Agatha All Along review: Werewolf by Night meets Hocus Pocus

PLOT: The infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches’ Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they’re missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road…

REVIEW: When WandaVision premiered three years ago, it ushered in the Disney Plus era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A unique series that explored the MCU in a way never before seen on the big screen, WandaVision was a direct tie-in to Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Introducing the Darkhold and the idea of the Scarlet Witch, the series also showcased the breakout character of Agatha Harkness. Played by the great Kathryn Hahn, it was quickly announced that the witch villain would get her own spin-off. Agatha All Along connects the supernatural elements of the MCU with a fun, horror-tinged concept that plays like a cross between the tone of the MCU’s Werewolf By Night and the sassy humor of Disney’s fan-favorite Hocus Pocus. With a great ensemble of actors playing a ragtag coven, Agatha All Along is a fun foray into a different side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that does not require knowledge of the comics or the preceding films and series to enjoy it.

Agatha All Along debuts tonight with two episodes followed by weekly premieres, and it concludes with a two-episode finale right before Halloween. I got the chance to watch the first four episodes of the series for this review and feel confident that the series has a fun formula that will carry it through to the series finale. Without divulging any spoilers, I can say that Agatha All Along opens with a return to the fake television series spell that bound Wanda Maximoff and Vision through the decades of iconic sitcoms but now has Agatha locked in a blend of True Detective and Mare of Easttown. At first, I was worried that the shtick that made WandaVision unique would not work a second time, but the spell is quickly broken and sets Agatha (Katherine Hahn) on the path to find the Witches’ Road. The Road is a mythical place where Agatha believes she can regain the powers stolen by Wanda. Despite her infamous legacy, Agatha must assemble a coven of witches willing to join her. Joined by a teen familiar named Teen (Joe Locke), Wanda sets off to pull her team together.

With a credit sequence full of references to pop culture witches through the ages, Agatha All Along strives to be a darkly fun outing that is decidedly within Marvel’s wheelhouse but aims for a wider target audience that may not be comprised of comic book aficionados. As Agatha collects her coven-mates, we meet potions witch Jennifer Kale (former SNL castmember Sasheer Zamata), fortune-teller Livia Calderu, protector witch Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), and fellow Westview victim of Wanda Maximoff, Sharon “Mrs. Hart” Davis (Debra Jo Rupp). Aubrey Plaza plays Agatha’s nemesis and green witch, Rio Vidal, and her path to joining the coven is better left unsaid. Because of Agatha’s past atrocities against witches, her escape from Westview puts the sinister Salem Seven (Okwui Okpokwasili) on track to hunt her down and kill her. The first two episodes show Agatha’s escape and journey to take the coven on the Witches’ Road, with the subsequent episodes diving into the tasks they must all complete to regain their powers. This journey means we get to learn backstory facts for all of the witches and learn of the past events that led to Agatha becoming the despised character everyone in the series knows her to be.

Non-comic fans may be somewhat confused by references to Scarlet Witch and Mephisto, the latter a major character that Marvel stalwarts have been waiting to see and who may appear in Agatha All Along. Still, this ensemble makes it easy to quickly understand the general structure of witch society in the MCU. Kathryn Hahn continues her whipsmart delivery as the caustic Agatha and also has the first nude scene in Marvel Studios’ history in the first episode. The connections to WandaVision are significant, and watching that series right before Agatha All Along would boost your background knowledge, but it is unnecessary. I would not even consider this series to be a comic book or superhero show, but definitely more of a horror-themed comedic series. The formula follows the characters completing tasks, each of which is catered to their skillset and shows that Agatha may not be entirely evil. The visuals range from horrifying designs that are not for the faint of heart. I found a couple of surprisingly dark designs to be much scarier than I expected from a series like this, but it still aims to be inclusive of a teen and older audience. The first four episodes skew towards a more mature audience with some creepy moments and more mature subject matter, but nothing that the average thirteen-year-old can handle.

Created by WandaVision showrunner Jac Schaeffer, Agatha All Along is directed by three filmmakers, each of whom helms three episodes. Schaeffer directed the first two and the seventh episodes while also writing two chapters. Rachel Goldberg (Gen V) and Gandja Monteiro directed the remaining episodes. The series boasts multiple aesthetics that range from surreal to downright scary. The special effects work looks good throughout the series, with some creative camera work adding to the eerie feel of the Witches’ Road locations. Laura Donney, Cameron Squires, Giovanna Sarquis, Laura Monti, Jason Rostovsky, Gia King, and Peter Cameron wrote the episodes alongside Schaeffer, with several of them returning from scripting WandaVision. The series boasts new music from Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, including the key “Ballad of the Witches’ Road,” which is key to the series narrative. Music is key to the series as much as the typically top-notch production values Marvel Studios has been known for over the years.

Agatha All Along is a nice change of pace from prior Disney+ MCU series. While some may point to the predominantly female-led cast and creative team being a reason this will not appeal to a wide audience, I would counter that fans of horror and spooky fare that does not rely on gore or disturbing imagery but still manages to be exceptionally creepy and unsettling are in for a fun surprise with this series. Kathryn Hahn never disappoints, and her chance to dig into Agatha’s backstory in a way similar to how Tom Hiddleston explored Loki in his namesake series is a fun tangent to the ever-growing MCU. Agatha All Along is a nice entry for new fans and longtime Marvel fans alike to enjoy an engaging series that boasts solid special effects, creepy visuals, crackling dialogue, and a unique foray into the supernatural that will have ripples for the Marvel Cinematic Universe for years to come. Agatha All Along is a solid outing from the uneven recent phases of the MCU that works because it does not require a backlog of research to enjoy it.

Agatha All Along premieres with two episodes on September 18th on Disney+