‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
The Goonies (1985): a group of misfit boys find a treasure chest and set off on a quest to discover secrets and riches. Think about how Dustin, Mike, and Lucas use their Dungeons and Dragons board to predict (and name) the Demagorgen, as well as map out the Upside Down.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
ET the Extraterrestrial (1982): Eleven isn’t an alien, but escaping from that lab might as well have put her on a different planet. Like Elliott in ET, Mike is tasked with teaching Elle right from wrong, and what literally everything is. He even teaches her about friendship and love! He’ll protect her at all costs, just like Elliott did when people wanted to take ET away.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
Carrie (1976): The Stephen King classic is about a girl who has severe telekenetic powers that she hides — until she’s crossed in a major way. Like Carrie White, Eleven tries not to use her powers unless totally necessary, or if she snaps. Carrie uses her powers to kill her bullies, while Eleven uses them to protect her friends from evil. Oh, and to make a bully pee his pants.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
Jaws (1975): This might not be an obvious influence, but the Duffer Brothers cite Jaws as an inspiration for the series. The told the AV Club that they originally wanted to set Stranger Things in Montauk, Long Island, NY, where Jaws was filmed. But because of production reasons, they had to move to Indiana.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
All The Right Moves (1983): Look closely during season 1, and you may see that All The Right Moves is on the movie theater marquee the entire time. The Duffer Brothers snuck in that reference because the Tom Cruise film mirrors Steve and Nancy’s relationship — a popular jock dating a sweet, sort of nerdy girl.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
The Thing (1982): the Duffer Brothers were influenced by all John Carpenter movies, but leaned toward The Thing the most — the story of a shapeshifting monster who can attack at any moment. Mike has a poster on his wall, and their science teacher is trying to watch the movie with his girlfriend when they call him about making a sensory deprevation tank.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): one of the posters released for season 2 features the clawed hand of the demogorgon reaching down to clap her head, which is clearly an homage to the Elm Street poster. In fact, the heroine of the horror classic is also named Nancy. The taglines are similar: “If Nancy doesn’t stop the demogorgon, it’s coming for you next.” And, “If Nancy doesn’t wake up screaming she won’t wake up at all.” Nancy and her counterpart are tasked with taking down a monster, even though they’re just regular teenage girls.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
Scanners (1981): scanners are a small group of people who can read minds and kill people with their thoughts. Both scanners and Eleven are being hunted down by scary scientists who want to control their powers.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
Alien (1979): When Joyce and Hopper are walking through the Upside Down, he happens upon some large, slimy — and hatched — egg-like pods. That’s a definite nod to the mine field of alien pods in the Sigourney Weaver film, but it’s unclear what hatched from them in the series. The scene in which Will throws up a slug is reminiscent of the chest-bursters implanted by face-huggers in Alien, too.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
Ghostbusters (1989): a group of ragtag scientists teams together to capture and destroy all of the monsters lurking around their city. If the nod wasn’t obvious, the kids in the season 2 trailers are dressed like Ghostbusters for Halloween.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
The Gate (1987): Eleven literally opens a gate to allow everyone to venture into the Upside Down. It’s not subtle. The 80s cult classic follows teens who find a portal to another world filled with monsters in a tree in their backyard. Think about when Nancy and Jonathan first find the Upside Down — Nancy crawls through bushes at the bottom of a tree.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
Firestarter (1984): Another Stephen King classic inspired Stranger Things, the story of a little girl who looks so sweet, but can set fires with her thoughts. There are plenty of scenes featuring the blonde girl with EEG leads on her head as scientists try to control and abuse her powers.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): the season 2 trailers features a striking scene of a little boy looking out his front door to see the sky on fire, a giant monster looming in the distance. It’s a match to a famous scene from Close Encounters. Winona Ryder’s performance as Joyce is readily compared to Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters — both hysterical parents trying to convince the public of danger while everyone else thinks they’re crazy. They end up, of course, being completely right.
‘Stranger Things’: TK 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
Poltergeist (1982): Little girl Carol-Ann disappears from her bedroom at the hands of a sinister ghost, and speaks to her family through the TV and the walls of their home. Will Byers, much? Eventually, her older siblings are able to break through the wall and rescue her from a horrifying dimension.
‘Stranger Things’: 17 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
Akira (1988): the animated film is an obscure reference, the story of a telekinetic teen being used as a government guinea pig to exploit their powers.
‘Stranger Things’: TK 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
Mad Max: Fury Road (2016): okay, this isn’t from the 70s or 80s, but it’s a major influence on Stranger Things. To convince Millie Bobby Brown to shave her head to play Eleven, the Duffer Brothers showed her how cool Charlize Theron looked as Furiosa. Done!
‘Stranger Things’: TK 70s & 80s Classics That Inspired The Hit Throwback Horror Series
IT: The original miniseries follows a group of children who set out on a mission to find their missing loved one, and wind up in a sinister new world (this time, a supernatural sewer) where the battle a terrifying monster that messes with their heads.
