Stranger Things

Nostalgic Things... Authentic 80s King style (children's level) Carpenter style (horror level) Spielberg movie (adult level) par excellence, in other words Super 8 done absolutely right. It can't be more retro. You will recognize (among countless others) for example Stand by Me, E.T., Poltergeist, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Cocoon, Nightmare from Elm Street, Peanuts, The Monster Squad (simply put, the production of Amblin at the time) and... And not surprisingly, even if everything in it (like really everything, a s mall town, an unbelieving self-grown sheriff, a high school, etc.) is purely overseas 80s, so it doesn't seem like a nostalgic copy, a parody of itself or in any way contrived (namely there are two allusions per every minute of the running time), on the contrary, it stand firmly on its feet. In other words, this one doesn’t pretend to be 80s. IT IS 80s in terms of visuals, Carpenter's-tangerinedream musical undertones, mood and generally by atmosphere. And by far the best part is that all of the above is just a foundation for a graduated, mysterious, captivatingly disturbing and deliberately insight into a intentionally second-rate cliché story, which is also enhanced by acting performances, including those of children (after all, you can see on their cast how much it is faithful at the time, none of the children is nice or cute), and everything is dependent on their performance (what such Millie Brown can play only using her eyes, her much experienced, awarded and older colleagues can only envy her, because in spite of everything it is mainly and above all a children's (but not childish) expedition for adventure. If the 80s shaped you, so using the words of Charlie Sheen... What's not to love? | S1: 5/5 | S2: 5/5 | S3: 5/5 | (15/07/2016)

A chilling retro of the Spielberg-King school. Abrams has competition... An excellently graded horror drama actually written by Stephen King (and who can’t recognize echoes from It or Talisman?) and is still original in its approach. The serial form allows for sufficient character development and building up tension. The Upside Down and things connected with him is the terrifying place and, together with Eleven, perform some great things. Great effects, even though the flashing finale is unbearable for epileptics, it made the hair all over my body stand on end. Everybody is great in acting terms, just Winona overacts rather. I look forward to what the next season offers. Season Two: Typically, season two offers more of everything, everything is bigger and everything happens faster. Pairing up of characters sets of in unexpected directions, but the discovery of the world inside out still takes place only very gradually. Jane is put off onto the sidelines so that some sort of danger that wouldn’t matter could arise, but the whole storyline with searching for her sister just holds back the action. Otherwise again it’s a great watch in Stephen King style. (21/08/2016)

At home, we have basically devoured this show in one go. Stranger Things has the best of what I liked about old action/adventure/horror movies from the 1980s that I used to watch in the 1990s. A certain mysticism, fear, child heroes and an amazing contemporary synthwave music. If anyone holds classic movie adventures of times past close to their heart, don’t hesitate! This will definitely grab your attention. Stranger Things has an amazing style and I personally hope that it won’t end at the first season. (27/08/2016)

After the third season, it’s clear to me that this is awesome. Whether we're talking about the cast, the direction, the cinematography, the script, the costumes, the humor, or the soundtrack, it's basically perfect. I admire that the filmmakers aren't afraid to be a little evil at times and that you never know what's coming. I can't wait for the next season. (18/08/2019)

Just as Tarantino does not limit himself to mere quoting, but distils the essences of marginal genres and creates extreme pastiches, the Duffer brothers take an identical approach to eighties horror movies, teen flicks and children's adventures in order to mould a perfect fantastical story that allows viewers to feel the wonder of childhood, the anxieties of adolescence and the fears of parenthood, all at the same time. (08/01/2017)