"The Vale of Shadows is a dimension that is a dark reflection, or echo, of our world. It is a place of decay and death, a plane out of phase, a place with monsters. It is right next to you and you don’t even see it."
Whoa! That's some heavy stuff for a "Dungeons and Dragons" game. Also some heavy stuff to contemplate when watching Netflix's new original series "Stranger Things". Unless you've been living under a rock like I have (reason why I'm just now talking about it) then you've seen this amazing eight-episode homage to 80's cinema and paranormal sci-fi.
It's the story of three boys who take their adventure of the board and into the real world when their friend goes missing in their small Indiana town. They come across a girl in the woods with a shaved head and a cadre of strange abilities. It's the best combination of Stephen King (who's a big fan) and Stephen Spielberg, even down to the font used in the title sequence and promotions. If you haven't noticed by my constant spewing of praise, I loved it!
It's one of the best series I've ever seen and makes me wish regular television took a few lessons from it; but enough of that, I your friendly neighborhood reviewer will be giving a spoiler free review of one of this year's best things to happen in entertainment! So buckle up my Buckaroo Banzais, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
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It starts with a simple "D and D" game in Hawkins, Indiana 1983 in the basement of the Wheelers a late November evening. Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, and Will Byers are sitting at their game table as their characters venture forth and come across the Prince of Demons himself...The DemoGorgon! An argument breaks out about which tactic to use against the fiend and a critical roll must be thrown to determine the fate of the crew assembled and...Mike's mom comes downstairs and tells the boys it's a school night and they need to go home/ to bed. That ends the night for three of the four boys, but Will isn't so lucky and is pursued by a monster with no face! Though he's able to confine himself in the shed with a hunting rifle ready, he's abducted by the foul creature.
No lie readers, this is literally the first ten minutes of the entire series! Intense right? Now to the actual review( sorry I was immersed a bit there).
"Stranger Things" was denied by fifteen other networks before being bought by Netflix. It was created and directed by the Duffer Brothers ("Hidden", "The Wayward Pines") and produced by Dan Cohen ("The Spectacular Now") and Shawn Levy ("Last Man Standing", "The Famous Jett Jackson") and brought to life by one of the best cast (especially since most are children).
The Boys: Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, and Caleb McLaughlin (as Mike, Dustin, and Lucas respectively) really felt like kids which is difficult in most film and TV mediums because it's more often than not children written by adults. Winona Ryder actually shines in this series and is very believable as a mom who loses her son by mysterious circumstances. So is David Harbour as a sheriff who's given up on life but is reinvigorated when this case falls into his lap. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the actress Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, a powerful psychic who escapes her captors and runs into the boys. Her performance is that of a much more advanced actor and I dare to say is Emmy worthy as she shows the torture, the confusion, and the edge of her character.
There are amazing tributes and details to not only the stories of the 80's but to the decade as a whole. Posters of "The Thing" and "The Evil Dead" litter rooms. The bike riding to a friends' house to play "Dungeons and Dragons". References to "Star Wars" at the height of it's classic popularity. It truly encapsulates the generation. The influence of 80's cinema is palpable throughout even in something as simple as three kids hiding a being in their home with stranger powers ("E.T.") or these outsider boys set off on an adventure full of intrigue and high stakes ("The Goonies") or the girl with special powers as the result of secret experiments ("Firestarter")...I could go on forever, but that's just proof that the people behind "Stranger Things" have a deep love and appreciation for the time and the entertainment within.
