Stranger Things Was Built on These ’80s Movie Influences

When Stranger Things first dropped in 2016, it felt less like a new show and more like someone had cracked open a sealed VHS time capsule from a Blockbuster.

But what looked like simple nostalgia was actually something more deliberate—and frankly, more clever. The Duffer Brothers, aside from riding the retro wave, were curating a cinematic mixtape of the movies they grew up on. The Spielberg adventures, the King-flavored chills, the John Hughes angst, the Carpenter dread—it’s all there, lovingly folded into the show’s DNA.

A very smart move by Matt and Ross Duffer—instead of making a show about the ‘80s, they made one that feels like it was made in the ‘80s. That’s a big difference. Their reference points were beyond props and Easter eggs—they were out-and-out storytelling tools. They weren’t cherry-picked just to look cool. These iconic ‘80s films are baked deep into the series’ emotional tone, character arcs, camera movements, lighting choices, and sound design.

The Duffers have never been shy about their influences. They’ve mentioned their weekly childhood ritual of renting VHS tapes from the local video store, absorbing a strange but potent mix of Spielberg, Carpenter, Lucas, Cronenberg, and King.

The result? A show that pays homage without pastiche, that salutes its heroes while finding its own voice.

So, let’s break down the key films from the 1980s that shaped Stranger Things and helped it come alive—one flickering neon frame at a time.

The Spielbergian Heartbeat

1. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Written by: Melissa Mathison | Directed by: Steven Spielberg

In E.T., a lonely boy named Elliott (Henry Thomas) discovers a gentle alien hiding near his home. As they bond, Elliott tries to keep E.T. safe from the adults who’d surely lock him up or worse. The film’s set in classic Spielberg suburbia—kids with flashlights, suspicious grown-ups, and the ever-present hint that something big is about to break through the ordinary. It’s sci-fi through a child’s eyes, grounded in raw emotion and wonder.

Stranger Things pulls a lot from this playbook. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is the new E.T.—a secretive, powerful outsider hiding in plain sight. The blonde wig, the basement hideout, and the bike chases? Straight-up Spielberg homage. But the Duffers added edge: Eleven’s past is darker, the danger is realer, and the government agents are way scarier. The emotional core stays intact, though—lonely kids finding connection in chaos.

E.T. makes you feel awe; Stranger Things uses that same setup to make you feel dread, hope, and everything in between. Borrow smart, build fresh.

2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Written and Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Close Encounters of the Third Kind follows Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss), a regular guy who sees a UFO and becomes obsessed—so obsessed that he starts sculpting mountains out of mashed potatoes and loses touch with his family. The movie captures a different kind of alien encounter: not a friendly visitor or a full-on invasion, but the maddening, mysterious pull of the unknown. It’s slow-burning, eerie, and more psychological than most sci-fi of its time.

That psychological spiral is echoed in Stranger Things through Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), especially in Season 1. When her son Will disappears, she cracks. Talking to Christmas lights, tearing through walls, scribbling alphabet murals on her living room—Joyce mirrors Roy’s descent almost beat for beat. But like Roy, she’s right. Something is out there. The Duffers took Spielberg’s blend of obsession and truth and channeled it into one of the show’s most emotionally charged arcs.

What this shows is how obsession can be a compelling engine for character. It’s not just about what the character is chasing—it’s what they’re willing to lose in the process. Leaning into that ambiguity—when the audience isn’t sure if a character has lost their grip or found the truth—can generate real tension and emotional payoff.

3. The Goonies (1985)

Story by: Steven Spielberg | Screenplay by: Chris Columbus | Directed by: Richard Donner

The Goonies is a full-throttle treasure hunt starring a gang of misfit kids from Astoria, Oregon. Led by Mikey (Sean Astin), they stumble upon a pirate map and dive into booby-trapped tunnels beneath their town, all while evading a gang of criminals. It’s loud, chaotic, and endlessly quotable, packed with goofy charm, sibling squabbles, and a sense that every kid deserves one big, impossible adventure before growing up.

In Stranger Things, that exact dynamic is alive and kicking. The core group—Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), and Will (Noah Schnapp)—channel the same kind of friendship: constant bickering, fierce loyalty, and that weird superpower only kids seem to have for stumbling into danger. The underground journeys through Hawkins’ tunnels? Very Goonies. And casting Sean Astin as Bob Newby in Season 2? That was no accident. It’s a wink to fans who know exactly where the vibe came from.

One thing The Goonies nails is scale, from a kid’s point of view. The stakes aren’t world-ending; they’re personal. That’s something the Duffers wisely adopted. It’s a reminder to filmmakers that you don’t need massive CGI or galaxy-sized threats. Sometimes, a group of kids chasing something mysterious is more than enough—if the audience believes in their bond.

Stephen King’s Shadow

4. Firestarter (1984)

Based on the novel by: Stephen King | Screenplay by: Stanley Mann | Directed by: Mark L. Lester

You can’t talk about Stranger Things without talking about Stephen King. The Duffer Brothers have been open about it—his books were a gateway drug. Firestarter is the clearest link. It follows Charlie (Drew Barrymore), a young girl with pyrokinetic powers, on the run from a shadowy government agency. Sound familiar?

Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) psychic powers and shady lab origins trace right back to Charlie’s story. Same trauma, same sense of weaponized childhood, same men-in-suits chasing something they don’t understand.

5. Stand by Me (1986)

Based on the novella by: Stephen King | Screenplay by: Raynold Gideon & Bruce A. Evans | Directed by: Rob Reiner

Then there’s Stand by Me, arguably King’s most grounded story. Four boys set out to find a dead body and wind up learning more about life than they bargained for. Swap in Hawkins, Indiana, and the supernatural, and you’ve got the emotional backbone of Stranger Things. The show’s quieter scenes—walking along train tracks, sharing childhood trauma, building trust—owe a lot to Stand by Me’s soul.

6. It (1986)

Based on the novel by: Stephen King

And let’s not ignore the horror side: the fear-soaked vibe of It and the surreal tension of The Shining bleed into Season 4, especially with Vecna and the Creel House, both draped in psychological horror and twisted memory.

7. The Shining (1980)

Based on the novel by: Stephen King | Written by: Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson | Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

The Shining’s use of eerie domestic space, flickering timelines, and disorienting visual symmetry directly echoes in the way Season 4 builds tension inside the Creel House. Even the grandfather clock feels like a spiritual cousin to Room 237.

King’s work shows how horror works best when it’s rooted in people—flawed, scared, complicated people. Stranger Things absorbs that lesson well. Horror is usually about spooky imagery or plot devices. Stranger Things, however, is about emotional stakes. The supernatural only hits hard when the human part is real. King nailed that balance. The Duffers ran with it.

John Carpenter’s Grit

8. The Thing (1982)

Written by: Bill Lancaster | Directed by: John Carpenter

Carpenter’s The Thing is all about isolation, paranoia, and the fear that the monsters are already among us. That mood bleeds straight into Stranger Things—especially in the Demogorgon storyline and later, with the Mind Flayer creeping through the tunnels. You can see The Thing‘s DNA in how the threat spreads and in how no one quite knows who’s safe.

9. Halloween (1978)

Written by: John Carpenter & Debra Hill | Directed by: John Carpenter

Halloween brings the synth-heavy score and slasher tension. The way Stranger Things uses music to build unease, especially in Season 1, is straight from Carpenter’s playbook. So are the moody shadows, the long silences, and that feeling of danger just around the corner.

Carpenter’s lesson? Don’t rush the scare. Build dread. Let the audience squirm. The Duffers leaned into that, proving you don’t need jump scares to keep people on edge—you just need atmosphere and patience.

Sci-Fi and Adventure Blueprint

10. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Written by: Leigh Brackett & Lawrence Kasdan | Directed by: Irvin Kershner

Star Wars, especially The Empire Strikes Back, showed the Duffers how to handle darker turns without losing momentum. That’s key to Stranger Things as it matures—every season gets a little heavier, but never loses its spark.

The nods are everywhere: Millennium Falcon toys, Eleven’s powers as Force-adjacent, and character dynamics that echo classic duos. The spirit of rebellion runs through Hawkins, too—kids standing up to forces way beyond them.

You can scale up your story emotionally without losing sight of the characters. The Duffers did that, just like Lucas and Kershner did decades earlier.

11. Back to the Future (1985)

Written by: Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale | Directed by: Robert Zemeckis

In Season 3, Stranger Things fully embraces mall culture, neon signs, and temporal confusion—pure Back to the Future vibes, where it’s not about time travel; it’s about the past clashing with the present and threatening the future. Stranger Things? Same idea.

The visual tone, the pacing, and even the theater marquee shoutout make it clear the Duffers are fans. Back to the Future taught them how to juggle high stakes with humor and energy.

Filmmakers can learn here how tone management works. You can be fun and tense in the same scene—it just takes control and a sharp sense of rhythm.

12. Alien (1979)

Written by: Dan O’Bannon | Directed by: Ridley Scott

The Upside Down’s design—wet, weird, and alive—feels like it was pulled from the same nightmare world as Alien. It shaped how Stranger Things builds its most terrifying spaces. Alien gives Stranger Things its blend of sci-fi and horror, and the idea that something’s lurking in the walls.

Horror works best when the setting feels like a character. The Duffers used that to make Hawkins—and the Upside Down—feel deeply, viscerally real.

The Teen Movie Influence

13. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

Written by: Cameron Crowe | Directed by: Amy Heckerling

Fast Times captured high school as it actually felt—awkward, funny, messy. Stranger Things mirrors that vibe, especially in Seasons 2 and 3. Billy’s (Dacre Montgomery) lifeguard strut and the mall’s social dynamics scream ’80s teen cinema.

The aesthetics—the lockers, the hair, the sun-bleached look—these aren’t just set dressing. They help place the show emotionally, too, making it feel lived-in and real.

It shows how atmosphere can deepen character. The world around your cast matters—it helps shape who they are.

John Hughes’ Touch

14. Pretty in Pink (1986)

Written by: John Hughes | Directed by: Howard Deutch

Pretty in Pink is about identity, class, and finding your voice. That’s what Nancy (Natalia Dyer) is doing in Stranger Things, too. Her arc echoes Andie’s (Molly Ringwald)—figuring herself out, defying expectations, and fighting back, both figuratively and literally.

Steve’s (Joe Keery) redemption arc feels like it came straight from Hughes’ playbook. He starts as a cliché, but earns depth through action and heartbreak.

Emotional arcs don’t need to be subtle to be effective. Hughes made feelings cinematic. The Duffers gave it teeth.

The Duffer Brothers’ Creative Process

Intent vs. Accident

In early seasons, the references were crystal clear. Over time, though, the show grew into its own thing. What started as homage became reinterpretation—less “copy that shot” and more “recreate that feeling.”

That evolution matters. As a creator, it’s okay to start from someone else’s blueprint, as long as you build your own house on it.

The “Video Store Fridays” Whiteboard

As kids, the Duffers binged on movies—everything from The Empire Strikes Back to Ghostbusters, and many more. It was for both fun and research, studying structure, tone, and scares.

That’s a habit worth stealing. Watch films not just as a fan, but as a craftsman. Break them down, see what makes them tick, and put that knowledge to use.

Legacy and Impact

Reviving ‘80s Nostalgia

After Stranger Things, retro became cool, and it was back in full force. The show reminded audiences how good genre storytelling could be when built on character, instead of just effects.

It also gave creators permission to be sentimental without being shallow. The Duffers tapped into something universal using very specific references—and that’s harder than it looks.

Advice for Filmmakers

The real trick isn’t referencing your favorite movies—it’s using them as fuel, not a crutch. Stranger Things shows that homage can lead to originality when the emotional core is your own.

So take what you love, twist it, and tell it through your voice. That’s how you make something worth watching.


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