Stranger Things is a monster that walks on three legs.
The body of this Netflix series is the suburbs of Hawkins, Indiana, in 1983. Each of its three legs is formed by a film genre that drew narrative power from a specific age group. The kids are Spielberg kids. The teens are slasher film teens. The adults are David Lynch adults.
The kids in Stranger Things (four boys and one girl) are in a zone that is toned and colored by E.T. With the teenagers (two males and two females—one of whom is dead), it’s Friday the 13th. With the adults (a man and a woman), it’s Twin Peaks (with shades of Blue Velvet, to keep things ’80s). And how well does this monster walk? Very well indeed…
