WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Stranger Things seasons 1-4.
Is Stranger Things horror or science fiction? Heavily indebted to Stephen King yet built on ’80s adventure films, Netflix’s popular throwback series manages to blur genre lines while remaining palatable for younger audiences.
We first meet the series’ central Party immersed in a rousing game of Dungeons & Dragons. After concluding an epic campaign, they mount their bikes and separate, but one member does not make it home. The disappearance of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) sets off a series of incredible incidents plaguing the town of Hawkins, Indiana. When Will’s mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) makes interdimensional contact through flickering Christmas lights, we learn that the universe is larger than we thought. Will is trapped in a realm known as the Upside Down, a dark mirror image of our reality where creatures roam through desolate lands. When Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), a young girl with psychokinetic powers, accidentally creates a gateway between these dimensions, all manner of monsters find their way through.
Each season sees Hawkins plagued by a different monstrosity, referencing legendary villains from D&D lore. But in the four seasons (and nine years) since its initial release, Stranger Things has matured alongside its fans. Where season 1 feels heavily influenced by The Goonies and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, season 4 aligns with more overt genre franchises like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Hellraiser.
Yet terror weaves its way through each season, beginning with the very first episode, which follows a fantastical boogeyman stalking a vulnerable child through the darkened woods. As we approach the most bombastic season yet, fully aware that any character could die, let’s look back on some of the most horrific moments from each genre-busting chapter.
Season 1: The Demogorgon Trap
We first meet the iconic Demogorgon as a figurine accompanying a tabletop game. Mike (Finn Wolfhard) reveals the big bad of his latest campaign, then sits back in satisfaction as Will, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) decide how to proceed. Though thrilling in a gaming scenario, this creature is outright terrifying in reality. Unfortunately, Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) realize that in order to save Will and their missing friend Barb (Shannon Purser) from the Upside Down, they must find a way to battle the beast.
Aided by lights strung throughout the Byers’ home, the teens construct a makeshift trap.
This monster hunt involves luring the Demogorgon with its own blood, then pinning it in place with a bear trap nailed to the hallway floor and using a Zippo to light it on fire. But just moments after slicing open their palms, Steve (Joe Keery) bangs on the Byers’ front door. Desperate to make things right with Jonathan, Nancy’s boyfriend forces his way into the plan. As the lights start to flicker, he watches a nightmare burst through the living room ceiling. But as they prepare to finish the job, the lights normalize, and the creature retreats.
Nancy and Jonathan creep through the house with weapons drawn while a frantic Steve makes a break for his car. Inside, the lights begin to flicker again, then spark out altogether as the Domogorgon rises over Jonathan’s shoulder. Nancy’s bullets do little to stop the toothy fiend now preparing to tear her partner apart. All hope seems lost when Steve makes a surprise return, battering the critter into the bear trap, where Jonathan lights it ablaze. This classic monster moment caps a season of increasingly scary Demogorgon appearances, but this is by far the most nerve-racking. Our teen heroes have put themselves directly in danger and barely managed to escape with their lives.
Season 2: Bob Newby, Superhero
Like any good sequel, season 2 ups the ante by multiplying the monstrous threat. Instead of a single Demogorgon, we’re confronted with hordes of Demodogs, four-legged versions of the season 1 foe. When Hawkins Lab is overrun by these interdimensional canines, Joyce, Hopper (David Harbour), Will, and Mike all find themselves trapped inside. With Eleven still missing, an unlikely hero steps up to the plate.
Bob Newby (Sean Astin), Joyce’s unassuming boyfriend, just happens to have a valuable skill: a working knowledge of BASIC coding and the ability to hack into the Lab’s computer controls. Creeping through the hallways, he encounters a handful of bloody bodies — victims of the Demodogs — before finding the terminal he needs. He’s able to unlock the systemwide doors, allowing Joyce and the others to escape, but he’s still a long way from safety.
Assisted by Dr. Owens (Paul Reiser), watching from monitors, Bob manages to hide from a roaming Domodog. But a falling mop handle strikes the floor and alerts the beast to his location. He runs from the speeding creature and makes it to the main doors just in time to share a relieved glance with Joyce before the monster attacks from behind. Jim’s rifle only brings more Demodogs to the scene, and Joyce is forced to leave Bob behind. We watch as this lovable man is torn apart by the pack, the most brutal and devastating death to date.
Season 3: The Sauna Test
Expelled from Will’s body in season 2, a piece of the Mind Flayer becomes trapped in our dimension and possesses one of Hawkins’ most dangerous citizens. Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) has never been particularly kind, and powered by the sinister creature, he becomes downright terrifying. In order to prove this possession, the Party plans a dangerous test: they will lure Billy into a sauna, then crank up the temperature, forcing the heat-averse Mind Flayer to reveal himself.
At first, everything goes according to plan, and Billy admits that he’s being controlled. But as he pleads with his stepsister through the door, Will feels a tickle at the back of his neck, indicating the Mind Flayer’s activation. Elsewhere, we see other Flayed respond as inky blackness creeps through Billy’s veins.
With superhuman strength, Billy lunges at Max, shattering the door’s window and breaking the chain. The Party hides behind El, who uses her powers to hold Billy at bay, but the heavy barbell pinning him in place, crashes back towards her, and we realize that our steadfast hero may have met her match. Billy grabs El by the throat and lifts her in the air, preparing to choke the girl to death. Thankfully, Mike attacks from behind, giving El a critical moment to gather her strength. She stands between her boyfriend and the raging monster, straining with all her might to mentally throw him through a brick wall. She collapses, sobbing, in Mike’s arms, grateful to be alive. This moment may foreshadow a larger confrontation, but it’s the first time we’ve seen Eleven nearly outmatched.
Season 4 Part 1: Vecna’s First Kill
As the Party enters their high school years, the show’s frightening moments similarly mature. Season 4 opens with a jaw-dropping kill that rivals many mainstream horror franchises.
We learn that Chrissy (Grace Van Dien), the seemingly perfect cheerleader, is dealing with significant emotional pain. Her dreams are haunted by a sinister creature and the chimes of an ominous grandfather clock. Desperate for relief, Chrissy turns to Hawkins’ misfit Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) for drugs, but finds that it may be too late. As he searches his stash, Chrissy hears the clock begin to chime and finds herself pulled into a nightmare world. Her passive-aggressive mother transforms into a screaming wraith, and her father moans through bloody stitches covering his eyes and mouth. Spiders now cover her idyllic home, and a hideous ghoul descends the stairs.
The entity we will come to call Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) emerges from the shadows to reveal his scarred and tentacled face. Eddie returns to find Chrissy unresponsive, her fluttering eyelids covering sightless eyes. In the Upside Down, Vecna extends his claws over Chrissy while, in our reality, Eddie watches her slowly levitate. As if moved by unseen hands, the cheerleader’s body slams against the ceiling before brutally twisting itself apart. Her arms and legs break, and her face abruptly distends as Eddie screams from his trailer floor. It’s the most viscous death we’ve seen thus far and a harbinger for the savage season to come.
Season 4 Part 2: One Revealed
With her powers mysteriously gone, El spends most of season 4 working with the villainous Papa (Matthew Modine) to get them back. This requires confronting a deeply painful memory from her time imprisoned at Hawkins Lab. Flashbacks reveal her dependence on a friendly orderly named Henry (Bowers), who takes a liking to the shy little girl. He helps her navigate the experiment’s tricky social structure, and in return, she uses her powers to remove an inhibiting chip from his neck. But staring at the tiny device, a sinister smile creeps across Henry’s face. He surprises El by using his own telekinetic force to kill a handful of guards blocking their path.
Only then does Henry push up his sleeve to reveal 001 tattooed on his wrist. We learn that he was Papa’s first child test subject and the source for El’s own abilities.
Rather than a kindred spirit, El discovers that Henry has darker intentions. Emerging from the supply closet, she wanders through bloodied halls now filled with the mangled bodies of lab workers and test subjects alike. She enters the Rainbow Room to find a villainous Henry torturing Two before breaking his neck and tossing him aside. El rejects an offer to join forces with her duplicitous friend, and they engage in a psychic duel. Fueled by a happy memory, Eleven overpowers the angry young man and sends him careening through her first interdimensional gate. As he hurtles into the Upside Down, we watch as his flesh burns away and he slowly transforms into Vecna. Stemming from the massacre of imprisoned children, this horrific moment provides a source for each previous monster while creating the show’s most devious villain.
Stranger Things concludes on Netflix in three parts: four episodes on November 26, three episodes on December 25, and the series finale — also in theaters — on December 31. Each volume releases at 5pm PT/8pm ET.
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