Stranger Things dropped its third season this summer and it was another thrilling adventure back to the 80s. The show can sometimes be criticized for its reliance on nostalgia but the show makes it work for the most part and the fans don’t seem to be complaining.
Season 3 saw the show referencing a ton of great 80s films and pop culture like Terminator, Red Dawn and, of course, The NeverEnding Story. Though the series has covered a lot of the essentials, there are still plenty of 80s properties we’d love to see incorporated into Season 4. Here are some of the great 80s movies the show should draw from.
Back To The Future
Back to the Future is one of the most beloved 80s movies of all time and we can even see its impact in Season 4. The season takes place in the summer of the movie’s release and it gets talked about a lot by the characters.
Now seems like the time to incorporate some of the movie’s story elements into the series. Time travel might seem too outrageous even for this show, but with other dimensions and portals, it’s not totally farfetched. At the very least, the show should give us a zany Doc Brown-type character.
Friday The 13th
Though Stranger Things has touched on pretty much every genre that was popular in the 80s, it has surprisingly stayed away from the slasher genre so far. This was the decade these kinds of movies really started to become popular and Friday the 13th seems like a good basis for inspiration.
While a machete-wielding psycho wouldn’t really fit in the more light-hearted series, there are plenty of ways the show could use a masked villain stalking the characters. It might help to switch things up with a more human threat.
The Thing
The Thing wasn’t a great success when it was released in the 80s, but it has since become one of the most acclaimed horror films of all time. Stranger Things has referenced the movie several times, but it would be interesting to see it embrace some of the aspects that made it a classic.
The paranoid feel of not knowing who the enemy really is helped make The Thing an incredibly intense experience. Add to that the isolated setting and it could make for a set-up for an episode in Season 4.
The Fly
David Cronenberg really knows how to make an audience squirm and The Fly is one of his most grotesque films. The science-fiction horror film stars Jeff Goldblum as a scientist experimenting with teleportation. But when things go wrong, his DNA is spliced with that of a fly.
Stranger Things knows a thing or two about science gone haywire, but it might be interesting to see a human character be transformed in this way. The scientist who turns himself into a monster is a common horror movie and comic book trope that the show could have a lot of fun with.
Batman
Considering how much Stranger Things embraces geek culture, leaning into the superhero genre seems inevitable. Time Burton’s Batman is one of the biggest movies of the 80s but is a bit tricky to fit into the show. Even for Stranger Things, a billionaire crime-fighting vigilante is a big concept.
Perhaps the best way to approach Batman’s inclusion is with the film’s villain, Joker. The show has done well with supernatural creatures as the main threats, but it might be interesting to see a formidable and outrageous supervillain at the show’s center.
Raiders Of The Lost Ark
The 80s would not be the same without Indiana Jones. This series of films feel quintessential to the decade as they were fun, playful as well as somewhat dark and gruesome. That description fits Stranger Things as well, so it feels like a good fit.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a throwback itself, taking place in the 1930s. Where the show should take inspiration is from the globe-trotting adventure in a race against the bad guys. This could be a nice departure by taking the show out of Hawkins.
Predator
Stranger Things does well to focus these big supernatural stories around a group of kids, but it doesn’t hurt to introduce some new adult characters as well. The 80s saw the rise of the muscle-bound action stars like Schwarzenegger and Stallone. Predator had the brilliant idea to put these kinds of heroes against a much-deadlier monster.
It would be fun to see the show add some of these tough-guy heroes to the adventure to join the group on their monster hunting. It would be an interesting shift from Hopper as a hero.
The Shining
Like The Thing, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining used isolation as a way to enhance its horror elements. Not only that, but the gradual way Jack Nicholson’s character changes from family man to deranged killer is very disturbing.
Again, this concept could be great for even a single episode in which the characters are trapped somewhere remote. We could see one of the characters slowly go mad and target their friends. This could help bring that human threat the show is missing.
Return Of The Jedi
Given that these characters are product geeks, it’s no surprise that Star Wars is a big part of their lives. It’s also easy to see the creators are influenced by the series as well and Season 3 had a distinct The Empire Strike Back vibe. With the bittersweet way that season ended, Return of the Jedi seems like an obvious basis going forward.
As the series seems to be coming to an end in the next season or two, it makes sense for the show to draw from the final chapter of the original trilogy. The characters reuniting to launch one final attack could make for a thrilling conclusion.
Gremlins
Stranger Things does not only draw from the nostalgia of pop culture but also significant events we can all remember. Season 2 was set around Halloween whereas Season 3 really embraced the Fourth of July setting. While Season 1 briefly touched on Christmas, it would be nice to see a full-blown Christmas themed season.
For combining creature horror with Christmas fun, Gremlinsis a perfect inspiration. It could be a lot of fun to see the Christmas spirit of Hawkins and its residents getting invaded by yet another deadly threat.
