Stranger Things is a Netflix-original series that published on July 15th, 2016. This series takes on the vibes of 1980’s Stephen King movie adaptations with the dark environments and the 80’s clichés such as the constant use of cordless phones and scrawny high-schoolers picking on the metal-head.
This science fiction horror series centers around three separate stories that eventually all end up being connected.
- First Story
One story circles around a group of boys, one of which, Will Byers, goes mysteriously missing after hanging out with his friends. Soon after one of the boys, Mike Wheeler, discovers an abandoned girl with her head shaved in a nearby forest. Although this draws a wedge into the remaining group of boys relationship she decides to protect them with her strange psychokinetic powers, especially Mike.
- Second Story
The second story we’re introduced to is that of the whole Byers family. Divorced and heartbroken after the “death,” of her son, Joyce Byers has her reasons to believe that Will is still out there somewhere. Her other son, Jonathan Byers, believes that his mother has gone completely insane since the loss of Will. Though he thinks this about his mother, eventually he meets a high school girl that we’re introduced to later on. Joyce Byers, still distraught, gets the local police involved. With all her crazy assumptions no one at the department believes a word she says. As supernatural as these things sound, one of the department heads, Chief Jim Hopper, has faith in what she is saying.
- Third Story
When I mentioned that Jonathan was meeting up with a fellow high school girl, I was referring to Nancy Wheeler, Mike Wheeler’s older sister. Before they meet we’re introduced to her storyline; which starts out with your common, generic high school story. Nancy has a smart best friend, Barbara; Nancy is interested in this guy, they get involved. The guy, who’s name is Steve has two irrelevant idiot friends; Steve and his friends ask Nancy to join them for a party, Barbara thinks this is a bad idea and what do you know she might have been right. But not necessarily for Nancy’s sake.
These three stories do come together in a mindlessly sticky situation with unknown creatures and mysterious miscellaneous things happening to all the group’s friends. Or to the main focus of those three stories, Mike, Joyce, and Nancy respectively.
If you enjoy 80’s horror series mixed in with a bit of that high-school life cliché, and pair it with the plot of missing children in a mystery series Stranger Things might just be the perfect series for you. I mean, after all, the creatures in this show don’t even have faces. Who wouldn’t want that, am I right? Watching a little girl with psychic powers steal some waffles is pretty entertaining too.