'Stranger Things' Season 1 Review
The newest masterpiece from Netflix, 'Stranger Things' is an incredibly fun, spooky, nostalgia-filled series.
Based in the 80's, the plot centers around both an escaped young girl and supernatural creature from a covert military facility in Kansas.
A group of pre-teen nerds encounter the girl, who has very limited speech and a shaved head. Meanwhile, this "monster" has begun hunting the town's citizens and one of the boys, Will, also goes missing.
The season depicts the events of searching for Will; the young girl, 'Eleven' (Elle, for short) and her discovery of her "powers", and the search for the truth behind the "stranger things" going on in town (see what I did there?).
If I had to describe what this show is to someone, I would say it is a cross between 'It', 'Stand By Me', 'Dazed and Confused', has classic 80's slasher horror-like elements with some cool fantasy/sci-fi tones and ideas.
First off, kudos to all the child actors in this series. The main group of kids in Will (Noah Schnapp), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) were absolutely fantastic. Their interactions with each other even as they're just hanging out and playing 'Dungeons & Dragons' was so perfectly acted and shot. It immediately took me back to my 10-year-old self and made me remember what it was like to be a kid, trying to imagine that version of myself as a part of the show. Their journey through the series was so much fun and was the real shining light of the season.
The mystery of Eleven's powers and the monster from another plain of existence was a lot of fun to discover the truth to. Watching the effects of everything happening in the characters' lives made the plots hit harder because you were so invested in the characters and the story. It was heart-warming, smart, creepy, and perfectly cast, shot, directed and acted. I especially loved the music and soundtrack in the series. It just all had the feel of a Stephen King novel adapted to film, directed and scored by John Carpenter.
While watching, I had the thought that Eleven and her depiction, if classified as a "mutant", was better than most of the mutants in the 'X-Men' franchise. Not only were her powers cool, but her entire self was a great look into what a mutant in the 'X-Men' franchise should be like. As Elle is learning new things, meeting new people, and discovering herself, she evolves as a character from start to finish and has an awesome story line in a way that 'X-Men' characters just aren't. But I digress.
This was such a pleasant surprise of a show, and I am already wishing the season lasted longer than the 8 episodes we got, but the ending of the season left the door open for season 2.
My rating: 10 out of 10
