Netflix's 'The Chilling adventures of Sabrina' strikes the middle ground between teen drama and horror series

Netflix's The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is the second series following Riverdale which uses the characters and mythology from the Archie comics. Like Riverdale, which has recently taken on a very dark and very gritty True Detective meets Midnight Express turn, Sabrina Spellman's world, is similarly explicit in its exploration of horror themes.

The series, which debuted at midnight last night (Witching Hour, get it?) Is like Mean Girls with covens and demons instead of diabolical debutantes. Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men) embodies the chaste yet defiant Sabrina Spellman, who upon turning 16, must sign her name to the dark forces and let go of all her mortal friends and connections.

It's Sabrina's half-human side, one that seels to defend abused classmates from leery jocks and an apathetic principal, that challenges the conventions of her witch side. In terms of character and exposition, CAOS reminds us of what made previous versions of the Sabrins story so appealing, while dialing up the horror, blood and gore to an uncomfortable degree.The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is now available on Netflix.