Stranger Things Season 2 Review: 9 Ups And 3 Downs

7. The Homages And References Fit Brilliantly

Stranger Things 1 was a melting pot of 80s influences, drawing particular heavily on the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, and above all others Stephen King.

Stranger Things 2 offers up more of that, once again bringing in all of its influences and wearing them on its sleeve. There's the atmospheric, Carpenter-esque scores, and Spielberg-heavy production design and lighting, and moments and characters that feel drawn from the pages (or movies) of King.

The nods are even more numerous this time around though. With Reiser in the cast there are some overt Aliens references, while there's the well-publicised Ghostbusters homage too, and more of a John Hughes feel as the children get a little older.

The biggest, though, are The Goonies and Gremlins. It uses these deftly, never ashamed of what it is - at one very meta point, Lucas delivers a re-telling of Season 1 to Max, who proclaims it "derivative" and lacking "originality" - but without them feeling too forced or on-the-nose, and utilises them to once again forge its own path.