From the trailer soundtrack to nods to the King of creepiness, here’s a quick guide to the show’s 80s references

You don’t need to be born in the 80s to appreciate Stranger Things. The Duffer brothers have a way of making the old current and desirable again—thanks in part to the adorable cast and the retro-cool cinematography. Younger viewers who have never heard of Paul Reiser or get the classic 80s horror and sci-fi references have happily fallen into the Stranger Things fandom. And while the show is literally a trip down memory lane for the Rubik’s Cube era babies, we feel it is only right that those born after be guided through the many nods to this great decade.

MJ’s Thriller

What could be more 80s than a trailer soundtracked by Michael Jackson’s Thriller? A little trivia, Thriller spent about 122 weeks on the Billboard 100 while the album itself holds the title best-selling album of all time. Today, Stranger Things resurrects the undying classic in its second installment. Will we be hearing more of MJ in the series? We sure hope so.

Movie references

Rolling Stone was right. It’s one thing to set a series in the 80s, but a whole other thing to make it feel like it was actually shot during this era. And the Duffer brothers surely did not disappoint. Stranger Things 2 feels like Close Encounters of the Third Kind meets Ghostbusters (this one’s pretty obvious) meets Aliens meets Mad Max meets Evil Dead. If we missed other references, feel free to sound off on the comments section below!

A retro cast

The show’s producers have cast quite a retro pair of characters that added to its authenticity. There’s Paul Reiser, who played the unforgettable villain Burke in Aliens (1986), and this time will take on the role of a Department of Energy bigwig who comes in to hush up all that went down in season one. Then there’s Sean Astin (Goonies then and later Lord of the Rings) who will play Bob Newby, a kind-hearted nerd whom Willy Byers’ mom Joyce went to school with and now manages the local Radio Shack.

Paul Reiser in Aliens via Xenopedia

Sean Astin in Goonies

Big hair

From Nancy Wheeler’s mom Karen to Steve Harrington, it was and still is about big, voluminous hair.

The King of Creepiness

If you haven’t noticed yet, Stephen King has clearly had a big influence on the Duffer brothers, so much so that the series’ title font is inspired by King’s novels.

Dragon’s Lair

Dragon’s Lair is a video game franchise for the arcades released way back in 1983. The premise? Help Dirk the Daring rescue Princess Daphne from the evil dragon Singe to win the game. The good news is that fans of both the series and the game can play it in modern times and on their mobile phones. How cool is that?

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Don’t miss Stranger Things 2 on October 27, 2017 only on Netflix. Get it with Globe