Stranger Things 3's 1980s Movie Nods

THE THING (1982)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956, 1978) of course predates this John Carpenter classic, but both horror franchises play with the theme of human vessels involuntarily serving as hosts for otherworldy evil. Stranger Things 3 further evokes The Thing when it comes to Heather, Tom et al "melting" into ooey-gooey pools of Mind Flayer-feeding ooze.

THE TERMINATOR (1984)

Grigori, the Russian hitman on the hunt for Hopper for much of the season, is an extremely on-the-nose stand-in for Arnold Schwarzenegger's marauder of few words. In fact, Grigori is at one point dubbed "The Terminator," in case the heavy-handed comparison was lost on anyone.

SPIES LIKE US (1985)

Having worked back in the day at a Cineplex that showed this Chevy Chase/Dan Aykroyd comedy, I personally found the dynamic between Hopper/Joyce/Murray and Alexi, the ultimately amendable Russian scientist, to be similar to the frenemyship that develops between Austin, Emmett and the Russkies that help them prevent a nuclear confl. 

REVENGE OF THE NERDS (1984)

Every season of Stranger Things is about a gang of nerds exacting their revenge on supernatural beasties. But the case that Dustin pointedly, and at great length, makes about new "party" member Erica being a closet "nerd," brought the comparison a bit more to the fore.

RED DAWN (1984)

This Cold War-era thriller followed a group of high school students who resisted the United States' occupation by the Soviets and their allies — akin to how Steve, Robin, Dustin and Erica work to expose if not thwart their mall's secret invasion by Russian nogoodniks.

RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II (1985)

Hopper, in the course of doing his best-possible imitation of a machine gun-toting action hero, is at one point dubbed "Fat Rambo" by Alexi the kidnapped Russian scientist.

THE NEVERENDING STORY (1984)

Need we spell this one out for you? The action-packed, nailbiting Season 3 finale pauses midway through so that Dustin — in the name of remembering Planck's Constant — and long-distance girlfriend Suzie can perform an a capella duet of the fantasy film's soaring title song.

FLETCH (1985)

One of the titles on display at the Starcourt Mall movieplex, this influence was teased by Stranger Things star David Harbour about a year ago. In retrospect, one now can see the similarities in Hopper stumbling across some local corruption, then winding up chased by assorted baddies for much of the film (and with a prospective love interest at his side). No car was hit by a water buffalo, however.

FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (1982)

There were nods aplenty to this seminal coming-of-age comedy, from Dustin likening girlfriend Suzie to Phoebe Cates to red swimsuit-clad Billy's slo-mo entrance set to The Cars' "Moving in Stereo," to Steve and Robin being relegated to wearing dopey mall food court uniforms (a la Judge Reinhold's pirate garb).

For good measure, an actual Cates stand-up display pops up at season's end!

THE EVIL DEAD (1982)

In my mind, the heroes being trapped in a remote cabin, with some supernatural hobgoblin trying to barge inside, evoked this cult horror film. Especially when the Mind Flayer's tentacles snaked inside and made a beeline for Eleven.

CHRISTINE (1983)

The headlights of mind-flayed Billy's car, staring down Steve, Robin et al in the Starcourt Mall parking lot at night, was clearly a nod to this Stephen King adaptation about a malevolent automobile.

THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985)

Robin opening up to Steve about how they once shared a class and yet she, the band geek, went veritably unnoticed by the cool guy with the good hair, very much brought to mind this comedy about distinct "types" who crossed paths on the daily and yet until the situation presented itself, had been kept from truly knowing each other.

BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)

Time travel has yet to come into play in the Stranger Things universe; maybe it is being saved for a prospective Season 4? Back to the Future however played a big role in Season 3's Steve/Robin/Dustin/Erica arc, as they hid out inside a showing of the sci-fi classic (which, without context, confused the kids with its "Mom trying to bang her son" hook).

THE STUFF (1985)

Among the other wink-wink movies listed on the marquee at the Starcourt Mall, this horror satire was about a dessert craze of supernatural origin — an ice cream-like substance that turned those who consumed it into zombie-like creatures, before eventually "melting" their bodies from the inside out.