Stranger Things

There were two dominating forces in the eighties that had a lasting effect on my cinematic taste for ever after and also resulted in my undying love for fantasy, sci-fi and horror stories: Steven Spielberg and Stephen King. I guess it isn't an overstatement to say "The Two Steves" probably influenced and shaped the imagination - the dreams AND the nightmares - of an entire generation.

The main factor why I loved their movies and books was that kids roughly my own age figured so prominently in many of them. King wrote 'Firestarter', 'It' and 'Stand By Me', and Spielberg either directed or produced (via his company Amblin) 'E.T.', 'The Goonies' and 'Gremlins'. Those were stories where the young protagonists encountered aliens and monsters or where they themselves had supernatural powers - or where they just went on an adventure (to find a body or a long lost treasure) with grown-ups largely out of the picture. Now if you've seen 'Stranger Things', that should sound pretty familiar, right?

Of course it does: because 'Stranger Things' deliberately pays homage to all those stories - and it does it very, very well. And it's not a rip-off, it's a love letter. The show emulates the themes and a certain style from those eighties treasures, and while it is a (for me) very welcome callback to some of the favorite stories from my youth, it's also very much its own thing. I won't give away the plot here (I guess you get a pretty good picture what it's about from what I wrote above), but I would like to mention that it's beautifully shot, the effects and generally the production values are top-notch, and the period-inspired music is fantastic. The biggest shout-out, however, has to go to the ensemble of actors, especially the kids who play the protagonists: their charming performances are the key to why the show works as well as it does.

To sum it all up: If you're an eighties kid like me, this show is a must. For everyone else, it might depend a bit more on whether you're a genre fan or not, but if you do like supernatural stories, 'Stranger Things' is a treat. I'd rate it eight stars out of ten, but with an extra star for nostalgia, that's a 9.

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

Favorite films: IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-Known Masterpieces: imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Awesome characters, great story, great balance between drama and action, love the humour in the series.... In my opinion it is a must watch.

Stranger Things is absolutely as good as everyone says it is. When a show is as talked about about as much as this one has been it's hard to live up to expectations. Stranger Things has not only met those expectations but has surpassed them in every way. This is the show that our Netflix on the map as far as original shows go as this was not only one of their first but their biggest. As much as I love this show it's probably time for it for end and it is. This upcoming season is going to be the last. We have literally watched this cast grow up, they were children when this show first started and now they're all in their 20's. I can't wait for this last season and going to miss it when it's gone!

There is no reason, in terms of story, for Stranger Things to take place in the '80s. But the '80s atmosphere - the dial phones, the chain smoking, Winona Ryder - are there to clue you in on the inspiration for this movie, which is pretty much every supernatural movie from the 80s with a focus on kids. E.T., Poltergeist, that sort of thing.

The wondrous thing is how dead-on this tribute. It's not just the clothes and hair, but the style of acting, the scripting approach, the structure, all hold true to their inspiration. You've got the young nerdy kids, the horny, unsure teenagers, the monster, the mysterious one with the power, the bad science/government people, the conflicted investigator, the tearful mom.

You could argue that this entire season is simply a pastiche made up of recycled elements, and I wouldn't disagree, but it really feels less like a copy and more like something of that era, as though the writers had fallen into a coma in 1985, woke up and got to working.

While it doesn't have the high style of the Spielberg films that are a primary influence, it does have the likability. The story is consistently engaging and fun, the acting is excellent, and the movie has sufficient laughs and tears to satisfy.

I am one of those people that was put of by the thought that this was a kid's drama, from the advertising you'd swear this was aimed at a 4 o'clock after school transmission time, the reality is far from that. It's quite intense drama, thoroughly absorbing, the kind of show you can't help but binge watch. As someone that grew up in the Eighties, I can appreciate the detail that's gone into the production, it's like they slipped back and filmed it live, it is incredibly well made. I utterly love the music, it is so fitting, takes me back to wonderful eighties shows. Quality in both season one and two, I like the build up and tension that is abundant in the first. It's like the Goonies meets The Quatermass Experiment.