{"id":89387,"date":"2016-07-20T15:18:32","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T14:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=89387"},"modified":"2016-07-20T15:19:04","modified_gmt":"2016-07-20T14:19:04","slug":"10-things-to-watch-after-stranger-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/top-tens\/10-things-to-watch-after-stranger-things\/","title":{"rendered":"10 things to watch after Stranger Things"},"content":{"rendered":"

By now, if you\u2019re anything like us, you will have binge-watched Netflix\u2019s new supernatural drama Stranger Things<\/em><\/strong>, and will be sitting in a warm and fuzzy glow of nostalgia for the movies and shows that the Duffer Brothers lovingly homaged\/pastiched\/cribbed from.<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s next? How is eight episodes of anything possibly enough to satiate that craving?<\/p>\n

Well, here\u2019s a list of ten films and TV shows that will allow you to stay in that glorious King\/Spielberg\/Carpenter haze for a little longer\u2026<\/p>\n

\"stephen-king-it\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

IT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Obviously, Stephen King\u2019s It<\/em><\/strong> is the next logical step. Admittedly, Tommy Lee Wallace\u2019s miniseries may not be as brilliant as King\u2019s doorstop novel, but it\u2019s still fantastically creepy, and the first half, with the characters as small children, holds up very well indeed. And what about Tim Curry as Pennywise? He\u2019s the granddaddy of scary clowns and he is etched into the walls of our nightmares.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d argue that It<\/em><\/strong>, with the Losers\u2019 Club of young kids banding together to fight an evil that threatens to consume their small town completely, is probably the biggest influence on Stranger Things<\/em><\/strong>, along with that little Spielberg film\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Bike\"<\/a><\/p>\n

ET: THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

There was originally a long paragraph here explaining why ET<\/em><\/strong> is a great film and a clear influence on Stranger Things<\/em><\/strong>, but what\u2019s the point? We all know this. We knew it from the moment those kids hopped on their bikes. And they\u2019re being chased by government forces. And there\u2019s a magical new arrival that needs to be kept secret\u2026sorry, we\u2019ll stop. Let\u2019s all go and watch ET<\/em><\/strong> again.<\/p>\n

\"eerie\"<\/a><\/p>\n

EERIE, INDIANA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joe Dante\u2019s brilliant series, created by Jose Rivera and Karl Schaefer, was cruelly cancelled after one season, leaving us with a small but perfectly formed work of wonder. It\u2019s the story of Marshall Teller (Omri Katz), who moves to the titular small town and begins investigating all the weird things that happen there. That includes kids being kept forever young in Tupperware contains, orthodontic braces that allow\/force the wearer to hear what dogs are thinking (the uprising is coming, btw), and a bizarre Masonic lodge called The Loyal Order Of Corn.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s scary, funny, brilliant, and it\u2019s available on DVD and we urge you to revisit this 19-episode classic. See also: Round The Twist<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanGothic\"<\/a><\/p>\n

AMERICAN GOTHIC<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another one season wonder, this is slightly more adult in tone than Eerie, Indiana<\/em><\/strong> but captures that same sense of small-town evil and mistrust. Trinity, South Carolina is a great place to live as long as you stay on the right side of the local Sheriff (Gary Cole), who happens to be the Devil himself. After a tragic event leaves young Caleb (Lucas Black) an orphan, Sheriff Lucas Buck and reporter Gail Emory (Paige Turco) enter into a battle for the boy\u2019s soul, while his sister (Sarah Paulson) appears as a ghostly warning.<\/p>\n

It can be a bit hit and miss, but there\u2019s a brilliant sense of creeping evil and Cole is absolutely incredible in the lead. There\u2019s someone at the door\u2026<\/p>\n

\"riget\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

THE KINGDOM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Looking for something a bit more\u2026dimension-y? So good that Stephen King remade it, Lars Von Trier\u2019s original Danish TV series The Kingdom<\/em> <\/strong>(Riget<\/em><\/strong>) is a blackly comic horror set in a hospital that is built on the site of a terrible tragedy. The foundations are crumbling, and the spirits are reaching out\u2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s completely barking mad (all of the stuff with Udo Kier as a monstrous newborn baby is something else), but there\u2019s a fantastic atmosphere that seeps through, and hypochondriac medium Mrs Drusse\u2019s journeys to find the unquiet spirits are genuinely scary. The King remake does have its charms (Antibus, the opening music, Ed Begley Jr) but this is far superior.<\/p>\n

\"wizard<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stranger Things<\/em><\/strong>\u2019 lead teen is called Nancy, there\u2019s a monster that pushes through walls like rubber\u2026Wes Craven\u2019s A Nightmare On Elm Street<\/em><\/strong> is obviously an influence on the Duffers. However, we\u2019d point you towards the brilliant third movie in the franchise, in which a group of teens must band together to defeat Freddy on his own turf. If the original is about the final girl standing up to evil, Dream Warriors<\/em><\/strong> is about the importance of knowing that you\u2019re not alone. That, and exploring the fun the filmmakers can have with a world of tailored nightmares.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s even Will the Wizard Master, who lays out the rules, and tries to treat Freddy like he\u2019s some kind of D&D villain. Although things don\u2019t work out well for him\u2026We would also point out that David Harbour\u2019s Chief Hopper has a lot of John Saxon\u2019s Sheriff Thompson about him.<\/p>\n

\"silver<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

SILVER BULLET<\/strong><\/p>\n

And we\u2019re back to King. Honestly, we could fill this list with Stephen King movies and miniseries, but this 1985 movie about a small town under siege from a werewolf feels like a big influence on Stranger Things<\/em><\/strong>. There\u2019s the small community reconciling themselves to the idea that there\u2019s something monstrous in their midst, and there\u2019s Corey Haim\u2019s young hero Marty Colslaw, who must confront the lycanthropic menace. It may not be the best King adaptation, but it\u2019s one of the most underrated. Also, Everett McGill is great as the preacher with a secret\u2026Damn, we want to rewatch this now.<\/p>\n

\"Starman\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

STARMAN<\/strong><\/p>\n

Halloween may be an obvious point of reference with its small town setting, but John Carpenter\u2019s 1984 sci-fi showed the world the legendary horror master\u2019s heart. Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen are wonderful as the visitor from another world and the woman who is trying to get him across the country to his rendezvous point, while Charles Martin Smith is the government scientist increasingly uneasy with his country\u2019s interest in their special guest. It\u2019s recently been lovingly homaged in Jeff Nichols’ brilliant Midnight Special<\/em><\/strong>, but this is far superior: a sweet, tender love story with just enough Carpenter grit to keep the chase going. Also, his synth soundtrack is superb, and we all know how much Stranger Things<\/em><\/strong> loves John Carpenter music.<\/p>\n

\"Gremlins\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

GREMLINS<\/strong>
\nA second appearance for Joe Dante on this list, and it\u2019s well deserved. The classic tale of a small town overrun by rampaging monsters, Gremlins<\/em><\/strong> gets the balance between horror, comedy, and adventure exactly right, somehow managing to keep its status as a film for children despite all the carnage. And, like Stranger Things<\/em><\/strong>, it\u2019s riddled with Christmas lights. Ah…we’re in the same situation as we were with ET<\/em><\/strong>. What are we telling you about Gremlins<\/em><\/strong> for? Go and watch Gremlins<\/em><\/strong> again! But finally, let’s remember…<\/p>\n

\"monstersquad\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

THE MONSTER SQUAD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, The Monster Squad<\/em><\/strong>. A group of kids teaming up to fight monsters? We refuse to believe that Fred Dekker\u2019s classic wasn\u2019t lurking somewhere in the back of the Duffer brothers\u2019 minds. In the 1987 classic, a group of horror loving youngsters are the only ones who can stop the classic movie bogeymen who arrive in the present day. Wolfman\u2019s got nards, indeed.<\/p>\n

Stranger Things is now streaming on Netflix. Read our interview with the Duffer Brothers here<\/a> and our review here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Done with Stranger Things and looking to keep the nostalgia train going? Watch these…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":89398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"MSN_Categories":"Uncategorized","MSN_Publish_Option":false,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":""},"categories":[12,207],"tags":[4829],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/ZNzw0.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89387"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}