There are some forms of entertainment that are starkly blatant about showing their influences, and Netflix’s new sci-fi drama Stranger Things is a perfect example of it. But due to some sharp directing, committed acting and intelligent writing with a good moral compass, its appeal runs much deeper than just reliance on nostalgia.
Set in an unassuming Indiana town in the early 1980’s, it takes full advantage of its setting and not only goes out of its way to saturate itself in a retro aura, it also has a pretty big list of shoutouts to the Reagan years. There are aspects of its plot that reminded me of a number of Stephen King stories, Firestarter in particular due to its themes of telekinesis. Winona Ryder’s performance as a frightened but determined mother for me brought up memories of Mrs. Brisby from The Secret of NIMH, and from a stylistic perspective, many of the horror elements and the conspiracy that unfolds gave me serious shades of Aliens and E.T.
The human element is the main factor that holds all of the show’s weirdness together. After what seems like a typically ordinary evening for young Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) playing an extended session of Dungeons and Dragons with his pals Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), he suddenly vanishes after encountering what seems like a strange creature following some mysterious light flashes.
Distraught, his mother Joyce (Ryder) at first reaches out to the authorities, particularly the grizzled police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour), but she only gets so far explaining the supernatural occurrences she’s experienced since Will’s disappearance. Hopper eventually becomes of Joyce’s strongest allies, and Harbour draws from a long history of rebellious policeman characters in his performance as he punches his way towards the truth.
Things become even more complicated when a mysterious girl appears on the outskirts of town. Determined to find their friend, Will’s three D&D teammates befriend the girl and name her “Eleven” as she can only identify herself by a number tattoo on her arm. Her affection for Eggo waffles is a lighthearted trait that doesn’t even begin to balance out her painful memories and unsettling superpowers. Even though she and Mike spark up a friendship in short order, Lucas is an eternal skeptic who has a hard time trusting Eleven, while Dustin- when he’s not providing some good comic relief- plays the middleman between the other two boys. The relationship of the four draws a lot from The Goonies, including some scenes which feel like recreations from the film.
Eleven quickly becomes the most important key to determining Will’s whereabouts, as well as her connections to the creepy looking Hawkins Laboratory, where terrifying experiments are apparently being conducted. No stranger to iconic films of the decade himself, Vision Quest star Matthew Modine is sophisticated but still intimidating as Dr. Martin Brenner, the head scientist who is determined to capture the strange girl.
Eventually, Will’s big sister Nancy (Natalia Dyer) finds herself entangled in the conspiracy when her friend Barbara disappears during a party with her friend Steve Harrington. Joe Keery pays Steve initially as a blend of any stereotypical 1980’s bully character you can think of, combining vanity with callousness, but his relationship with both Nancy and Will’s shy and awkward older brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) has an interesting evolution over the course of the series.
As I watched Stranger Things, I could tell how strong of a connection the townspeople had amongst each other, and that added a good deal of emotional intensity as Will’s friends and family frantically searched for him. Like a good nod to the eighties, the bullies in this show can get to the point of outrageousness in how rotten they are towards the heroes, but they at least do get a sense of comeuppance. As for the protagonists, most of the conflicts stem from how worked up they are over everything happening, and it’s easy to keep rallying behind them.
Even though the twists and turns gradually become weirder, the cast reacts to them with a sense of gravity that keep things from feeling too campy. Joyce still feels more like a caring and concerned mother even as she’s doing wild things like frantically speaking to a lost Will through Christmas lights.
For all of its intensity and heavy drama, Stranger Things still has a strong sense of fun, and the journey the characters go on is genuinely thrilling and innovative, in spite of their obvious influences. It’s an affectionate tribute to a wide variety of other works, but it still makes for an originally entertaining show so far. Easily recommended.