Warning: SPOILERS for Stranger Things 4.
The seven-episode first volume of Stranger Things 4 has been released on Netflix, and that means fans are in store for more hours of binge-watching nostalgia after a long three-year wait. Like other seasons of the show, season 4 takes particular inspiration from a handful of classics, and those behind the pop-cultural juggernaut have never been shy about revealing the innovative works that have inspired their creativity.
Unlike the three that preceded it, Stranger Things 4 takes inspiration from a wide variety of genres in near equal measure. From dramedies and romcoms to war films taking place both on Earth and space, the Duffer brothers have again successfully emulated a lot of classics.
The Great Escape (1963)
At the end of the Netflix series' third season, Jim Hopper seemingly lost his life when Joyce Byers destroyed the Russians' Gate to the Upside Down. However, he's back in 2022's penultimate season, but not in Hawkins. Instead, he's been transported to a Kamchatkan prison.
David Harbour told The New York Times that he and the show's creators "talked about The Great Escape and Alien 3 as influences" on Stranger Things 4, particularly in regards to his character's arc.
Carrie (1976)
Brian De Palma's well-aged adaptation of Stephen King's debut novel, Carrie, was an inspiration for Stranger Things' fourth season just as it was for the first three. Specifically, the character of Eleven was inspired by King's telekinetic high schooler.
According to Polygon, the Duffer brothers told Wired in a 2019 video interview: "Of course, you have a high school girl who has these amazing powers and these amazing abilities, and we always looked at how King dealt with that when we've talked about Eleven. This idea that she has these amazing abilities, but is she ultimately dangerous?" There's also a visual reference to the film in Season 4's first episode. Suzie, Dustin Henderson's match-made-in-heaven girlfriend, has a crucifix dauntingly placed in her room, just like Carrie White's mother, Margaret, put up in the punishment closet.
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Stranger Things 4 spends a lot of time showing its characters' heartbreak. As it turns out, the Duffer brothers consulted a particular chapter of the Skywalker saga: The Empire Strikes Back, the most rewatchable Star Wars movie of all time.
As Matt Duffer told IGN: "We talked a lot about The Empire Strikes Back, which is...the darkest movie in Star Wars. We talked a lot about that and wanting to capture that tone." The emotional stakes definitely feel raised in Stranger Things 4, so it seems the Star Wars entry's influence paid off.
Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)
Stranger Things 4 brings a couple of new characters into the fold, and Argyle (Eduardo Franco) the stoner will most likely go on to be a fan favorite. Jonathan Byers' (Charlie Heaton) new best friend, Argyle is a pizza boy who can barely even take an order over the phone without becoming extremely distracted.
In that regard, Argyle is very similar to Fast Times at Ridgemont High's Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), who goes so far as to bring a full pizza into his high school classroom. The comparison is logical, as Heaton and Franco have said that the Cameron Crowe-written film was an influence, according to Polygon.
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Duffer also told Collider that Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial was an influence, specifically on the fourth season's earliest chapters: "In California, it's a very different vibe in a lot of ways, because the goal for California is to have that E.T., Valley feel of it."
Throughout its run, Stranger Things has carried the high-stakes, family-friendly tone of E.T. just as it has Ghostbusters and The Goonies. Fans probably wouldn't be too surprised to learn it's had some sway on the show's style in this season as well.
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
The most direct cinematic influence on Stranger Things 4's plot and tone is certainly Wes Craven's classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. In fact, Freddy Krueger star Robert Englund even has a cameo in the fourth season's fourth episode.
Matt Duffer told Collider, "I think our goal with the show is always to try something different every year and make sure the show is evolving, and that comes naturally in a lot of ways because our kids are growing up. It's funny, I can't even actually call them kids, they are like full-blown young adults now. So, we thought that this was a good year to put them in a full-fledged Nightmare on Elm Street-esque horror film." The first episode wears its love for Craven's movie on its sleeve when it comes to the character of Chrissy Cunningham, who happens to also share a last name with Friday the 13th director Sean S. Cunningham.
You've Got Mail (1998)
The Twitter account for Stranger Things' writing team posted several examples of inspirational works back when the scripts for the fourth season were still formulating. Along with the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan romantic comedy, You've Got Mail, the writers listed The Peanut Butter Solution (1985), Ordinary People (1980), Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), and The Fisher King (1991).
The influence of You've Got Mail and films like it is felt between several pairs of characters, most notably in one of Stranger Things' most underrated relationships: Joyce and Hopper.
Amores Perros (2000)
Alejandro González Iñárritu's debut film, Amores Perros, tells three separate stories, all connected by the inclusion of a man's best friend. The first follows Gael García Bernal's Octavio, who joins the wretched dogfighting scene in hopes of making enough money to run off with his brother's abused wife. The second follows a supermodel recuperating from an injury, but things get worse when her dog disappears from her apartment. The third follows a man who abandoned his daughter years ago. Now, he redirects his regret into overflowing love for his city's stray dogs.
Mike Wheeler's actor, Finn Wolfhard, relayed to Polygon that the Duffer brothers went so far as to play a scene from Iñárritu's movie: "There's a scene in the car where we're all together and it's very tense. And the Duffer brothers really wanted me to watch this movie by Iñárritu...apparently, they drew a lot of inspiration from the movie."