usually ends on some big reveal or cliffhanger, so it was great to be able to binge through the season on this DVD release, rather than waiting a week for the next episode. One thing that I really appreciated about series is that the first season tells a complete story, while also leaving things open for more. All of the mysteries introduced in the first season are resolved and all of the questions answered. I wish more shows were written in this manner. While the series has been picked up for a second season on HBO Max, this first season can be fully enjoyed as its own stand-alone thing.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has only given this first season of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin a DVD release despite the season originally airing in HD on HBO Max (though it is also available for purchase in HD on Digital). That said, the quality of the DVD is very good, with a generally clean and detailed picture that looks a lot sharper than many of the other recent DVD releases I’ve reviewed. The audio track provides clear dialogue, and makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels to provide a more immersive experience. This is especially noticeable at party scenes, and when the soundtrack kicks in.
The season’s 10 episodes are split across 3 discs, which are placed in trays in a standard-size DVD case, covered with a cardboard slipcover. The discs also include around 80 minutes of bonus material consisting of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast/crew. There is no digital copy included.
What’s Included:
- All 10 episodes of the first season:
Disc 1 (2:38:27): “Chapter One: Spirit Week”, “Chapter Two: The Spirit Queen”, “Chapter Three: Aftermath”
Disc 2 (3:19:35): “Chapter Four: The (Fe)male Gaze”, “Chapter Five: The Night He Came Home”, “Chapter Six: Scars”, “Chapter Seven: Carnival of Souls”
Disc 3 (2:31:12): “Chapter Eight: Bad Blood”, “Chapter Nine: Dead and Buried”, “Chapter Ten: Final Girls” - 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
- Subtitles: English SDH
- Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin: Invitation to Sin (3:59)
The cast and crew talk about the premise of the series, leaning towards the slasher genre, the sets and look of the series, the diverse backgrounds of the characters, the visual style and camera angles, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producer/writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, co-executive producer/writer Lindsay Calhoon Bring, production designer Neil Patel, director of photography Anka Malatynska, co-executive producer/director Lisa Soper, and stars Bailee Madison (“Imogen Adams”), Chandler Kinney (“Tabitha ‘Tabby’ Haworthe”), Malia Pyles (“Minnie ‘Mouse’ Honrada”), Zaria (“Faran Bryant”), Maia Reficco (“Noa Olivar”) & Eric Johnson (“Sheriff Beasley”).
- Inside the Sin: A is Back (5:55)
The cast and crew talk about the premise of the series, the setting and filming locations, filming the opening sequence, recreating Carrie, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producer/writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, co-executive producer/writer Lindsay Calhoon Bring, locations manager David Ginsberg, co-executive producer/director Lisa Soper, production designer Neil Patel, set decorator Keri Lederman, and stars Maia Reficco,& Zaria, Chandler Kinney, Malia Pyles & Bailee Madison.
- Character Introductions: Noa Olivar (1:18)
Star Maia Reficco talks about her love of the original series, and her character Noa Olivar.
- Character Introductions: Imogen Adams (:54)
Star Bailee Madison talks about her love of the original series, and her character Imogen Adams.
- Character Introductions: Tabitha “Tabby” Haworthe (1:28)
Star Chandler Kinney talks about watching the original series, and her character Tabby.
- Character Introductions: Karen & Kelly Beasley (2:09)
Star Mallory Bechtel talks about getting her first PLL book, and playing twins Karen and Kelly Beasley.
- Character Introductions: Minnie “Mouse” Honrada (1:11)
Star Malia Pyles talks about her character Mouse.
- Character Introductions: Faran (1:19)
Star Zaria talks about reading the books, and her character Faran.
- Inside the Sin: Halloween (8:06)
The cast and crew talk discuss the homages to Halloween, creating the character of Angela Waters and the original sin, twins, the girls learning the truths about their mothers, Tabby’s attempts to process her trauma, filming the rooftop chase, the Halloween party and costumes, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with co-executive producer/writer Lindsay Calhoon Bring, executive producer/writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, co-executive producer/director Lisa Soper, stunt coordinator Tracey Ruggiero, director of photography Anka Malatynska, costume designer Megan Evans, locations manager David Ginsberg, and stars Zaria, Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, Maia Reficco & Malia Pyles.
- Inside the Sin: Revelations (7:22)
The cast and crew talk discuss Crazy Joe, filming in the trainyard and school sets, the mother characters and their relationships with the daughters, filming the carnival, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director of photography Anka Malatynska, locations manager David Ginsberg, set decorator Keri Lederman, production designer Neil Patel, co-executive producer/writer Lindsay Calhoon Bring, producer/writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and stars Bailee Madison, Maia Reficco, Chandler Kinney, Zaria & Malia Pyles.
- Inside the Sin: The Female Gaze (4:02)
The cast and crew talk discuss turning flipping typical horror tropes on their head to give the female characters the power, including the way things are lit and shot. They also discuss the female representation both in front of and behind the camera. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with co-executive producer/writer Lindsay Calhoon Bring, director of photography Anka Malatynska, co-executive producer/director Lisa Soper, producer/writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and stars Chandler Kinney, Malia Pyles, Mallory Bechtel, Maia Reficco, Zaria & Bailee Madison.
- Describe Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Using Emojis (1:35)
The stars have fun describing the series in terms of emojis.
- Inside the Sin: A Liar’s Club (8:15)
The cast and crew discuss the look of the Waters home, shooting the train car, Faran’s new look and friendship with Kelly, the trial, the cast’s reactions to the new reveals, shooting the final showdown, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with locations manager David Ginsberg, director of photography Anka Malatynska, co-executive producer/writer Lindsay Calhoon Bring, producer/writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, co-executive producer/director Lisa Soper, stunt coordinator Tracey Ruggiero, and stars Bailee Madison, Zaria, Mallory Bechtel, Maia Reficco, Chandler Kinney, Malia Pyles & Jennifer Ferrin (“Mrs. Beasley”). - A New Generation of Terror: The Villains of Original Sin (9:15)
The cast and crew discuss the premise of the series, creating a horror/slasher this time around, the Easter egg clues to the killer, highlights of the season, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producer/writer Lindsay Calhoon Bring, executive producer/writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, producer/director Lisa Soper, stunt coordinator Tracey Ruggiero, and stars Bailee Madison, Maia Reficco, Malia Pyles & Mallory Bechtel. - Swagger, Romance and Fear: The Boys of Original Sin (7:36)
Stars Brian Altemus (“Tyler”), Jordan Gonzalez (“Ash Romero”), Carson Rowland (“Chip Langsbery”), Ben Cook (“Henry”) & Alex Aiono (“Shawn Noble”) sit down together to discuss their characters. Also includes interviews with actresses Malia Pyles, Chandler Kinney & Maia Reficco, who talk about working with the guys. - Character Check-In: Noa Olivar (2:16)
Stars Maia Reficco and Alex Aiono talk about how Noa evolves over the season.
- Character Check-In: Imogen Adams (2:19)
Star Bailee Madison, co-executive producer/writer Lindsay Calhoon Bring & executive producer/writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa discuss Imogen’s journey in the first season.
- Character Check-In: Tabitha “Tabby” Haworthe (2:06)
Stars Chandler Kinney, Bailee Madison & Maia Reficco discuss Tabby’s challenges and growth over the course of the season.
- Character Check-In: Kelly Beasley (2:36)
Star Mallory Bechtel talks about the changes in Kelly over the course of the season.
- Character Check-In: Minnie “Mouse” Honrada (3:24)
Star Malia Pyles talks about how Mouse finds her strength and identity over the course of the season.
- Character Check-In: Faran (2:11)
Star Zaria, co-executive producer/writer Lindsay Calhoon Bring & costume designer Megan Evans discuss Faran’s scar, and how the character overcomes her insecurity.
Episodes: (8:29:14)
Extras:
Final Thoughts:
I was pleasantly surprised by Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin. I never watched the original series, but it turned out that that wasn’t necessary. I not only enjoyed the horror/slasher tone of the series, but also how the season also gave each of the main girls her own story arc and trauma to deal with. The cast is great and have wonderful chemistry with one another. I really liked how the first season tells a complete story without leaving things hanging, though I’ll definitely check out the second season. While it’s disappointing that there’s no Blu-ray release, Warner Bros.’ DVD still looks and sounds great, and includes a lot of bonus material for the fans to enjoy. This release is an easy recommendation for horror genre fans.
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin Season 1 (DVD)
$19.99 $8.00 (as of April 26, 2024 15:18 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin
$19.99 (as of April 26, 2024 15:18 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
