The first part of the fourth season has its roots in films like ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ to continue a story of friendship and maturity that is nearing its end.
Charlie Heaton said last week when he visited Spain to present the fourth season of ‘Stranger Things’, which was the first to pay tribute to films like ‘The Goonies’ or ‘Count on Me’, this new part can be seen in ‘ Nightmare on Elm Street’. It’s a perfect summary.
‘Stranger Things’ has never been one to hide its references. In addition, the display and exhibition of music, clothing, toys and knick-knacks from the 1980s were often dismissed as exaggerated, as if the creators were showing the viewer an album of stickers in which they could recognize their childhood, or rather, the childhood that was so bad. used to be. through films like ‘ET, the extraterrestrial’ or ‘The secret of the pyramid’. And in that sense, it’s fair to point out that the Duffer brothers, creators of fiction, no longer seem so obsessed with filling out that catalog of 1980s culture. While the references are still there, they no longer just act as winks, with no rhyme or reason, but have meaning.
The new season of ‘Stranger Things’, which is divided into nine episodes, will be divided into two parts. The first, with seven chapters, will be released on Friday, May 27; while for the second, with the other two, we have to wait until July 1. The series has been in the news, even before its premiere, due to the length of its episodes -the last chapter reaches 2 and a half hours, but most are over an hour and a quarter-. Basically, there are more than twelve hours of season. Noticeable? The short answer is yes. The series takes more time to outline the characters, although things don’t always go well – surprisingly, some of them are so blurry that they have almost no reason to be, as we’ll see later – develop the dialogues and enhance the atmosphere of mystery. And yes, there’s also a certain sense that the plots have been stretched, but there’s one point in favor of excess footage: It had been three years since the public had been able to connect with the Hawkins kids, who premiered their last season in June 2019. So it is very likely that the desire can with this terrible trend that has been experienced in the audiovisual industry for quite some time.
The first part of the new episode of ‘Stranger Things’ kicks off six months after the battle at the Hawkins Mall that brought so much destruction and terror to this Indiana town and ended with the death of Max’s brother (Sadie Sink) . For the first time, the group of friends is divided and in the same way the plots are also divided. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who has lost his powers, and the Byers family have left Hawkins and moved to Lenora Hills, California. There, the young woman tries to go undetected under the name Janet, along with Will (Noah Schnapp), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), and her mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), who earns a living selling encyclopedias over the phone. But for Eleven, the reality of the institution doesn’t make it easy for her. Some students have a thing for her and she pins her hopes on spring break, where after a few months she will finally be able to see her boyfriend Mike, with whom she often corresponds.
In Hawkins, however, it remains more or less the same. Already teenagers, Little Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) find themselves immersed in an amazing role-playing game in “Dungeons and Dragons” directed by Eddie, an eccentric replay player, played by Joseph Quinn., who, in addition to the playing in a rock band, dealing drugs. Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) has meanwhile joined the high school basketball team and seems to have less and less time with his old friends. Plunged in mourning is Max, who was his ex. Broken by his brother’s death, he relies on his Walkman’s music to pass a few days that are becoming increasingly difficult for him. The long-distance relationship between Jonathan and Nancy is also not having its best moment. They will not see each other in the spring because she has to work and he has to take care of his family and he is waiting for the letter to see if he is accepted into the university. Meanwhile, Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Ray Thurman-Hawke) continue to work at the video store; the first, with an intense sexual life; the second, with difficulties building a relationship with someone of the same sex he has already dated.
Here’s how things stand when the new installment of the series kicks off, set in 1986, with Hawkins once again becoming the epicenter of horror. The clearest reference here, we emphasize, is that of “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” although there are also nods to other ’80s horror slashers, such as “Halloween” or “Friday the 13th.” But it’s in Wes Craven’s work that the Duffer brothers seem to look at each other with delight, and not just because Robert Englund, the actor who brought Freddy Krueger to life in eight films and a television series, has a part in the cast, but also because of the context and the way the victims die, in some cases almost traceable. Craven came up with the story after reading in the paper that several people had died in their sleep under mysterious circumstances and he imagined some kind of bogeyman who would kill his victims in their dreams. He gave him a name, a pair of knives in his right hand, a tattered sweater and hat, and pictured him with his face and body disfigured by a fire.
In Hawkins, there’s also a bogeyman who has tentacles in addition to claws and takes advantage of his victims’ dark past to stalk them until it’s too late. Migraines and sleepless nights come first, then hallucinations and finally nightmares. As ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ did, ‘Stranger Things’ plays with mixing reality and daydreaming, in a lower gear, of course, to confuse viewers who don’t know what’s real and what isn’t. Even musically, the synth notes are close to the childish, scratchy music Charles Bernstein composed for Wes Craven’s film. This is how the darkest and most terrifying part of the series is fed. It’s not terrifying, but those who are most prone to fear and anxiety will have a bit of a hard time. Despite this, there is still room for fantasy, adventure and humor, this last facet is strongly personified in the plot with Joyce and Murray who will follow a clue that Jim Hopper (David Harbour) could still be alive. The fourth is also the rawest and most visceral episode. It starts with a trail of dead children and has some violent sequences that distract from what should be a family series in the first place.
But the most surprising thing about these new episodes of ‘Stranger Things’ is their stellar technical bill and their visual excellence. This new season’s photography is the most cinematic of them all, bordering on the sublime, as are the powerful special effects. This is undoubtedly helped by the varied plots in different geographic locations, but also by the good planning behind some of the action scenes, with the most spectacular, more dynamic and better chosen shootouts and breakaways. The thirty million that the Wall Street Journal says each episode cost stands out.
It is not, yes, without errors. We’ve already talked about the exaggerated footage, but perhaps the most serious part is that you feel like they don’t know what to do with so many characters. Eleven and Mike are still the main protagonists, but this time Nancy is planted as the main engine of the investigation to try and stop this particular ogre. It’s also interesting the duel Max goes through, who, like Lucas, moves away from his friends, or the excellent comedy couple that Steve and Dustin continue to form -it’s unbelievable how good actors Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo are-. However, at least in the first six episodes of the season, it’s hard to find the reason for Jonathan, Will, or Robyn… If even Eddie, who’s new, has more relevance! Nothing to do with Argyle, Jonathan’s new friend, even less interesting than this.
For example, ‘Stranger Things’ has chosen to move closer to terror and fear in order to continue dealing with issues that have already been discussed in previous episodes, such as friendship, the transition from childhood to adolescence, grief or bereavement. At the same time, the series focuses on issues that affect and affect young and less young people, such as bullying, long-distance relationships, past burdens, prejudice, and even the need we all have at one time or another to build an alternative. and idyllic reality – did someone say social networks? – compared to the terrible day to day. A day to day where the bad guy is not a monster, but the captain of the basketball team or the gang of brats in the classroom. We didn’t remember how much we missed her.
The first part of the fourth season of ‘Stranger Things’ will be available on Netflix on May 27.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
