"Stranger Things: Science is neat, but I’m afraid it’s not very forgiving."
Yearning for yesteryear? Then this retro roller coaster of a series might be for you. It's a completely original series that reboots everything you loved about the 80's. It defies all odds and is a celebration of nostalgia. It was created and directed by the Duffer Brothers whose only other directing credit is an indie film called "Hidden" (highly recommended horror film). They've created a series heavily inspired by Steven Spielberg, Stephen King & John Carpenter but instead of the show constantly winking at you with references they're winking WITH you in a very non-condescending way.
In a nutshell Stranger Things is an 8 episode series set in middle America during the early 80's where a young boy goes missing in the woods, his friends go searching for him and come across a young girl with a shaved head and telekinetic abilities who has trouble communicating. Instead of this going the route of that J.J. Abrams series "Lost" where it's unsolved mystery after unsolved mystery, it has a very focused, well written story line where we learn things gradually.
Also looking for the lost boy is his mother played by Winona Ryder who delivers a stellar comeback performance after stepping away from Hollywood for a few years. One of my new favourite actors David Harbour plays the town police chief who could have very easily been written as a stereotypical naysayer but instead gets heavily involved in the search for the boy once he begins to see a government conspiracy unfold.
It definitely feels like the President Reagan years with the whole trope of tying to stay one step ahead of the Russians but instead of getting bogged down in politics it focuses on a research facility where the antagonists have really overstepped the mark in terms of experimenting on children and being able to access alternate dimensions which leads to accidentally releasing a faceless monster that terrorizes the town. Whilst it is reminiscent of films like "The Goonies" or "E.T" in it's child like perspective of story telling; the haunting nature of this series allows it to get very very dark and gritty. It doesn't shy away from violence and horror which leads to in my opinion a much more compelling story. It's as realistic as it can be when dealing with the supernatural. The score is also very 80's synthesizer music which is so fitting but it's never obnoxious, it comes across very natural.
A definite recommendation to anyone who enjoys 80's science-fiction, it's only 8 episodes long but feels way more cinematic than some of the recent trash in theaters. You can binge watch it and have a blast because Netflix released all episodes at once. Take a trip down memory lane. 4.7/5
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