Stranger Things references: the 80s films, books and winks hidden in the show
Universe · References · The 80s
The show is an album of memories: each season cites the 80s films, books and objects its creators loved, from E.T.'s bike to Carpenter's monsters. Some winks are obvious, others hidden in a poster or a line. Here are the most important references, season by season.
The essentials
- The two pillars: Steven Spielberg and Stephen King
- Horror film: Carpenter, Alien, Freddy
- The games: Dungeons & Dragons, Dig Dug, Dragon's Lair
- The most direct: Robert Englund, the original Freddy, plays Victor Creel
Contents
Season 1: Spielberg and King
The first season is a tribute to E.T.: kids on bikes chased by government cars, a creature hidden in a bedroom, a blond wig and a dress to disguise Eleven the way Elliott disguised the extraterrestrial. The lab in the woods and the small town come from Stephen King, whose “Charlie” (Firestarter), the story of a child with powers hunted by an agency, is the direct model for Eleven. The show's title is written in the font of his covers.
The body in the quarry and the group of friends come from “Stand by Me,” and the season poster was painted in the style of Drew Struzan, the Indiana Jones illustrator.
The 80s poster, for the bedroom.
In the shopMen's long-sleeve Very Merry Christmas upside down T-shirt47,90 €See the product
Season 2: Ghostbusters, Aliens and The Goonies
Halloween 1984: the boys dress as ghostbusters, with the argument over who is Venkman. The Mind Flayer and its demodogs, which attack in a pack and obey a queen, are a copy of Aliens, and Bob Newby is played by Sean Astin, the Mikey of The Goonies, as an owned wink. The middle-school AV club, the walkies, and the tunnel network are Goonies too.
| Season | Reference | Where to watch it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | E.T. | The bikes, Eleven's wig, the government cars |
| 1 | Stephen King, "Charlie" | Eleven, the lab, the title's police |
| 2 | Aliens | The demodogs in a pack, the hive |
| 2 | The Goonies | Bob, played by Sean Astin; the tunnels |
| 3 | The Thing, by Carpenter | The flesh monster, the bodies that melt |
| 3 | Back to the Future | Seen at the Starcourt theater, the day of its release |
| 4 | Freddy, A Nightmare on Elm Street | Vecna kills in the head; Robert Englund plays Victor Creel |
| 4 | Hellraiser | Vecna's body, his vines |
| 5 | Terminator | Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay |
| 5 | A shortcut through time | Camazotz, named by Holly |
Season 3: Carpenter, the mall and Back to the Future
Summer 1985 is the summer of The Thing: an organism that absorbs bodies and rebuilds them, the flesh monster is the declared copy. The mall comes from Romero's Dawn of the Dead and every 80s mall movie. And the group goes to see “Back to the Future” on the day it opens, July 3, 1985, at Starcourt: the date in the show and the date of the film line up.
The posters in the bedroomsThe walls of Mike, Jonathan and Max are catalogs: “Jaws”, “Evil Dead”, “The Thing”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Each poster is of the period, and often announces the season's reference.
Season 4: Freddy and 80s horror
Vecna kills his victims in their heads, while they are awake but absent, exactly like Freddy Krueger; and to leave no doubt, Robert Englund, Freddy's original performer, plays Victor Creel. Vecna's body, stretched with vines, comes from Hellraiser; the Pennhurst asylum, from The Silence of the Lambs; and the Hellfire Club, from the moral panic against Dungeons & Dragons, real, of the 80s.
Season 5: Terminator and the goodbyes
The last season brings in Linda Hamilton, Terminator's Sarah Connor, as an army scientist: the show cites her era by borrowing an icon. Camazotz, Holly's mental prison, comes from “A Wrinkle in Time,” Madeleine L'Engle's novel. And the last scene, a Dungeons and Dragons game among friends, cites the first: the show ends by citing itself.
The Bob figure, the Goonie.
In the shopLego open-flower Demogorgon mini figure14,90 €See the product
The references, film by film
| Movie or book | Year | What the show takes from it |
|---|---|---|
| E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | 1982 | A little girl hidden by children, the bikes chased by government cars, and Eleven who makes them fly |
| Stand by Me | 1986 | Four children on a railroad track; the Duffers had the kids read his scenes at the audition |
| The Goonies | 1985 | The group, the tunnels, and Sean Astin himself, hired in Season 2 |
| Poltergeist | 1982 | A mother who talks to her child through walls and lights |
| Carrie and Charlie | 1976 and 1984 | A little girl with powers, bleeding from the nose, hunted by a laboratory |
| Alien and Aliens | 1979 and 1986 | The tunnels of 1984, the assault on the lab, and Paul Reiser, chosen for his role in Aliens |
| Ghostbusters | 1984 | The 1984 Halloween costumes |
| Terminator | 1984 | Grigori, the indestructible killer of 1985, then Linda Hamilton herself in 1987 |
| A Nightmare on Elm Street | 1984 | Vecna, who kills in dreams, and Robert Englund, Freddy in person, as Victor Creel |
| Back to the Future | 1985 | Released July 3, 1985: Steve and Robin watch it at the Starcourt theater the night of July 4 |
| A shortcut through time | 1962 | Holly's book, Mr. Whatsit and the planet Camazotz, in 1987 |
How the Duffers work the references
The Duffer Brothers explained that they do not rewatch the films they cite: they work from memory, so the show looks like an 80s film rather than a catalog. Some shots are intended homages, others coincidences fans spotted; a video montage comparing the show to its models, shot by shot, made Matt Duffer say: “some were deliberate, others unconscious.”
The show's starting point was not even an 80s film but Prisoners, from 2013, a father whose daughter has disappeared; the 80s came afterward, with the monster, the lab, and the Cold War. The Duffers' rule: the reference must serve the scene, never the other way around. The return of Robert Englund, Sean Astin, Paul Reiser, Matthew Modine, and Linda Hamilton in roles written for them is the most fully assumed version of that.
The last season's references
The last season cites less than it concludes, but it has its nods. A Wrinkle in Time, a 1962 novel, gives Henry his assumed name, Mr. Whatsit, and his mental prison the name Camazotz, the planet of darkness; the Duffers had considered The Polar Express before dropping it. Linda Hamilton, Terminator's Sarah Connor, plays against type as the scientist hunting a teenage girl.
The “demo-vision” mode, first person through the eyes of a Demogorgon, points back to the subjective shots of monster movies. And the epilogue, with its graduation, its party, and its slow dances, is a last 80s high-school movie, the one the show had promised since the Snow Ball of 1984.
Retro decor, for the references.
In the shopThe hallway poster19,90 €See the product
TakeawaySeason 1: E.T. and Stephen King. Season 2: Aliens and The Goonies, with Sean Astin. Seasons 3 and 4: The Thing, then Freddy with Robert Englund. Season 5: Terminator, and the show citing itself.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main Stranger Things references?
E.T. and Stephen King for season 1, Aliens and The Goonies for 2, The Thing for 3, Freddy for 4, Terminator for 5, and Dungeons and Dragons everywhere.
Why Robert Englund is in the show
Because Vecna kills in the head, like Freddy Krueger, and having Victor Creel played by Freddy's original actor is the most direct wink in the show.
What film does the party go see in season 3?
"Back to the Future," July 3, 1985, at Starcourt: the real day of its release.
Where does the name Camazotz come from?
From the novel “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L'Engle, where it is a planet under a single intelligence. Holly reads it in season 5.
What film do Steve and Robin watch at Starcourt?
Back to the Future, released July 3, 1985 in the United States, the night of July 4, under the effect of the Russian truth serum.
Where does Camazotz come from in season 5?
From the novel A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, published in 1962: it is the planet of darkness in the book, whose name Holly gives to Henry's mental prison.