Hawkins Just Upgraded Its Horror
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Season 4. Turn back now if you don’t want to know all.)
Stranger Things began in 2016 and became an instant phenomenon for those viewers nostalgic for all things 80’s. Opening with a group of friends playing Dungeons & Dragons in their basement, the cinematography and soundtrack were right out of the Reagan presidency. Over three seasons, the cast expanded, relationships were formed and then broken, and the town of Hawkins, Indiana saw some truly supernatural oddities.
Season 4 opens with the regular characters somewhat broken up. The Byers family, along with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), are in California. Hopper (David Harbour) is believed dead, but is actually exiled in a Russian prison. Nancy (Natalia Dyer) is away at college. Even the remaining kids have had major changes. Max (Sadie Sink) is grieving the death of her stepbrother. Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) are now in high school. Their experiences are wildly different. Also in Hawkins are Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Hawke), who are once again co-workers, now at Family Video.
These changes bring plenty of challenges. Eleven doesn’t have her powers, and she is being bullied by the mean girl and her clique. Lucas has joined the basketball team, which conflicts with Dustin and Mike’s involvement in their new D&D crew, The Hellfire Club. Through this conflict, we meet new fan favorite, Eddie (Joseph Quinn). Eddie is a hellraising metalhead who is a nonconformist. He’s also apparently a non-graduationist, having repeated his senior year several times.
Stranger Things – The Cast
Quinn’s Eddie is a scene stealer from the beginning. He channels a young Robert Downey, Jr. from films like Back to School, which coincidentally was released in 1986, the same year that Season 4 is set. Sink tears out the hearts of viewers as her remorse-laden Max. She and brother Billy were never close but watching him die has caused her to close herself off from all relationships. Keery’s Steve has evolved from a cocky popular kid to one of the most unselfish characters of all. Winona Ryder and David Harbour are steady as Joyce and Hopper. (Shout out to Rob Morgan, who has seen his Officer Powell promoted to Hawkins Police Chief.)
The most notable change to the series’ villains comes in Season 4’s big bad. For the first time, the villain speaks and interacts with the townspeople. Vecna is equal parts Pinhead, Freddie Krueger, and The Joker. Jamie Campbell Bower crafts several different voices and mannerisms as he deftly switches between Vecna’s multiple forms. He is an absolute delight as the season’s foil.
Stranger Things – The Details
Season 4 does not hesitate to pay homage to the 80’s and to earlier seasons. There are Easter Eggs in the set design, dialogue, and costuming. Mentions of 80’s celebrities like Weird Al Yankovic, Elvira, and others have been cheered on social media. The soundtrack choices have also introduced songs to brand new audiences.
The Duffer Brothers are fearless in their song choices this year. The roller rink scene contains 80’s greatest hits like “Rock me Amadeus” and “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record.)” The Talking Heads’ classic “Psycho Killer” appropriately punctuates an investigation. Max’s comfort song, the 1985 Kate Bush single, “Running Up That Hill” hit Number One on iTunes after the Season premiered.
Stranger Things – The Story
Vecna is an interesting villain. His intentions aren’t discernible at first, but his choice in victims is. He targets those who have suffered loss, are adrift in grief, or feel disconnected. The character himself is a metaphor for depression. A great deal of this season is spent studying mental health, both among the characters and in the viewers’ observation of them.
Before the opening of Season 4, there is a trigger warning. Though the show was filmed over a year ago, there is a scene on par with the recent school shootings. The showrunners openly offer a warning before viewers are exposed to this level of trauma. This feeds into the metaphor of the villain as an extension of depression.
Conclusion
Stranger Things Season 4 has gone all in on the horror genre that inspired its creation. The villain, the casting, the costume design, the cinematography, and the soundtrack all provide tributes to the 80’s slasher movies that brought the show to life. The episodes are long but engaging. The villain is best the show has ever had. Expanding the cast has only given viewers more characters to love. Season 4 is dark, but the acting, pacing, writing, and visuals make every minute worth the journey.