SARA BORRO
staff writer
Netflix original sci-fi drama series “Stranger Things” has been receiving an overwhelming amount of positive feedback since its July 15th release.
This supernatural-horror show is set in the early ‘80s in small-town Indiana and follows the journey of Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) as she attempts to find her 12-year-old son, Will (Noah Schnapp), who has been abducted by supernatural creatures.
Will’s best friends Mike, Dustin and Lucus (Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin) are also on a determined hunt to find him, with the unexpected help of a seemingly lost and extremely mysterious girl named Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).
The series is an exciting and well put-together mix of fictional supernatural forces, government conspiracies and dynamic relationships between characters.
The show definitely keeps watchers on the edge of their seats with its constant jump-scares and cliffhangers; however, despite the enormous amount of popularity it has received, the show is nothing that hasn’t been done before.
The series was created to pay homage to ‘80s pop culture and is dusted with the remnants of works from Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Stephen King and George Lucas.
Though this is an interesting idea and is well-executed, the show is a bit lackluster in originality.
The 1980s were a time the fictional worlds of books, movies and TV were exploding with stories of supernatural and extraterrestrial beings and forces.
This was also a time filled with theories of secret and shady government operations as a result of society reacting to the constant conflicts and competition with Russia over technologies and space travel.
“Stranger Things” is definitely an accurate reflection of this time period, but the inspiration and idea of the show are more interesting than the actual story line.
It may be due to ignorance of previous and very similar plot lines, but the public disagrees and is going nuts over “Stranger Things.”
The series has a 9.1/10 rating on IMDb, a 90 percent rating from Rotten Tomatoes and a 9.2/10 rating from TV.com.
These ratings are suspiciously high for a show that is basically the embodiment and reconstruction of every ‘80s decade sci-fi horror movie.
No matter what the specific opinion is of the watcher, Netflix is certainly pleased with the general reaction to the show and officially confirmed a second season to be released sometime in 2017.
Though the series lacks an original storyline and is a refurbishment of so many previously popular works of fiction, “Stranger Things” is certainly an enticing and entertaining selection for any seasoned binge watcher and is a show every Netflix connoisseur will find enjoying.
SARA BORRO
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