The year? 1983. The place? Hawkins, Indiana. The things? Stranger. By now you’ve probably already heard of the Netflix original series Stranger Things. If not, how much do you pay to rent that rock you’re living under? The series is packed full of 1980’s pop culture and exudes the film making styles and story telling of the great directors and writers of that period. Mainly the style of Steven Spielberg and Stephen King. The plot revolves around the mysterious disappearance of a boy, Will Byres, and the sudden appearance of a girl who is later named Eleven, or El for short, due to a tattoo on her that reads: 011. El is somewhat of an enigma. She does not speak very much, if at all for most of the series. Oh, and she has telekinetic abilities. These come in very useful as the story progresses. There is a heavy, conspiratorial government presence throughout the show. These are the “bad men” as the young characters call them. They are very reminiscent of the government infiltration in Spielberg’s E.T. and just as intimidating. Winona Ryder plays the missing boy’s mother. Her performance is quite exquisite and really helps to drive home the feeling of despair and steadfastness of finding her youngest son. The cast in whole really work together quite well and provide excellent pacing and storytelling during the course of the marathon binge that almost always happens when people begin to watch Stranger Things. I just finished the first 8 episode season today. I cannot wait until season 2 is released. There’s some speculation that each season will tell a different story entirely, much like the hit series American Horror Story. But either way, I have total faith in the show’s creators, the Duffer Brothers. If you have not seen the show, and have a Netflix streaming account, then what are you waiting for?! Go watch Stranger Things right now. I’ve only scratched the surface of what the show is about. Things definitely get stranger, and stranger.
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