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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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?!