Stranger Things Pop Culture Reference Masterlist
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
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- DirectorPeter YatesStarsDennis ChristopherDennis QuaidDaniel SternA working-class Indiana teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl while searching for life goals with his friends.The Indiana setting is reportedly inspired by that of this coming-of-age film.
- CreatorPeter BergStarsKyle ChandlerConnie BrittonZach GilfordA drama that follows the lives of the Dillon Panthers, one of the nation's best high school football teams, and their head coach Eric Taylor.The show's focus on its characters was reportedly modelled by the Duffer Brothers on this series and 'Freaks and Geeks'.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.Poster in Jonathan's (Charlie Heaton) room;
the shots of the Byers' house are also modelled on the shots of the cabin in this film - DirectorJim HensonFrank OzStarsJim HensonKathryn MullenFrank OzOn another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal, and to restore order to his world.Poster in Mike's (Finn Wolfhard) basement
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsJoBeth WilliamsHeather O'RourkeCraig T. NelsonA family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.In a flashback, Joyce (Winona Ryder) tells Will (Noah Schnapp) she is taking him to go see it (this is a clue that this is a flashback, as the series takes place in November 1983, and 'Poltergeist' was released in 1982);
Also the subject of several visual references, as well as the key plot point of a dimensionally-trapped child communicating with our dimension via electronics. - DirectorPaul StewartStarsSarah MarshallRobert SampsonCharles AidmanAwakened by the cries of their daughter Bettina, Chris and Ruth Miller enter her room to find that she has vanished - even though they still hear her crying for help. Chris' physicist friend Bill thinks she moved into another dimension.The overarching plot of season one of a missing child trapped in another dimension who is nonetheless able to contact his family.
- CreatorPaul FeigStarsLinda CardelliniJohn Francis DaleyJames FrancoA high school mathlete starts hanging out with a group of burnouts while her younger brother navigates his freshman year.Joyce's "An A-what-i?"
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRichard DreyfussFrançois TruffautTeri GarrRoy Neary, an Indiana electric lineman, finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches.The search party in the woods in Chapter One, as well as Joyce's obsessive search for Will and their use of lights to communicate
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHenry ThomasDrew BarrymorePeter CoyoteA troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet.The relationship between Mike and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) somewhat resembles that between Elliot and E.T.
Throughout the first two seasons there are also several visual references, most notably to the scene where Elliot lures E.T. by leaving a trail of Reese's Pieces. - DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.The relationship between Mike and Eleven also resembles that between Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) and Eli (Lina Leandersson) in this film, particularly in Eleven confronting Mike's bullies, as Eli does to Oskar's.
- DirectorMatt ReevesStarsKodi Smit-McPheeChloë Grace MoretzRichard JenkinsA bullied young boy befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian.Besides the obvious implications of this film being an Americanized remake of 'Let the Right One In', Mike's mother on 'Stranger Things' is even played by the same actress - Cara Buono - who plays the Oskar analogue Owen's (Kodi Smith-McPhee) mother in this film.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsSean AstinJosh BrolinJeff CohenA group of young misfits called The Goonies discover an ancient map and set out on an adventure to find a legendary pirate's long-lost treasure.Mike is named after Mike/Mikey (Sean Astin) from this film.
In 'Stranger Things 2', Sean Astin appears as a new addition to the main cast, playing Bob Newby, Joyce's new boyfriend. - DirectorMark L. LesterStarsDrew BarrymoreDavid KeithFreddie JonesA couple who participated in a potent medical experiment gain telepathic ability and then have a child who is pyrokinetic.Pretty much most things to do with Eleven.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.Eleven's telekinetic powers, as well as Steve's (Joe Keery) friends' (Chester Rushing & Chelsea Talmadge) slut-shaming of Nancy
In 'Stranger Things 2,' Billy's (Dacre Montgomery) character bears a striking resemblance to Travolta's character in 'Carrie'. - DirectorTibor TakácsStarsStephen DorffChrista DentonLouis TrippKids left home alone accidentally unleash a horde of malevolent demons from a mysterious hole in their suburban backyard.
- DirectorJoe DanteStarsEthan HawkeRiver PhoenixBobby FiteA boy obsessed with '50s sci-fi movies about aliens has a recurring dream about a blueprint of some kind, which he draws for his inventor friend. With the help of a third kid, they follow it and build themselves a spaceship. Now what?
- DirectorRichard FranklinStarsHenry ThomasDabney ColemanMichael MurphyA young boy and his imaginary friend end up on the run while in possession of a top-secret spy gadget.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.Numerous design elements
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.'Stranger Things 2' is more action-oriented than the first season, paralleling the progression between 'Alien' and 'Aliens'.
Paul Reiser's casting as Dr. Owens in 'Stranger Things 2' is also intentionally reminiscent of his character Burke in 'Aliens'. - StarsJohn ErwinAlan OppenheimerLinda GaryThe most powerful man in the universe, He-Man, goes against the evil forces of Skeletor to save the planet Eternia and to protect the secrets of Castle Grayskull.Eleven watches a brief snippet of an episode while scanning the TV
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJennifer O'NeillStephen LackPatrick McGoohanA scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called "scanning" to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners.Eleven's standoff with the government agents in Chapter Eight
- DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampJohnny DeppRobert EnglundTeenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.Besides the shared premise of kids having to deal with supernatural horrors on their own, the Demogorgon (Mark Steger) pushing Joyce's wall outwards as she tries to communicate with Will resembles Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) pushing Nancy Thompson's (Heather Langenkamp) wall outwards as she sleeps;
Nancy Wheeler from 'Stranger Things' is also named after Nancy Thompson from this film - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.Joyce hacking at the wall with an axe;
also, the impossible design of the Overlook is inspiration for Joyce finding a portal to the Upside-Down in her wall but then going outside and seeing simply a hole there and her entire struggle as to whether her conflict with the supernatural is real or if she is simply going insane - DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.The main kids are HUGE fans
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.