Stranger Things : season 1

StartFragment

When a young boy named Will Byers goes missing in 1980s Indiana his friends and family, along with local authorities, unknowingly loose themselves on a dark odyssey in a desperate attempt to find him and bring him back home. When, almost simultaneously, a young girl exhibiting telekinetic abilities appears as if out of nowhere, questions and confusion abound as the mysteries and majesty of Stranger Things begins to unfold...

I had the day off when this was released on Netflix. I put the first episode on while I was writing after reading the cast list and brief synopsis it seemed like something I would be into, though I was not giving it my full attention at the time. By the end of the first episode, I stopped what I was working on, closed my laptop and put Stranger Things episode 2 on my TV, and reveled in a kind of euphoria that I don't get as a guy in his mid-thirties. I was born in 79, and the first movie I saw in the theater was ET, and while I could go down the list of King, Spielberg and Carpenter films I grew up with, I feel like I've already made my point. I finished the first season in a little more than a day, and then did what I'm sure a lot of people did- I immediately told everyone know to stop what they were doing and watch it, ASAP, and then continued to talk about for the next two weeks.

This was new, yet beautifully familiar, and it felt like it was aimed RIGHT at me, and guys like me; it had 80s nostalgia up the wazoo, and yet it had the legs to stand on it's own. The characters and the world they inhabited were immediately engaging thanks to some really good casting and spectacular performances all around. Not one name in the cast drags the rest down, and they share an almost unparalleled synergy that holds the series together wonderfully.

Michael Stein & Kyle Dixon's work on the score was absolutely amazing, nailing down the pertinent elements of classic horror films of 70s & 80s with flawless precision. The theme music alone I found to be appropriately chilling juxtaposed with the receding glowing-red classic font on a pitch-black background. The usage of soundtrack also had me nerding out quite frequently. I'm a huge Joy Division fan, so when this Netflix show about 80s kids and science experiments gown awry featured Atmosphere in its soundtrack I found myself in a special kind of heaven. Throw in some Peter Gabriel and the Clash, and you've got a fan for life, right here.

This is the tough part about reviewing things in this format- I can talk about this show until I'm in carpal tunnel city, but I feel this is one of those stories that you enjoy the most if you don't know too much, so I'm going to end this review with some things worth mentioning on the way out.

Winona Ryder, as always is phenomenal. I never doubt her prowess, and am always impressed. David Harbour's Jim Hopper was easily one of my favorite characters with some great development I really enjoyed seeing transpire on screen. The youngest members of the cast always had me thinking 'where the hell did these kids come from?!? They're amazing!' and they really are. Most notably, the young lady that portrayed my absolute favorite character, Eleven, Millie Bobby Brown. For a relatively subdued character with minimal dialogue to command so much attention on screen with mere expression and a piercing glance or two, is evidence enough that she is a force to be reckoned with. I very much look forward to seeing more of her work in the future, both in the Stranger Things universe, and other projects.

If you haven't seen Stranger Things yet, get yourself over to Netflix and bask in its glory. It's an exquisite work of art that I love, so very, very much...and I am rabidly anticipating the next installment of one of the best series I have seen. Probably ever.

EndFragment