(no subject)

[proximoception]

Haven't seen much yet, but so far Stranger Things resembles Super 8 a lot more closely than Spielberg's or King's YA works. I.e. it is a hron of the second degree. Xeroxes of xeroxes taste bitter, like my heart.

Though it's quite possible the nostalgia angle is just elaborate camouflage, and that the true point of making it uncontemporary is to ditch cellphones, the thriller killer. If so I guess we can expect a lot more '80s settings. '90s ones are dangerous because they can look close enough to confuse people into asking where's the damn cellphones. Going '80s also dodges the Internet and DNA evidence, or at least any expectation they'd be available to everyday folk. While letting you retain no-nothing, consumerist suburban norms, or just slightly tweaked versions. With thrillers it's more necessary that the audience feel they're like the protagonist(s), I guess?

It's lazy but so far it's still an interesting way to be lazy. Plus the further we get into the device age the more obsolete older device movies get - that paradox where a 2007 cellphone now seems more ancient than a lava lamp, since one could at least imagine buying the latter. Large cast shows are particularly troublesome, as you can pull the "oh no it fell in the sewer" or "gaaah out of charge" tricks only so often.

So really it's '80s or it's magnets. Or both.

Comments

how does that work?

[jones-casey.livejournal.com]

not watching the show yet, but definitely agree with the period pieces being used to avoid cell phones and the internet. crimes of violence just don't go unsolved anymore, really. probably everything will be period pieces once we reach the minority report level of technology in 2054.

[proximoception.livejournal.com]

We'll know how magnets work by then by God.

[grashupfer.livejournal.com]

Magnets? How the f do those work?

That line will never not be funny.

People seem to be liking it. High early scores on IMDB.

[proximoception.livejournal.com]

Having seen a couple more ... it sure is committed to what it's doing. We saw a horror movie that tried something similar a few years ago, though I forget the title, House of Something or Other, and was maybe even better at looking like it was actually made c. 1980. But this ain't bad, and mashing up the two Stevens may be a more challenging enterprise. The details of their worlds are similar but not their souls. Makes you wonder which note they'll end on. I mostly hate King and completely love Spielberg, but when others imitate King it usually turns out better than when they imitate Spielberg (I was kind of meh on Super 8, frankly), so I don't know which I'd be rooting for.