You may have forgotten that ‘Stranger Things’ is a fabulous series. It’s normal: it’s been a long time since its last season (which also sounded a bit like the end and typecasting) and Netflix hasn’t grabbed the headlines with this fourth installment. And yet, the second you start watching it, you remember why it was an international phenomenon and you grew to love it. And it is that ‘Stranger Things 4’ is, without exaggeration, the best season… Until now.
the hour of terror
If something stands out from this fourth installment, it is that from the first episode delve into the most classic terror. And I’m not saying it as a set phrase: the last minutes of this chapter delve into body horror and supernatural terror, reaching limits of cruelty that we never thought we would see in this series. Throughout the season, ‘Stranger things’ will get into psychological fear, nightmares and will add a touch of gore: when you think they have taken a break, another grotesque sequence arrives that reminds you that Hawkins is no longer a safe place for children.
We are in familiar territory but at the same time completely new: the brutality of the deaths of Vecna, the new villain who terrorizes the gang, is surprising and infallible precisely because of its surprise factor. No one imagined that “the series of the 80s” would become the festival of terror. And they are not random words, because this season is so smart that it never falls into the “witch train” effect, with fake scares based on turning up the music and sequences out of context with unknown characters suffering that have nothing to do with the rest of the plots: if terror works so well it is for his preparation, his fantastic set pieces and a bulletproof script.
‘Stranger Things 4’ opens all the doors very quickly, and at the same time we can see on the screen seven or eight different plots. However, they are distinguishable and interesting enough on their own that you never want one to end so you can move on to the next. They are all important, they are part of a whole, they entertain and contribute, making this one of the best series of the year.
The force of evil hides in the shadows
If in ‘Stranger Things 3’ we entered the adventure with giant monsters, in a script that tended more towards romance and comedy, in this fourth part we are totally within ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ thanks to a villain with a design that well it’s not original (reminds a lot of the Night King from ‘Game of thrones’) It is as terrifying as it is surprising. His presence is instantly recognizable and his way of killing is already iconic. Prefer to a more human and thoughtful characterbut with powers, coldness, and a lack of empathy, it’s refreshing after the mindless giant monster of the previous batch of episodes.
To emphasize this rarefied environment between dream and reality, Robert Englund himself, eternal Freddy Krueger from ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’, he has a small supporting role that serves as a tribute and at the same time as a demonstration that he is a wonderful actor in his own right: his monologue is devastating, accompanied by a make-up that, once again, crosses the borders of what ‘Stranger things’ has accustomed us to to expect from her.
Not everything is horror in the Netflix series, although it is fair to recognize that when it moves away not so strong: beyond the buddy movie between Dustin and Steve, or the love triangles that finally do justice to the fans’ favorite couples, the comedy does not quite hit the spot and the adventure replaces the drama, in such a way that we never stop feeling close to the characters: every time there could be a potentially dramatic moment, the series launches an adventure for the characters. The essential thing is that you never, ever get bored. And we have to be fair: he succeeds.
too many characters
Millie Bobby Brown joked during this season’s presentation that It was about time the Duffers took out a few characters. because there were too many. He is not without reason: the cast of the series has gone from five children and a couple of adults to an endless range of actors and actresses who repeat season after season… And new faces are still being added!
There are many people, each one with their plot and their particular circumstance, but ‘Stranger Things’ is so well scripted -no matter who weighs it- and the casting is so particular that it ensures that we do not forget any face or situation: the pieces on the chessboard are placed so firmly and cleverly What do you know, even if a group hasn’t appeared for a couple of episodes, who’s in it, what its plot is and how important it is in the overall puzzle.
At the end of the previous season, several characters were moving out of Hawkins and most of us thought that the new installment would simply bring them together after a couple of episodes, but nothing could be further from the truth. every weft adds layers to the mystery and affects itbut much of the story takes place outside of town, including everything that has to do with Eleven.
You have rhythm and power
The first episodes of the season offer us a new face of Eleven different from what we have seen so far: stripped of her powers, He doesn’t know who he is or what he looks like in this world, and is cannon fodder to suffer bullying at school. The most separate plot from the others in these episodes falls on her, in which, once again, the Duffers do not fall into the much simpler “She has regained her powers after two episodes, everything is back to normal”: the tone of this season you have no need to rush thingsAnd you can see it.
On several occasions, the characters comment “before we had a superheroine, everything was easier”, and it is true: the adventures, the terror and the insecurity of the characters win whole now that she can’t help them like she used to. If the rest of the characters live in their particular ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’, Eleven is living in ‘Carrie’. And (this is not a spoiler) we already know how ‘Carrie’ ends.
After three seasons, ‘Stranger Things’ is already seen with the ability to solve things that were left in the pipeline since the pilot, and match them with what is happening now. Eleven’s past grows in importance, and the overall plot becomes much more nuanced with it. When other plots feel somewhat stagnant (Hopper’s, perhaps the most difficult for him to advance), the rest fit together in a precise way: this is the definitive puzzle, the Duffer’s opus magna.
monster mash
This is the most expensive series in Netflix history… And it shows. Fortunately, special effects, which could have fallen for the special flaws of SyFy movies in an age where CGI is scrutinized, are pristine. Not only in the movement and integration of the characters, but in their design and conception. From the birth of Vecna to the rejuvenation of some characters, ‘Stranger Things 4’ is a visual fantasy that presses the accelerator in his first episode and doesn’t let go until the end.
It is true that some chapters feel, if not filler, yes simple procedure: something has to happen to get to the important part, and until you get to that point, although it is not a tedious path, it can become somewhat flat compared to the rest. However, it is not the worst of the season: the arrival of a stoner character more typical of ‘Dude, where is my car?’ that ‘Stranger things’ is disconcerting and brings with it some jokes aimed at an audience that is not the one that watches the series and that break the rhythm and tone of a season that plays something else.
Fortunately, they are small anecdotes that do not overshadow the terrifying road of a season in which characters who until now had not had the opportunity to do so shine with their own light, such as Max (spectacular episode 4, perhaps the best of this batch). In these seven chapters, the series has taken an incredible and recognizable giant leap after staying in the “Yes, but no” of the previous season. The Duffers are aware that the end is just around the corner, and they want to celebrate it in style. Of course, yes.