The Duffer brothers’ sci-fi horror series “Stranger Things” is scaring up ghosts of decades past. About a mysterious force unleashed on a sleepy town, the show is full of ’80s artifacts. Here are 21 we’ve spotted so far.
1. The show’s poster tells you exactly what you’re getting into, evoking movies like “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “Indiana Jones.” It looks like there’s even a Jedi. “Star Wars” is referenced a lot in the series.
2. The title sequence is set to the tune of heavy ’80s-style synthesizers, reminiscent of B-level horror movies of the time.
3. Each episode represents a new chapter, suggestive of children’s books of the time. The font even resembles that of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” series.
4. The show opens with our heroes playing a rousing game of Dungeons and Dragons, which was so popular in the ’80s it had a Saturday morning cartoon.
5. They hop on their Realistic-branded walkie talkies — looks like someone dropped a bundle at Radio Shack.
6. They ride ’80s-style bikes. The one we found with a green banana seat, bottom right, looks just like the one ridden by Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin).
7. A Mead-branded Trapper Keeper folder, which closes with velcro, can be seen in one scene along with a very ’80s Pee Chee folder. You’re not a child of the ’80s unless you drew a mustache and goatee on the tennis player.
8. Sheriff Jim Hopper, played by David Harbour, drives a Chevy Blazer. He sometimes seems to be channeling Indiana Jones.
9. The Clash hit “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” which appeared on their 1982 album Combat Rock, is weaved into the story. And the show’s soundtrack is filled with memorable ’80s tunes.
10. Like other characters on the show, Lucas likes to wear Levi’s corduroy jackets.
11. Nancy Wheeler’s boyfriend Steve Harrington, played by Joe Keery, is seen wearing these vintage Nike sneakers.
12. The phones in the show are painfully era-appropriate. Here, Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) dials a rotary phone. There are also some vintage cordless phones depicted as well as button-push ones.
13. In this scene, you can see a phone booth!
14. Remember puffy vests? Michael J. Fox wasn’t the only one wearing them back in the day.
15. Blink and you’ll miss it, but Mike Wheeler, played by Finn Wolfhard, plays with his Rubik’s Cube in one episode.
16. Even the beer cans are right for the times. How did we survive in the pre-“wide mouth” era?
17. This scene made us nostalgic for “Stand By Me,” which shares some thematic similarities with “Stranger Things.”
18. Whatever happened to wood-paneled station wagons?
19. Can you see the movie poster for “The Thing” in the background?
20. Look carefully and you’ll find a Tom Cruise poster hanging on the wall of Nancy Wheeler’s room. She’s played by Natalia Dyer.
21. Matthew Modine, whose rise to fame began with the ’80s movies “Vision Quest” and Stanley Kubrick‘s “Full Metal Jacket,” is himself a survivor of the era.
What other items from the ’80s did you spot? Tell us in the comments or tweet @TheWrap.
