Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a magical and binge-worthy Halloween treat

Don't worry, this is going to be spoiler free.

The original Sabrina the Teenage Witch was one of the most beloved TV shows of the 90s  - after all, what's not to love about it? The sitcom followed the adventures of 16-year-old Sabrina Spellman, who discovers on her birthday that she is actually half-witch, half-mortal. She lived in Greendale with her aunts Hilda and Zelda as well as their talking cat, Salem (who was actually a warlock imprisoned in a cat's body for 500 years). Basically, Sabrina's cheesy-but-lovable adventures were an after school must-watch for many people across the globe. But things are changing for Archie Comics' favourite young witch. Hitting Netflix just in time for the Bank Holiday Weekend, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a "reimagining" of the iconic sitcom - and, in case the title wasn't enough of a clue, it's not a comedy this time around. Instead, the series is more for fans of the horror genre - a spell-binding show that doesn't skimp out on the spooks (although there are scattered spells of dark humour throughout). CAOS is based on the Archie comics series of the same name, kicking off right before Sabrina's 16th birthday - or, as referred to in the series, her "dark baptism". Since she's half witch and half mortal, she has to make a decision between the two worlds - either she signs the Book of Night and gets granted unimaginable powers (but, uh, also pretty much signing over her entire life) and gives up her mortal friends/boyfriend; or she turns her back on The Church of the Night. Which basically every bewitching character does not want her to do - particularly the sinister Father Blackwood or her demon-possessed favourite teacher, Ms. Wardell. Most of the series follows Sabrina's efforts to keep one foot in both worlds, determined to not sacrifice either side - and the misadventures that this determination creates. Each one of the episodes manages to achieve the perfect balance of feeling  a stand alone mini-movie and hitting that sense of a must-keep-watching cliffhanger - which is both a strength and a bit of a downfall...unless you've got 10+ hours to spare and plan to watch them all in a row. I'd particularly recommend making sure you have enough time to watch episodes 4 and 5 back-to-back, though. As for the differences in the characters themselves?  This time around, Salem is actually a Gollum-esuqe kind of creature that Sabrina summons to be her familiar - of course, though, he takes on a feline form (they couldn't have him being too different from the original). Instead, it is Sabrina's Cousin Ambrose (Chance Perdomo) - under house arrest for illegal witch activities - that is her voice of reason/accomplice/deliverer of sassy one-liners/general go-to source for all things magical. When the cauldron boils down to it, Kiernan Shipka is a great fit for Sabrina, playing the free-thinking and idealistic character with equal parts vulnerable, reckless and determined to use her magic to do the right thing -  which, in turn, leads her to making some less-than-ideal (and totally reckless) decisions. Aunt Hilda (Lucy Davis) and Aunt Zelda (Miranda Otto) are more of a good witch/bad witch duo in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Otto's glamorous Zelda is equal parts stern/by-the-book and bewitching; while Davis' Hilda is the eccentric and lovable aunt we all kind of wish we had. Y'know, if we had magic powers. But when all is said and done, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a marvellously bewitching and binge-worthy Halloween treat. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina arrives on Netflix on October 28.