What do you get when you take classic eighties Spielberg films such as E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, The Goonies, Gremlins and Poltergeist (the latter three were only produced by Spielberg and directed by Richard Donner, Joe Dante and Tobe Hooper, respectively) and throw it in a blender with classic Stephen King, vintage John Carpenter, some H.P Lovecraft and a dash of Tangerine Dream for good measure? You get Stranger Things, the shamelessly nostalgic, thoroughly engrossing and gripping new series from Netflix that I fell in love with roughly five minutes after starting it. Much like J.J Abrams' Super 8, it felt like something made just for me.
After a night of playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends in 1983 Indiana, young Will Byers (played by Noah Schnapp) is chased by a strange, monstrous being. He runs home, tries to call for help but can't due to the phone malfunctioning and comes face to face with the monster before both disappear without a trace. The following morning, his mother Joyce (played by Winona Ryder) and brother Jonathan (played by Charlie Heaton) search frantically for Will when they realize he never came home that night. Joyce goes straight to the police station to report he's missing to Sheriff Hopper (played by David Harbour), who tries to calm the hysterical Joyce down and figure out where Will could be. He suspects that Will may be with his stepdad, the scummy Lonnie (played by Ross Partridge), but Joyce doesn't think so and suspects something more sinister.
Meanwhile, Will's friends, Mike (played by Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (played by Gaten Matarazzo) and Lucas (played by Caleb McLaughlin) are equally devastated that their friend has gone missing and set out to find him themselves. While they don't find Lucas, they stumble across the mysterious Eleven (played by Millie Bobby Brown), a young girl with a buzz cut and a pretty awesome set of telekinetic and telepathic powers. She has a connection with Will though and is able to use her powers to contact Will where he is. She agrees to help them try and find their missing friend. As both the adult and kids investigations progress, the path seems to lead to a mysterious lab outside of town run by the shady Dr. Martin Brenner (played by Matthew Modine).
To say any more than that would risk spoiling all the wonderful and creepy surprises this show has in store. This show was clearly designed with the binge-watching nature of Netflix in mind as one episode leads right into the next, enticing you to keep going and before you know it you've watched all eight episodes. The show was created by Matt and Ross Duffer (credited as The Duffer Brothers) and manage to intricately replicate the feel of early to mid eighties sci-fi, fantasy and horror films while also creating something entirely original. There are just little nods and Easter Eggs throughout that had me readily identifying their influences. I loved the way the series developed and all the storylines come together wonderfully as the series progresses towards it's climax. The season is only eight episodes long and they keep the pace moving briskly throughout. The mystery of what is going on and how all the pieces fit together is an intriguing one that had me devouring the series as fast as I possibly could.
The acting is top notch across the board. Both Winona Ryder and David Harbour are great. Ryder in particular is fantastic as Joyce and really sells the stress and anxiety that Joyce is feeling when Will goes missing, trying to find help wherever she can. She finds an ally in Hopper, who recently lost his daughter to cancer. Not wanting to see another parent go through that, he begins his own investigation, Joyce by his side for much of it as their path leads to Dr. Brenner and his mysterious lab.
The four kids, played by Millie Bobby Brown, Dustin Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, and Caleb McLaughlin, are really great too and the friendship that develops between the three boys and Eleven as they try to find out what happened to Will and the way they looked after each other was really touching. There were a lot of nods to the likes of E.T, The Goonies, and Stand by Me throughout the series with these and I think I caught all of them. There is also Mike's older sister Nancy (played by Natalia Dyer) and Will's brother Jonathan that find the two of them drawn into the ongoing mystery as well as they have their own encounters with the monster.
I also have to make special mention of the soundtrack. It's synthesiser score by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein recaptures the feeling of films of the era, especially the likes of John Carpenter. It is then mixed in with choice song selections from a variety of artists including Joy Division, The Clash, The Bangles, Jefferson Airplane, Echo and the Bunnymen, New Order and the aforementioned Tangerine Dream among others. It just adds to both the series as a whole and adds an authenticity to the time period and mood they are trying to recapture.
Stranger Things is a fun, scary and creepy slice of 80's nostalgia that also stands on it's own as a compelling and thrilling series all it's own. With a great story and acting to match from a top notch cast, I think this may be my favorite series on the service thus far. But then again, as I said earlier, it feels like it was made just for me.
