Stocking up on cinematic clues for Stranger Things 2

Out of the numerous Super Bowl commercials vying for attention this year, the one that engaged genre fans the most was the teaser for Season Two of Stranger Things, which is arriving this Halloween.

Between that and the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly,that has a nice cover story with preview pictures, eager viewers are searching for clues about what's to come and given that the teaser is less than forty seconds long, it's not as easy as it sounds. Nonetheless, there are hints to be had and while I am a new fan of the series, I do have a few ideas about what was shown.

So, here are a few films that may be helpful to watch(or re-watch) that I think might prove to be very relevant as to the continuing fate of our ST friends:

GHOSTBUSTERS: This one is a given, since the boys are seen in Ghostbuster outfits for trick or treating and with the new season set in 1984, this was the big summer movie of that year.

With all four of these D&D playing pals knowing full well that the supernatural is more real that most people think, I can imagine that this particular film really spoke to them( along with adults like Will's mom, for one) and maybe even encouraged them to try and build a few spirit catching devices of their own.

After all, that door to the Upside Down is not completely closed and it will take a few motivated experts and/or self starters to work towards any new visitors from that realm stopping in for a spell:

 

 DREAMSCAPE: Another paranormal themed film that came out in the summer of 1984 was this thriller starring Dennis Quad as a psychic recruited by scientists for a  secret project involving going into people's dreams.

At first, the intentions of the program are to help folks with sleep disorders but a sinister government agent decides to use this work to create the ultimate hitman and one of his targets is the President.

Since this was the second movie that year to be granted the PG-13 rating, I don't know if our pre-teen protagonists would have seen it(if they did, more than likely they sneaked in ). However, with more of Eleven's backstory being promised for S2, there may be a few highlights from this film that might pop up in an episode or two:

CHILDREN OF THE CORN: Yup, this cult classic came out in 1984 and I highly doubt that any of our young quartet saw this one as it was R rated. Trust me, it earned it's rating and then some, with plenty of bad reviews and yet, a long line of sequels following in it's campy goreshow wake.

So,why do I include it here? Well, there was a brief shot of a farmer type hitting something hard in the ST2 teaser that brought this to mind for me. Not to mention that Stephen King is one of the major influences on this series and even an awful short story adaptation like this did leave a permanent pop culture mark.

Plus,there are quite a few residents of the Upside Down that could be as awe inspiring to the easily lead as He Who Walks Behind The Rows was:

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND: This film would be rather familiar to our ST bunch, due to it being a 1977 release(with a special edition having a theatrical run in 1980). Not to mention that there is a clear shot in the the S2 teaser that is a callback to an iconic scene in this movie.

I do wonder if Will takes some time to watch Close Encounters, as he would relate to the characters being pursued and taken by otherworldly forces from their homes. It might also be a movie he'd want to avoid due to being triggered by those very scenes.

With Steven Spielberg also being another big league influence on the series, you know that this was referenced for a specific reason but somehow, I don't think that it will be a good sign for our ST folks there:

No doubt, we will get even more hints as newer trailers come along and hopefully, more pictures as well. All of this speculation is pretty fun and I just hope that the growing fan hype doesn't overwhelm expectant viewers too much. I trust the Duffer brothers to give us a good show and will be happy with whatever is coming next.

 Waiting until Halloween feels like such a long time(especially these days when we're all in need of a good distraction) but at least we do have time to watch a few good films to get us into that 1980s spirit that Stranger Things and it's fans thrive on so well: