How “Stranger Things” Revived the 1980s: From Eggo Waffles to Kate Bush

Most people who lived through the 80s remember the big hair, questionable neon fashion, and analog inconveniences with a mix of fondness and maybe some regret. And yet, somehow, Stranger Things has convinced Gen Z that physical media is cool and mullets should make a comeback. Fashion quickly followed, with people searching for vintage denim jackets and other 80s-inspired clothes.

What started as a supernatural adventure set in 1983 has grown into a cultural force that does far more than reference nostalgia.

The Boy Who Survived: Will Byers’ Journey to the “Stranger Things” Finale

Since returning from the Upside Down in the first season, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) has never truly been the same. Haunted by possession, sensing the hive mind and the lingering presence of Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), Will moves through Hawkins with the weight of an entire other world on his shoulders. Some fans believe that Vecna was the force that first pulled Will into the darkness, setting everything in motion. 

“Stranger Things” Season 4 Recap: Getting Upside Down From Eddie’s Guitar Solo to Vecna’s Revenge

We took you through the first three seasons of all the supernatural doings in Hawkins, Indiana. It’s not often that a show surges to its peak level of popularity in the fourth season, but that’s precisely what happened with the Duffer Brothers’ juggernaut series. Stranger Things season 4 broke records and the internet. In June 2022, The Credits wrote that season 4 “smashed the record for the best premiere for an English-language series,

“Stranger Things” Seasons 1-3 Summary: What You Need to Know Ahead of Season 5

You may have watched all 35 hours of Stranger Things seasons 1-4, but with those releases spread across the past decade, many viewers are in need of a recap. Season 5 is set to be even more jam-packed and arrives at the speed of a scampering demogorgon on November 26. Volume 1 consists of the first four episodes and runs 4 hours and 31 minutes. Run times for Volume 2, which streams on Netflix on Christmas Day and consists of three episodes and the finale.

“Stranger Things” Unleashes Kinetic Final Trailer for Season 5, Vol. 1

The final trailer for Stranger Things season 5 (volume 1) has arrived, revealing our fearless Hawkins’ heroes have a plan to take the battle to Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) and end his reign of terror once and for all. “I want to see Vecna’s heart on a platter,” says the always game Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and his comrades agree.

The new trailer isn’t nearly as long as the bombastic,

“Train Dreams”: Behind the Majestic Visuals of Joel Edgerton’s Pacific Northwest Epic

The Train Dreams (now in theaters; streaming on Netflix, November 21) story ends in 1968, but the film about the fictitious logger and railroad worker Robert Grainier chimes with contemporary echoes. Grainier, played by Joel Edgerton, sees a Chinese immigrant being wrestled to the ground by bigots and thrown off a train trestle. He sees a wildfire ravage lives and landscapes in the Pacific Northwest. He helps saw down centuries-old trees in the name of progress.

“You’re One of the Best Actors of All Time”: Timothée Chalamet Praises Adam Sandler at “Sandler x Chalamet” Event

Timothée Chalamet and Adam Sandler took a break from their respective schedules to spend an evening together in Fairfax High School’s gymnasium in Los Angeles. To play a game of pickup? Well, kind of, but first, they broke down their most iconic roles.   

On Saturday night, November 15, the “Sandler x Chalamet” event commenced with a packed crowd of students and other audience members. The pair gave a sneak peek of their respective upcoming films.

“A House of Dynamite”: How Production Designer Jeremy Hindle Built a Nuclear Crisis in Real Time – Part 2

Filmed primarily in New Jersey with the help of $30 million in production incentives, Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite is a sobering look at how the response to a nuclear attack on U.S. soil might unfold. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s relentlessly compelling and superbly crafted, hallmarks of Bigelow’s distinguished career. 

The cortisol-triggering film follows major players in the government during the 20 minutes before an inbound nuclear missile hits a major American city.

How “The Beast in Me” Cinematographer Lyle Vincent Brought ’70s Noir to Netflix’s Claire Danes Thriller

The Beast in Me opens on a tableau of sorrow. Claire Danes, who plays author Aggie Wiggs, is driving her son Cooper (Leonard Gerome) when the unthinkable happens: a car accident takes his life. In the aftermath, her partner Shelly (Natalie Morales) rushes towards her, calling out for him. Drowning in pain, Aggie’s bloodied face can only twist a piercing scream underscored by a cacophonous mix of music and effects. The bleak moment abruptly cuts to a close-up of her against a warm,

Bringing Guillermo del Toro’s Creature Into the Light With “Frankenstein” Cinematographer Dan Laustsen

Dan Laustsen likes to make even the most fantastical frame pop with an authentic, organic humanity. The cinematographer extraordinaire and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro wants tangibility, regardless of whether his stories are as slippery and bittersweet as The Shape of Water or as beguiling and deceptive as Nightmare Alley. In the case of Frankenstein, organic is a more-than-fitting approach for the story of men and the monsters within,

Inside “A House of Dynamite”: Production Designer Jeremy Hindle on Building Kathryn Bigelow’s Nuclear Thriller

An unrelenting, blistering thriller that grips you from the first frame and never lets go, Oscar-winning Kathryn Bigelow’s latest film , A House of Dynamite, is the final installment in a trilogy that began with 2008’s The Hurt Locker and continued with 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty. Continuing her trademark journalist approach to filmmaking and fascination with the military industrial complex, A House of Dynamite follows high-ranking officials in the U.S.

How “Frankenstein” Costume Designer Kate Hawley on Dressing Men, Monsters, & Their Mothers

In a film in which a character will never know death, color and life are everywhere. Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a visual feast, yes, but as the director often puts it, it’s all nutritional. A luminous, dreamy red dress from del Toro and costume designer Kate Hawley means more than a pretty image.

The story begins with the mother, Claire Frankenstein (Mia Goth, one of her two roles in the film),

42 Prosthetics, 10-Hour Nights: How Prosthetics Master Mike Hill Turned Jacob Elordi Into the Creature for Guillermo Del Toro’s “Frankenstein”

If ever a man were destined to design a new Frankenstein, it would surely be Mike Hill. The British-born prosthetics and makeup artist behind Guillermo del Toro’s new Frankenstein movie (in theaters now, streaming on Netflix starting November 7) remembers finding his calling at the age of five. “I’d walk to the river in the pouring rain with a little pail and a spade and I’d dig up the clay from deep in the riverbank,

Netflix Drops the Epic, Nearly 3-Minute Long Trailer for “Stranger Things” Season 5

The official trailer for the 5th and final season of Stranger Things has arrived, opening with a shot of the seemingly immortal Vecna intoning We can begin. At nearly three minutes long, this is the kind of meaty, bombastic look at the final season of what has inarguably been one of the defining shows in Netflix’s history. The trailer gives you a sense of the massive size and scope of the final season,

How “KPop Demon Hunters” Songwriter EJAE Turned Rejection Into Her Golden Success

KPop Demon Hunters is a juggernaut. Since its release on Netflix, not only has it become the streamer’s most-watched film of all time, but the animated feature is the first to have four songs simultaneously on the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, the song “Golden” is now the longest-running number 1 by a girl group in the 21st century. 

Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Applehans, the story is about K-pop girl group Huntr/x,

“Stranger Things” Two-Hour Finale To Get Historic Release in Theaters on New Year’s Eve

Stranger Things is going to go out with the biggest possible bang for a television series. The Duffer Brothers’ game-changing Netflix series’ two-hour finale, titled “The Rightside Up,” will have a simultaneous premiere on the streamer and more than 350 movie theaters on December 31st, beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET. The finale will stay in theaters through January 1, 2026.

It’s an appropriately historic end for a series that has been a phenomenon on Netflix and made stars of many of its cast members,

“A House of Dynamite” Scribe Noah Oppenheim on His Real-Time Nuclear Thriller’s Emotional Stakes & Shocking Ending

Spoilers below.

News veteran turned Hollywood scribe Noah Oppenheim (Jackie, Zero Day) has penned a new edge-of-your-seat thriller in A House of Dynamite, a cautionary tale about nuclear weapons and those in charge of them. Helmed by Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty),

Production Designer Tamara Deverell on Building the Gothic Grandeur of Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein”

Guillermo del Toro became obsessed with Frankenstein at the age of seven, after seeing the 1931 Boris Karloff movie, and walked out of the theater with a new calling. “Gothic horror became my church,” Del Toro said in a statement, “and [Boris Karloff] became my messiah.”

Ever since that childhood epiphany, del Toro has dreamed of reanimating Mary Shelley’s famous monster for modern audiences. Now comes his Frankenstein (in theaters now,

Inside Netflix’s “The Twits”: Writer/Director Phil Johnston on Empathy, Evil, and Adapting Roald Dahl

Writer/director Phil Johnston, known for his work on Zootopia and the Wreck-It Ralph features, says. “Every character I’ve ever truly connected to has been on the outside looking in. Outcasts, dirtbags, and weirdos are my people.” It seems appropriate, then, that he brought beloved weirdo-specialist Roald Dahl’s book “The Twits” to the big screen. He took Dahl’s story of two hateful people, expanded it,

“Black Rabbit” Creators Zach Baylin and Kate Susman on Cooking Up Their NYC-Set Thriller

Netflix’s hit series Black Rabbit brings viewers into the vibey, chaotic world of New York City nightlife in a breathless eight-episode sprint that left this viewer spent and satisfied, like after a particularly long and indulgent night in the city it lovingly, if somewhat dementedly, portrays. Starring Jude Law and Jason Bateman as Jake and Vince Friedken, respectively, brothers who try to slough off a particularly rough upbringing by opening the titular Black Rabbit restaurant together,