“...with vintage fonts and mottled with faux film grain.”

July 15, 2016 2:02 PM

Netflix’s sci-fi throwback Stranger Things is Yesterday’s Summer Blockbuster Today [A.V. Club] Stranger Things is stylish, beguiling, and eminently bingeable, but it isn’t skeptic-proof. The Duffer brothers, who previously worked on Fox’s surprisingly compelling Wayward Pines, should know by now that open-ended supernatural mysteries are going to dissuade some viewers, particularly those who have felt duped by such stories in the recent past. But anyone willing to push through their resistance will find a borderline hypnotic show that could be to this summer what USA’s Mr. Robot was to last summer: a hyper-stylized niche series that feels essential even at its wobbliest.

- Stranger Things - Trailer 1 - Netflix [YouTube]
- Stranger Things - The Vanishing of Will Byers - Watch First 8 Minutes - Netflix [YouTube]

- Stranger Things Is a Scary, Poignant Piece of 1980s Nostalgia [Vanity Fair]

There’s also an entirely engaging story happening here: a group of four friends, all nerdy boys of the Dungeons & Dragons varietal, is hurled into a supernatural mystery when one of them, kind and thoughtful Will (Noah Schnapp), goes missing. This frightening event coincides with some sort of incident at a nearby military-research facility, a looming, ominous presence that the sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana, doesn’t seem all that aware of. Will’s mother, played with convincing fire by none other than Winona Ryder, begins a mad hunt for her son, while his friends, led by Finn Wolfhard’s (what a name!) Mike, embark on their own quest. Mike’s sister, Nancy (Natalia Dyer), also gets involved, teen romance swirling around winningly with teen terror, as does the local sheriff, a shambly guy with a tragic backstory played with perfect underdog heroism by the great David Harbour.

- Stranger Things: The Excellent Netflix Show That’s Going to Take Over Your Weekend [GQ]

Stranger Things is a show so '80s, it's almost tempting to make fun of it. Created with nostalgic affection by Matt and Ross Duffer, it looks like Spielberg, sounds like John Carpenter, and smells a bit like Stephen King. It feels like a scary story told over a campfire, about a thing that happened to a friend of a friend a long time ago, about what really goes on in that mysterious building at the edge of town no one knows anything about, and what might happen there late at night. Altogether, it's pretty wonderful.

- Winona Ryder's Guide To New Netflix Show 'Stranger Things' [NME]

1. I play Joyce Buyers.
2. I’m not a parent.
3. I was trying to look as unglamorous as possible.
4. Stranger Things is set in a small town.

posted by Fizz (51 comments total)

My feelings about this can be summed up as: Winona Forever!
posted by sallybrown at 2:07 PM on July 15, 2016 [4 favorites]

Knowing absolutely nothing about it, we caught the trailer for this accidentally logging into Netflix (hit the button when I was logging in, unless Netflix automatically shows previews now), and because of its 80s tone and its title-that-similar-to-one (Needful), our household was absolutely convinced this was a Stephen King adaptation until we looked it up. Definitely going to check it out.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:08 PM on July 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm two episodes in, and don't really have plans on stopping any time soon. My impression so far is that apart from the 80s pastiche and genre story there's a lot more going on beneath the surface of this one. Reminds me, favorably, of It Follows.
posted by codacorolla at 2:15 PM on July 15, 2016

Reminds me, favorably, of It Follows.

I got a more Fringe, only set in the 80s kind of vibe. And that's not a bad thing at all. Only managed to watch the first episode and now I'm at work, but I know what I'll be watching the second I get home. I'm quite excited about this show.
posted by Fizz at 2:18 PM on July 15, 2016

It's a pretty weird feeling that, as someone who grew up in the 80's, something set in that decade is I guess effectively now a "period piece."
posted by juv3nal at 2:46 PM on July 15, 2016 [11 favorites]

The first episode was great. I am the age of the kids in this so it feels like home and Winona Ryder is always awesome. This is pretty well done and I'm looking forward to watching more.

The only thing I didn't like was that due to the small town 80s setting and the kid going missing while riding bikes with friends I spent a good part of the day thinking about Jacob Wetterling.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 3:03 PM on July 15, 2016

I like Mr. Robot and Wayward Pines, and hated Duper 8 so I'm intrigued, but I'm skeptical of reviews that have a lot of apologies in them. Does this star kids? I'm unclear, and that's important.
posted by bongo_x at 3:05 PM on July 15, 2016

Partially, yes. I think they're pretty decent actors - some better than others.
posted by codacorolla at 3:08 PM on July 15, 2016

Is this more thriller, or more horror? I don't usually enjoy horror, but the trailer looked pretty good.
posted by moira at 3:21 PM on July 15, 2016

I like the more monster/SF elements of the show. It's all still a mystery for me as of now, but those are the parts of the show that have me most interested in tuning in for more. That being said, I think Spielberg has set too many of his films in this time period and at times it feels like I'm watching older films that he's been involved with (E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Poltergeist, etc.). A few moments during the opener had me wondering if I had stumblhed into some kind of E.T. sequel.
posted by Fizz at 3:22 PM on July 15, 2016

I think Spielberg has set too many of his films in this time period and at times it feels like I'm watching older films that he's been involved with (E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Poltergeist, etc.)

To be fair, when those films were made, they were set in the Now.
posted by hippybear at 3:27 PM on July 15, 2016 [26 favorites]

Absolutely right hippybear. I guess I should rephrase that. I personally feel like I've seen too many of his films, combined with the fact that I grew up in the 80s, it just feels overly familiar. So much nostalgia, it often feels cloying.

Ack, I'm so old.
posted by Fizz at 3:30 PM on July 15, 2016

The title synth arpeggio sets off so many Mass Effect bells. There's got to be a Juno in there at very least.
posted by vanar sena at 3:45 PM on July 15, 2016 [4 favorites]

I loved Super 8 unabashedly in the same way I loved Stand By Me, so I fully expect to love this. I'm a sucker for movies about the secret lives of kids/teenagers.
posted by skycrashesdown at 3:49 PM on July 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

The first big scare for me was seven minutes and fifteen seconds into the first ep. I watched two eps last night. Will pick up on ep 3 tonight. Probably binge the rest since I likely won't be sleeping with the lights off anyhow.

I am a horror genre chicken shit...I would put the first couple episodes in thriller territory way more so than horror.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 4:07 PM on July 15, 2016

This just made my week.

Stranger Things is a show so '80s, it's almost tempting to make fun of it.

Pshaw.
posted by SpacemanStix at 6:10 PM on July 15, 2016

Reminds me, favorably, of It Follows.

I was genuinely pleased at how much I enjoyed It Follows. I am not a horror fan at all, but this was done so well I couldn't help but be interested. And the soundtrack was phenomenal.
posted by SpacemanStix at 6:12 PM on July 15, 2016 [2 favorites]

I just started watching it, and seeing David Harbour wake up on the sofa, the first thing I thought was "Rowsdower?" so, yeah- it's pretty '80s.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:24 PM on July 15, 2016 [3 favorites]

OK, now all the '80s school scenes are giving me weird flashbacks, so maybe it's a bit too '80s.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:32 PM on July 15, 2016

(SQUELCHING INTENSIFIES)

I'm watching with my father who is hard of hearing. So far, it's delightful.
posted by drklahn at 6:39 PM on July 15, 2016 [5 favorites]

Just watched two episodes and I'm loving this so much. It's like a time capsule from the 80s, and I'm a wimp about scary things, so this is the perfect blend of mystery and scariness. And the soundtrack!
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 6:59 PM on July 15, 2016

I watched the season yesterday and while I have quibble-fic rattling around because of episode 8, it was pretty good! Very white writing but aside from that, it really ought to be on Fanfare.
posted by E. Whitehall at 7:07 PM on July 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

I dunno guys I'm 2 minutes in and my suspension of disbelief is already creaking. What the fuck is a fireball going to do against Demogorgon? Dude is fire resistant 25 and has 500+ HP. Might as well spit in his general direction.
posted by Justinian at 7:07 PM on July 15, 2016 [14 favorites]

I don't know- so far Goonies vs. Species looks pretty good. I'll probably keep watching it.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:25 PM on July 15, 2016 [5 favorites]

Goonies vs. Species

SOLD.
posted by yasaman at 7:28 PM on July 15, 2016 [3 favorites]

Dude is fire resistant 25

I'm sure they'd have some house rules, but predicting future editions something something tachyons.
posted by nom de poop at 8:24 PM on July 15, 2016

Fiiine, it would have been AD&D Demogorgon and not the later one. Fiiiine.

According to my AD&D Monster Manual it would therefore have 200 hit points. That would make a high level fireball a more reasonable response... except rather than fire resistance 25 an AD&D Demogorgon has Magic Reistance 95%. Since we do not know what level their characters are, it is impossible to tell the chance of success. Still, even were we to grant them 18th level characters that's a 60% chance of outright spell failure.

Fiiiine.
posted by Justinian at 8:38 PM on July 15, 2016 [5 favorites]

It's a pretty weird feeling that, as someone who grew up in the 80's, something set in that decade is I guess effectively now a "period piece."

Freaks and Geeks (1999). American Psycho (2000). Donnie Darko (2001). That '80s Show (2002). ...
posted by Sys Rq at 9:12 PM on July 15, 2016

(Also, since it's been a while since I last did the Dazed and Confused math, here it is again, updated to make us all feel extra old: Dazed and Confused came out in 1993, and was set in 1976. 1993-1976=17. 2016-17=1999.)
posted by Sys Rq at 9:17 PM on July 15, 2016 [10 favorites]

(Also, since it's been a while since I last did the Dazed and Confused math, here it is again, updated to make us all feel extra old: Dazed and Confused came out in 1993, and was set in 1976. 1993-1976=17. 2016-17=1999)

the Duffer brothers graduated college around 2011...
posted by ennui.bz at 9:38 PM on July 15, 2016

Since we do not know what level their characters are, it is impossible to tell the chance of success. Still, even were we to grant them 18th level characters that's a 60% chance of outright spell failure.

Nerd.

You're spot on, though.. if they were letting the caster roll magic resistance on a D20. They said they needed a 13, which gives a 40% chance of success, so level 18. But then, demons take max half damage from fire, therefore the saving throw doesn't matter, and so the damage would be 9-54 which wouldn't scare Demogorgon that much. At 18th level he could be casting shit like imprisonment.

Of course, being totally rules-accurate isn't actually authentic. I give the show points for having the 1983 Basic and Expert sets in view.
posted by nom de poop at 12:34 AM on July 16, 2016 [2 favorites]

Watched the first episode just now. We're loving it.

I grew up (in the '90s) on '80s films about kids and teenagers in the States and shows like the X-Files, so this hits that level of nostalgia for me, complete with douchebags, Lord of the Flies-type high school dynamics, stuff lurking below the surface and nefarious government agents.
posted by flippant at 4:51 AM on July 16, 2016

I binge watched all but the last episode last night and loved it. The nostalgia is so well done that I definitely felt at times like I was watching something from the 80's instead of something made now and set in the 80's (of course, since I was around in the 80's I would have remembered...). Winona Ryder is amazing in it, it's easy to forget what a great actress she can be I guess. The kids are actually really good actors (especially Millie Bobby Brown who plays Eleven and Gaten Matarazzo who plays Dustin), the pacing is great, it's very creepy, and it definitely has that nightmarish Stephen King "everything is so normal except really really wrong" feel. The bits with the Christmas lights especially managed to be extremely creepy and unsettling and poignant and heartbreaking at the same time, mainly thanks to Winona Ryder.

I hope there is more on the way, I have been consistently pleasantly surprised by the quality of Netflix's originals, and I wish season 2 of Sense8 was here already.
posted by biscotti at 6:20 AM on July 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

Millie Bobby Brown was great in Intruders, so I'm going to binge watch the hell out if this..
posted by Pendragon at 7:44 AM on July 16, 2016

Watched the whole thing last night because seven hours of tv in a row is definitely a good idea. Where is the Fanfare thread I have feels but also questions
posted by skycrashesdown at 7:45 AM on July 16, 2016 [4 favorites]

For what it is worth, i figure throwing fireballs against demogorgon ( regardless of whatever edition you are playing) pretty much the same as enptying a magazine into whatever lovecraftian horror shambles up in a call of cthulhu session: it isn't going to do shit.....but you have to go down fighting! For the narrative at least!!


Also: THAC04LIFE
posted by das_2099 at 8:30 AM on July 16, 2016 [7 favorites]

Also, i'll check this out!
posted by das_2099 at 8:30 AM on July 16, 2016

Came for Winona and will stay for the kids. The first episode definitely got me hooked. Several times I thought, "ugh, so predicta--- wait, what? .. Whoa....."
posted by pjsky at 9:17 AM on July 16, 2016

We watched the first four episodes last night and were very impressed. Excellent kid actors, nicely paced (slow) mystery plot. And the 80s setting was cake for my wife and I, who were 11 and 13 in 1980, respectively.
posted by doctornemo at 10:28 AM on July 16, 2016

I liked it. The E.T. was strong with it, and they did have a lot of the pacing that made early episodes of Wayward Pines without the plot going all Shyamalama-ding-dong on you. The kid actors were great. I liked the recurring trying to explain things through D&D.

Overall it seemed like a Child of Stephen King and Spielberg with a few other bits kicked in, but even deliberately following that kind of "formula", I thought it was well done.
posted by lkc at 11:04 AM on July 16, 2016

They are totally playing D&D wrong (rolling to hit with fireballs?), whether it's 1st edition AD&D or plain D&D (and I don't even think Demogorgon was present in the regular D&D rules) . But hey, kids that age probably would have been playing it wrong.

I love the show, though it's weirdly dissonant some times. So many deliberate 80's cues, but also using some modern filming and editing styles. It's more like a 2016 show in a world that has been culturally and technologically frozen in the 80's.
posted by Pryde at 12:58 PM on July 16, 2016

ok, I just watched the last episode, and I'm so ready for a second season. And as predicted Millie Bobby Brown was great.
posted by Pendragon at 3:09 PM on July 16, 2016

FanFare.
posted by Fizz at 3:36 PM on July 16, 2016 [2 favorites]

Just watched the first four episodes in one binge, loving it so far.

Warning, possible spoilers here — I see I'm not the only one who noticed parallels with a certain work of serial fiction previously posted here.
posted by mubba at 5:58 PM on July 16, 2016

6 Comics to Read After Binge-Watching Netflix's Stranger Things
posted by Artw at 12:51 PM on July 18, 2016

What's the name of the trope that Barbara fits in this show? Like, the friend who doesn't like that her only friend is growing up without them. The line in episode two where she says "This isn't you" is so spot on.
posted by gucci mane at 5:53 PM on July 18, 2016

Sys Rq: "Also, since it's been a while since I last did the Dazed and Confused math, here it is again, updated to make us all feel extra old: Dazed and Confused came out in 1993, and was set in 1976. 1993-1976=17. 2016-17=1999."

You fucker! You goddamn fucker! You take that math back right now!!

(People do the "The difference in time between X and Y is the same as the difference in time between Z and 2016" thing all the time, and none of them have ever hit me, but this one has hit me and is continuing to hit me like a ton of bricks)
posted by Bugbread at 6:27 AM on July 19, 2016

Pryde: "They are totally playing D&D wrong (rolling to hit with fireballs?), whether it's 1st edition AD&D or plain D&D (and I don't even think Demogorgon was present in the regular D&D rules) . But hey, kids that age probably would have been playing it wrong."

I got into AD&D as a kid in the 1980s by borrowing my dad's manuals. I played it all the time with friends, and then once at a sleepover I convinced my dad to play with us. About 45 minutes in he quit in a bit of a huff because we were playing it so wrong. We were under the impression we were playing it right, by the book, but apparently our understanding of certain things was so far off it wasn't even funny.
posted by Bugbread at 6:33 AM on July 19, 2016 [2 favorites]

Finally watching it now. It probably makes it's 80s movie references a little to obviously for my taste but it's pretty great.
posted by octothorpe at 5:24 PM on July 31, 2016

How the Stranger Things titles came out so perfectly retro.
posted by Artw at 9:04 AM on August 13, 2016

10 Things Stranger Things Taught Me About Storytelling
posted by Artw at 9:05 AM on August 13, 2016