Earlier in one of my previous posts, The Silence (2019 – Netflix), I stated that I hope Netflix would finally have a good monster movie someday. Well, that day arrived with Stranger Things season 3 release. I know it’s not a movie but it feels like an 8 hour long movie with how each episode is paced. Each chapter tells a specific story that, when tied altogether, is a well-told tale of horror and things that go bump in the night. The ending segments of each episode led you into what would occur the next episode and thereby gave a sense of dangling the carrot or so to speak. You want to see what happens next, and this urge is not just brought on by the mystery but also the acting of everyone involved. I wanna see Steve do more, have more antics, and I wanna see more interactions with his character and others. The same goes with Hopper, I love seeing his character be on screen. I was most fond of Joyce, and she has quite changed from the overbearing, helicopter mother we met in season one.
Compared to season one, I find this season to be almost as good. It has the same level of dread, of intrigue, and of mystery. The action, when it happens, is brutal and gory and to the point. Only one scene I couldn’t watch due to the gore, and that’s from the end of episode 7 to the opening segment of episode 8. I feel most people might get queasy at the scene, but it did delivery effective horror. I enjoyed that they didn’t shy away from violence towards the kids/teens, to show that they are not invincible and can easily be hurt. And at the same time, I enjoyed that they had the kids be rather smart and capable. The interactions between the kids and “Bald Eagle” were very enjoyable and funny.
Spoilers Ahead
Now onto the bad news, the cons for me. Why are the Russians the bad guys? I understand it’s the 80’s and cold war and the Red Dawn references (even mentioned in show), but again, like with Santa Clarita Diet, that there’s a trend towards Slavs being portrayed as the bad guys. Why can’t the bad guys being localised to your own country? There was a particular character I was quite fond of and therefore knew what fate would have in store for him. I hated that they went that way. And it’s not just that character, but another character who had achieved joy and happiness in their life only to have it dashed away. I’ve also noticed that trend in shows, to have a character achieve true happiness and, so to bring horror or emotion to your viewers, you have that character killed off.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the monster – even though it reminded me of a monster I’ve read about in some nation’s legends that I cannot recall. The effects were solid and same with all the bodies that were transmogrified. It was a heartfelt tale of adventure between friends, family and lovers that conquered an ancient evil, and in the end giving us closure while teasing us with new possibilities. I recommend this show to all science fiction and monster movie aficionados for time well spent.
Bogdan's Review Blog 