Stranger Things Review — A Love Letter to 80s Horror and Adventure

Overview

The Duffer Brothers' Stranger Things arrived on Netflix in 2016 as a surprise hit — a lovingly crafted homage to 1980s genre films that works equally well as a standalone piece of storytelling. Set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the show follows a group of kids who encounter supernatural forces after the disappearance of their friend Will Byers.

What Works

The casting of child actors is a genuine triumph. Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven — a girl with psychokinetic powers who escapes a government lab — brings raw emotional presence to a challenging role. The ensemble of kids, including Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, and Gaten Matarazzo, feel like real friends rather than TV constructs.

The show's pacing is tight, especially in its first two seasons. Each episode ends with something that compels you to watch the next. The mystery of the Upside Down — a shadowy parallel dimension — is introduced carefully and maintained with genuine intrigue.

Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers gives a performance that walks a fine line between grief-stricken and erratic without ever becoming unbelievable.

Visual Style and Score

The synth-heavy score by S U R V I V E (Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein) is one of the best TV soundtracks in recent memory. It channels John Carpenter and Tangerine Dream while standing on its own merits.

The production design meticulously recreates period-accurate 1980s aesthetics without becoming a parody of them.

Where It Struggles

The later seasons (3 and 4 in particular) suffer from scope creep. As the show expanded its cast and raised the stakes to world-ending levels, it lost some of the intimate small-town horror that made the first season so effective.

Season 4's Netflix-style "supersized" episodes — some running over an hour and a half — frequently feel padded.

Verdict

Season 1 and 2 of Stranger Things are among the best genre television of the decade. The show's emotional investment in its characters, particularly the kids and their friendships, gives the horror stakes genuine weight.

If you haven't watched it, start with the first season and judge from there. The quality oscillates across seasons, but the core is excellent.