Have heard a lot about Stranger Things. Since its debut on Netflix it has created a buzz around it and the kids from the show are everywhere. So true to my usual way of dealing with media hype about shows, I decided to stay away from it as I do not want that hype to create unnecessary expectations that lead to disappointment. Recent events in the real world triggered a self-imposed embargo on the real word, so I needed find something to do to fill up my usual time I spent on reading news and watching current affairs on YouTube. Strangely enough, Stranger Things became something I decided to try on.
Watching the show without thinking about the hype of the show did allow me to look at the show objectively. And the verdict? It was an extremely engaging show that you feel like you have experienced before at the same time.
The premise of the show was quite straightforward, a small quiet town got entangled into a bigger mess brought to them by a mistake that the Government was trying to cover up. As the offenders tried to clean the mess up, it just got messier and messier each day. Centre of the plot were three boys who were trying to find their friend who went missing and in the process stumbled upon bigger and scarier stuff. There isn’t a lot of strange lore and philosophy in it but the show smartly ties the Dungeons and Dragon (I think so) lore into the whole premise making it very accessible for people who grew up with that game. And this also made it very clear what this show is about. This was especially smart when they tried to explain the alternate dimension with the game board.
One of my pleasant surprises was Winona Ryder (I did not look up anything about the show beforehand so I did not know who were in it apart from the kids) as I haven’t seen much of her since Girl, Interrupted and thought that she was truly forsaken by the ageist Hollywood. Now probably in her forties or even late forties, she has morphed into an extremely refined actress who portrait the mentally exhausted mum trying to find her missing child perfectly. She has always been a good actor in my opinion but her beauty in her younger years had prevented her to be cast into more interesting roles until Girl, Interrupted. So it was great to see her back in top form in Stranger Things. Other actors were good though they were completely overshadowed by the kids, who were the central characters in the story. The authenticity of the kids was impeccable and I think that is the good thing about kid actors. They were really a blank canvas acting on their instincts. And that gave their performances so much realism than some adults who were trying to “act as the characters”. Whether this trail of excellent authentic performance could continue in season 2 is yet to be seen, but the kids in the show truly shone and it was really about them.
I mentioned that Stranger Things for me was engaging yet familiar. This was because throughout the whole show you can feel the influence of a lot of 80s and 90s stuff in this genre popping up everywhere. First up, the Upside Down dimension has an extremely strong Silent Hill feel with the ashes flying around and the walls covered by weird things like blood vessels. When it switches over to this dimension, it switches over in a similar way and the thin veil between the two dimensions feels extremely Silent Hill. Then the scene where they found the missing kid, it strongly reminded me of a scene in Aliens when the crew found the nest of the Alien Queen. Further, the kids riding on bikes chased by cars had a strong ET feel to it and not to mention the design of the monster looks very similar to the lickers in the Resident Evil series. Probably these were what inspired the premise of the show I don’t know but that does not mean that I have issues with it. In fact it is because of this familiarity and together with an extremely original story with excellent pacing, they made the show more engaging for me than I would have expected.
Stranger Things has been commissioned for another season. Whether it would be as successful is still too early to say. However, with the huge expectation created by the first season, there sure will be big shoes to fill and high bars to reach. I would in the meantime just enjoy the nostalgic yet new experience brought to me by this unique show.
If you like ET, Silent Hill, Aliens, Resident Evil, and sometimes moments of teen horror flicks, you would probably like this show. So check it out if you happen to have a Netflix account.
