Stranger Things (2016) Review

Stranger Things (2016)

Season 1 of Stranger Things follows a group of friends, who, after their friend Will goes missing, discover a strange girl with powers, whose mysterious past could be the key to finding him. 

When Stranger Things first hit the scene, I don’t think anyone could’ve possibly imagined the cultural impact it would leave at the time. Other than practically kickstarting the 80s nostalgia craze, with it’s period accurate clothing, references, and even events, this also touches a spot in media we haven’t really seen since, well…the 80s, feeling like the lovechild of David Cronenberg, Stephen King, and The Goonies. 

With Season 1, we’re introduced to Hawkins, Indiana and the mysterious disappearance of Will Buyers, an event that would open the flood gates for Hawkins in terms of all the secrets it holds. Almost concurrent with his disappearance, we also get meet Eleven, an escaped MK Ultra test subject with powers, who, though not much is known, feels eerily connected to Will and the Upside Down. What ensues is a fun, often terrifying little adventure for Will’s group of friends that find her, as they must deal with her powers, monsters, and of course, creepy scientists looking to (for some reason) make the whole situation worse. 

Rarely talked about too with Stranger Things, is that this is probably the only conceptually great adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons out there, kicking off the show with a game of it, and subtly letting the show fall in line with the game, even right down to most of the terminology they use to start identifying things, showing that I guess D&D can be mainstream if under the thinly veiled guise of 80s nostalgia. 

Season 1 boasts a great cast, starring Matthew Modine, Natalia Dyer, Joe Keery, Charlie Heaton, Noah Schnapp, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Millie Bobby Brown, and Finn Wolfhard. While her performance is subtle, Brown really does an excellent job of learning and evolving throughout the season into this badass Carrie type character, really meshing well alongside Wolfhard, who brings his only leadership and outcast-y qualities to the role of Mike. 

Stranger Things, directed by the Duffer Brothers, is still an incredibly fun and mysterious teen adventure saga in retrospect, capturing all of what made the 80s cool and at the same time, strangely frightening, as it also greatly pulls from movies and books of the time. 

8.9/10