By now, if you've got Netflix, you've likely already binged your way through all 8 episodes of Stranger Things, one of the few entertainment bright spots of the summer. Released with almost no advance word, the show caught fire instantly and became The must-watch show of the season.
In case you've been away, Stranger Things is a delirious fusion of all things Eighties, a frenzied and faithful story of childhood friends in peril that sprays gleeful reference shrapnel invoking the works of Steven Spielberg and Stephen King. E.T., Poltergeist, Stand by Me, Firestarter, The Goonies - you'll get whiplash counting the nods and callbacks. The opening credits echo the font of every King book jacket, backed by a synthesizer score that screams John Carpenter. Even the poster art (from Kyle Lambert) is meant to evoke the legendary style of Drew Struzan, he of the iconic Star Wars and Indiana Jones one-sheets. For anyone who grew up loving eighties movies, Stranger Things is a heady trip back in the time machine. Set in 1983, it looks, smells and feels like a product of that simpler, pre-internet time. Part of the show's appeal has undoubtedly been the interactive fun of connecting the pop cultural dots, and bathing in a warm pool of nostalgia for a genre of film we kind of take for granted now.
But Stranger Things isn't just a magic act, and it's definitely not paint-by-numbers. Created and directed by The Duffer Brothers (Matt and Ross), Stranger Things is the story of a lazy town next to a government research lab that's rocked by the disappearance of a small boy under disturbing circumstances - and his friends' determined quest to somehow find him.
Just watch that pilot, and if you aren't immediately all kinds of hooked, I'll be surprised. I may even sick a Demogorgon on you. Eighties stalwarts Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine are the most familiar faces, both doing excellent work. As the town Sheriff, David Harbour is a new face to me, but he won't stay unfamiliar long, as he's fantastic here. A damaged, near derelict sleepwalker straight out of Carpenter or Dean Koontz.
But it's the young cast of friends that deserve a huge amount of credit for Stranger Things' success. Led by Finn Wolfhard (right?), Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLoughlin, Charlie Heaton and Natalia Dyer do an amazing job of creating believable and unforced energy in their roles and keep you rooting for them every step of the way. But it's Millie Bobby Brown as "Eleven," who's going to come out of this thing in a major way. It's a star-making performance and she becomes a galvanizing force for this band of D&D loyalists in a way you won't soon forget.
With so much nostalgic hat-tipping, it may be tempting for some to view Stranger Things with a cynical lens. But viewers have embraced this show like a beer on a hot afternoon, and I gotta say I just enjoyed the hell out of my time in Hawkins, Indiana, and I can't wait to see where the Duffer Brothers take us next.
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