Megan Gonzalez | THE RIDER
Matt and Ross Duffer, the brothers who created the 2015 film, “Hidden,” now take Netflix back to the ’80s with their series, “Stranger Things.”
The show follows a group of kids, Michael Wheeler (played by Finn Wolfhard), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) and a mysterious psychokinetic girl, Eleven “El,” (Mellie Bobby Brown), who are searching for their missing friend, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp).
With the town looking high and low for Will, Chief of Police Jim Hopper, played by David Harbour, begins to suspect something strange in the investigation and soon starts to uncover a secretdimension hidden beneath the suburban town.
Producer and director Shawn Levy, the founder of 21 Laps Entertainment, is best known for his work in 2011’s “Real Steel” and the “Night of the Museum” franchise.
If you’ve watched the short series from start to finish, you might be one of the many who says that the visual aspect of the show is aesthetically pleasing, and I don’t blame you. It’s very nostalgic to see old special effects coming back from the dead, especially if you’re a fan of Stephen King and his science fiction work.
There are endless references to retro films throughout the show.
Just by looking at the show’s intro, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this is an homage to the ’70s and ’80s. If you are someone who admires the style, you are going appreciate the work and effort it took to make this series.
With the advance in technology, there’s so much we can do to integrate the old and new ways of filmmaking. Even the studio, Imaginary Forces, which created the title sequence, admitted that it has used some old-fashioned tools to get the retro look. From the typography to the grainy posters, it makes you wonder how much time has changed.
Some people may feel the nostalgia and admire the character that comes with it, although others might not like this idea and cringe at the stereotypes and clichés present throughout the series.
We have seen some of these characters portrayed hundreds of times, but, at the same time, I give the show some credit for the way it crushes some old clichés.
