Stranger Things

In a small town where everyone knows everyone, a peculiar incident starts a chain of events that leads to the disappearance of a child, which begins to tear at the fabric of an otherwise peaceful community. Dark government agencies and seemingly malevolent supernatural forces converge on the town, while a few locals begin to understand that there is more going on than meets the eye. 

Cultural References...

Stranger Things contains many references to popular 80's films to add to the mise en scene and to achieve a nostalgic emotion from the audiences. This includes things such as: 

Alien (1979) and (1986) 

The faceless creature in Stranger Things combines design elements and traits from Predator and the first two Alien movies.

Carrie (1976)

Ellie is a hybrid of two Stephen King stories about girls with telekinetic powers, Carrie and Firestarter. 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 

Stranger Things and Close Encounters both feature parents whose obsession with the supernatural looks to everyone else like madness. 

The Empire Strikes Back (2980)

The Empire Strikes Back was released three years before Stranger Things' story begins, so it makes sense it would be a primary obsession for adolescent boys. Mike shows Ellie his Yoda toy and later reveres her for her Jedi-like powers. 

E.T. (1982)

Stranger Things owes its greatest debt to Steven Spielberg's classic story of a lonely suburban boy who befriends an alien in need. Hawkins, Indiana, is not quite the California suburb of E.T., but the physical and emotional terrain is similar: a sprawling town nestled against a forest; boy dashing around in packs on their bikes. 

Title Sequence

There is a sense of unease, the music informs the movement of the type as the letterforms slide together to form the title. The Stranger Things title mimic an optical look which reflects the time period of the show, it also seems as if light is passing through the film, creating a lush haptic quality. The colours that are used are red and black, which both connotate danger and horror. As the letterforms slide together, we are shown the lead actor's names, all the executive producer and the creator or the directors.