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With Stranger Things back on our TVs in just a few short weeks, superfans are no doubt prepping by re-bingeing Seasons 1 and 2 on Netflix. And honestly, why not? They’re two of the most bingeable seasons on Netflix, and their fast pace and short seasons make them hella rewatchable.
Stranger Things is also a show that rewards repeat viewings, because the show is absolutely stacked with Easter eggs, shout outs, callbacks, and references to both itself and the ’70s/’80s pop culture it adores. Every time you watch it, you may notice something new based on what classic movies you’ve watched since you last hit “play” on an episode.
That’s where this list comes in. It’s been almost 3 years since we first took a trek to the Upside Down, but these Easter eggs are still fresh. Below you’ll find a few bits of inter-series continuity that will make you go “whoah,” and a whole bunch of references to classics that you may have missed the first time around (or two).
What’re you waiting for? Get your rewatch going and keep this guide by your side, because Stranger Things 3 comes out on July 4.
'Jaws'
Stranger Things doesn’t just pull from Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi filmography. There’s a subtle nod to the iconic director’s first blockbuster, the shark-tacular thriller Jaws–and you can find it on Sheriff Hopper. Hopper’s uniform is very similar to the one worn by Police Chief Brody in the 1975 blockbuster, down to the triangular patch on the sleeve.
'Stand By Me'
Anything about kids out on their own and getting in over their head can easily be compared to Stand By Me, especially when there are dead bodies involved. And of course there’s the fact that the Stranger Things kids take a stroll along some railroad tracks, which is very Stand By Me. On top of that, Stranger Things Episode 4 is titled “The Body,” which is also the name of the novella that Stand By Me was adapted into.
'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'
Another Spielberg classic, Stranger Things puts a little kid in harm’s way just like Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In the 1977 sci-fi drama, it’s little Barry who is beckoned towards some mysterious lights. In Stranger Things, it’s Mike’s little sister Holly who sees the Demogorgon first push its way through the wallpaper in Will’s bedroom.
The beginning spoils the ending
We first meet the gang when they’re at the end of a 10-hour Dungeons & Dragons session (similar to how E.T. starts, but more on that in a bit), and Dungeon Master Mike’s narration foreshadows what’s to come. “Something is coming. Something hungry for blood,” says Mike. “A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness.”
Dustin knows what it is: “Oh Jesus, we’re so screwed if it’s the Demogorgon.” As they’ll soon find out, Demogorgons are real (or at least monsters from parallel realities are) and they are attracted to the smell of blood.
When the Demogorgon arrives in the game, Lucas wants them to use a fireball on the monster. Later on in the season finale, Jonathan Byers uses a lighter to light up a Demogorgon.
There’s even foreshadowing when it comes to Will, who admits to Mike that he was only able to roll a seven and couldn’t unless a fireball. “The Demogorgon, it got me,” he says. And pretty soon, a monster does indeed get him.
'Poltergeist'
Poltergeist is about a family traumatized by otherwordly beings when their youngest daughter Carol Anne is sucked into a portal. She’s still able to communicate with her family via the television. Stranger Things is about a family traumatized by otherworldly beings when their youngest son Will is taken to the Upside Down. He’s still able to communicate with his family via a telephone. This one’s clearcut, right?
'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'
Another Spielberg classic, Stranger Things owes a lot to E.T. A lot of the action centers around suburban kids trying to keep their powerful, mysterious new friend a secret from adults and government agents. Mike even hides Eleven in his house similar to how Elliott hides E.T. Both the extra-terrestrial and the super-powered girl have downtime in front of the TV while alone at home, and they both don a frilly dress and bad wig in order to go out into the world.
Nancy was right about Barb
Barb’s disappearance (well, the viewers knew all the bloody details about what happened to her) halfway through the season was a real stunner of a moment. It was the inciting incident that spurred her BFF Nancy to action, but she still had to cover for Barb. One of the excuses Nancy gave early on was that her missing friend was probably just at the library. Yeah, that’s it–Barb loves books!
Little did Nancy know how right she was. Barb was at the library, just not the one in our reality. When Hopper and Joyce took a trip to the Upside Down, they found Barb’s corpse in the dark and dingy counterpart to the public library.
'Firestarter'
Eleven’s origin story, which we get glimpses of throughout Season 1, is very reminiscent of the Stephen King story Firestarter, which was adapted into a 1984 film starring Drew Barrymore. Barrymore plays Charlie, a powerful young girl (sound familiar?) abducted by the government hoping to control her powerful pyrokinetic abilities. The scenes of Charlie with electrodes on her head are echoed in Stranger Things during all of Eleven’s scenes in the Hawkins lab. Similarly, Charlie’s dad gets nosebleeds when he uses his telepathy, and the same thing happens to Eleven.
'The Shining'
Who doesn’t love an axe? I’ll tell you who does love an axe: emotionally distraught parents who are going through something. Okay, Joyce Byers is not nearly as unhinged as the madman Jack Torrance, as played by Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining. Joyce never goes “all work and no play,” but she does clutch an axe for protection after hearing Will’s voice in the phone.
'Alien'
Everything about the Upside Down is reminiscent of LV-426, the planet that the Nostromo crew lands on and picks up an unexpected hitchhiker. Joyce and Hopper have to wear heavy hazmat suits just to walk around the dark parallel realm, which only makes it feel even more otherworldly. In addition to all the organic jetsam floating through the air and coating everything, they even see hatched eggs that look just like the ones that hold facehuggers in Alien. When they finally reach Will, he has a slug-like tube running down his throat, similar to what Kane went through in Alien.
'The Goonies'
Dustin and Chunk would either be best buds or mortal enemies, that’s how similar they are attitude-wise. They also love having a dessert moment during a crisis, and Dustin’s pudding freakout during the big showdown with the Demogorgon has to be a nod to Chunk discovering a fridge full of ice cream (and a dead body) during The Goonies.
'X-Men' #134
Stranger Things has a lot in common with the X-Men. This is established right away in Episode 1 when X-Men #134 is mentioned. What’s so special about that issue? The issue, published in 1980, marks the very first appearance of Jean Grey’s Dark Phoenix persona. That all-powerful alter-ego caused a whole lot of trouble for the X-Men and the universe, and it’s a path Eleven could go down if corrupted. We get to see her unleash her power in the season finale when she flattens the Demogorgon against a wall in a scene very similar to how Phoenix disposed of Mastermind in the comics.
'Twin Peaks'
The last scare of Season 1 comes in a bathroom, when a newly-rescued Will coughs up a tiny slug monster and looks in the mirror, reality flickering around him between his home and the Upside Down. This bathroom mirror reveal feels a lot like the very last scene from Twin Peaks’ original run, where Agent Cooper smashes his head into a mirror, revealing that an evil entity has taken up shop in his body.
