Stranger Things

Stranger Things is a Netflix original series set in a small town in Indiana where, well, stranger things are happening than usual.

In many ways it is a throwback to Spielberg films of the era, or at least that is what most reviewers will tell you, but it has more in common with Stephen King novels if you ask me.

A bit of plot for you, Will Byers, a Middle School aged boy, encounters something in the woods and goes missing, starting off an investigation by several parties, including Byers' own friends, they don't find him in their initial search, but they do find a girl named Eleven who is the classic mysterious and silent plot driver.
There are other groups as well, the town sheriff thinks things are not right, and a small group of teenagers end up getting involved as well. This actually works out pretty well, as an exclusive focus on the kids would have gotten a bit grating after a while, but all groups bring enough to the table that you don't mind bouncing around in perspective at all.

Above all, this is an extremely effective horror and drama story, the monster (yes there is a monster) is legitimately scary and unstoppable seeming, but enough rules for it and where it comes from are discovered and pieced together that you never feel like the heroes don't have a chance at all, which I appreciate, nothing ruins tension for me more than having the monster, or ghost, or whatever, be able to do whatever it wants and nothing the protagonist does can have any effect on it, I am looking at you Paranormal Activity, bad ghost series.

The monster is scary and gross, and the place it comes from is also scary and kinda gross, even when you sort of get an idea of what it is and where it is from, it is still threatening and unsettling.

The actors pull off excellent performances one and all, though I did want Winona Ryder to stop moaning now and again, her character was certainly justified in doing so, having her son disappear and her house become sort of haunted qualifies as a good reason for being a bit batty at times.

So King and Spielberg will be the ones who are brought up whenever this is talked about, and both of them are known for bands of precocious youth solving mysteries and stuff, but even at his best, Spielberg comes off as pretty schmaltzy and I just don't believe in the characters enough, while King tends to have more, I don't want to say believable because I remember the underage sewer orgy from IT, but characters I believe in I guess, they don't annoy me as much and he seems to generally spend less effort on trying to make childhood seem magical. Although your mileage may vary and comparing novels to movies isn't really fair.

King also wins because it's a small town plagued by unimaginable horror, which is sorta like the main thing he is known for. But I am being unfair to the creators of Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers, who managed to take what could have been a pretty obnoxious 80s throwback and make it into something that we can appreciate today without compromising the setting. It goes dark, and is more than willing to kill characters, even kids, if it is appropriate to the story.

I had a good time watching it and the monster intruded on my dreams, which isn't something I can say about most horror monsters, watch it, you won't regret it.

Netflix is turning out some damn fine original content these days.