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Let’s Have a “Stranger Things” Easter Egg Hunt!

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That Netflix’s Stranger Things” is inspired by 80’s horror is well documented and there have been many words spilled on these pages. Daniel Kurland wrote a great piece about this while John Squires warned those responsible for the upcoming IT remake that they’ve got some big shoes to fill. But what we haven’t done yet is have a good old fashioned Easter egg hunt to decipher the most obvious, and perhaps the not so obvious, horror references The Duffer Brothers laced through the series.

There’s no way I can itemize everything, so I’m relying on commentators to fill in the gaps.


That Title Treatment

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While the show’s title treatment hints at the font favored by John Carpenter, I think it’s safe to say it’s referencing the one that graced pretty much every 80’s era Stephen King novel. Many people were immediately reminded of King’s “Needful Things,” even though that novel was published in the 90’s.


That Score

Composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein’s synth heavy score channels everything from John Carpenter’s Halloween to Risky Business. But while it is evocative of the era it also feels modern a testament to their talents.

Jonathan Barkan did the lord’s work by tracking down S U R V I V E, the band that features show composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein.


Poltergeist

Poltergeist

In episode one of the series, Winona Ryder’s Joyce surprises her son Will with tickets to Tobe Hooper’s paranormal classic. Not long after she’ll find herself communicating through walls just like in the 1982 film.


Jaws

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Spielberg looms large over Stranger Things, but we’ll start with Jaws. The famous shark thriller is both overtly (there’s a poster) and inadvertently referenced in the film, but most interesting is how the show’s monster is described as a shark in how it is drawn to the smell of blood.


The Thing

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A poster for John Carpenter’s seminal arctic horror film hangs on the wall of the basement where the kids spend a lot of their time. The film also appears on the television in a quick scene.


The Evil Dead

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Another poster we see hanging in Will’s older brother, Jonathan Byer’s, room is for Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead. At one point, in a heated fight, his estranged father points to the poster and tells him to take it down as it’s “inappropriate”. You have to wonder how many kids were told the same thing in the early 80’s. 


A Nightmare on Elm Street

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Every time the outline of a ghostly figure stretches out of a wall I immediately think of that scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street when Freddy emerges from the ceiling. Of course, the effect has been used many times since, most notably in Peter Jackson’s underrated horror comedy The Frighteners.


Firestarter

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From “Carrie” to “Firestarter”, Stephen King loves Telepathy. But the added flavour of secret experiments and a team of scientists chasing down an escaped subject make Eleven’s story feel very  Firestarter– y to me.


The Gate

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When Nancy Wheeler (played by Natalia Dyer) discovers a gateway to the Upside Down at the base of a tree it’s hard not to think about the 1987 film The Gate. In that film, a group of suburban kids discover a gateway to another world when a tree is removed from their backyard. When monsters begin to emerge it is up to them to save the day.


Under the Skin

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The design of Eleven’s world when she goes into the sensory deprivation tank is so similar to Under the Skin that I can’t imagine this was not intentional. Even down to the rippling of a watery floor when she walks through the black world, Johnathan Glazer’s film is evoked.


Alien

Alien

Besides a few visual nods like the one pictured above that is reminiscent of the crew of the Nostromo exploring the derelict ship on LV426, there are smaller Easter eggs in the series. The name of the officer that discovers Will’s body for example is O’Bannon, no doubt  named after Dan O’Bannon, the writer of the original Alien.


Stand By Me

StandByMe

Late in the series, our group of young heroes journey along a stretch of track to find the source of what’s interfering with their compass.  I don’t know about you, but ever since Stand By Me, tracks and kids signify that film and I have no doubt that was the intention here.


Altered States

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Ken Russell’s weirdo 1980 horror, Altered States, features sensory deprivation and William Hurt’s Eddie Jessup under the influence of psychotropic drugs. If you haven’t seen it, it’s one trippy horror outing.


Cujo

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There’s a quick moment when s state trooper can be seen reading a copy of a Stephen King book. What makes it an obvious Cujo reference is when Chief Hopper says,  “I love that book, it’s a nasty mutt.” Clearly a reference to the titular dog.


Witchboard

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Okay, admittedly this last one’s a stretch. Ouija boards are a staple of horror cinema in general, but Witchboard was a particularly popular series in the 80’s. When Winona Ryder communicates with the spirit of her missing son by scrawling what is essentially a giant ouija board on the wall, I think it’s safe to say this popular horror trope is being evoked.

What did I miss?!

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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