Aside from having a well-paced and interesting sci-fi plot, Stranger Things has many many subtle references and motifs to films of the 1980s - but without going so far as to blatantly rip them off. No, Stranger Things is entirely it's own creation. It just so happens to be a sci-fi story set in the world of the 1980s.

If you are at least 40 years old, you are going to love this show because of the extra nostalgia factor. It takes me back to a time of youthful wonder when we all got Atari for Christmas, and rode our bikes with our friends in the street until dark. Younger viewers will not only enjoy the story but get a glimpse of what it must have been like to live in a time before smartphones and the internet changed everything.

For the movie buff, half the fun is picking out the late 1970s early 1980s movie references that Stranger Things hints at but never completely gives away. There's very subtle visual clues and shot-for-shot scene recreation from "E.T.", "Stand By Me", "The Thing", "The Evil Dead", "Jaws", "Aliens", "Predator", "The Goonies", "Halloween", "Carrie", "Flight of the Navigator", "Ghostbusters", "Gremlins", "Cujo", "Mad Max", "Poltergeist", "The Karate Kid", "The NeverEnding Story", "The Gate", "Friday the 13th", "Back to the Future", "The Warriors", "BloodSport", "Heathers", and "Star Wars"... and probably quite a few more that escape me at the moment. How this is handled is incredibly subtle, and you wouldn't notice the split-second references unless you've seen all of those classic movies - immediately bringing a sense of "movie deja-vu" when they happen on screen.

If you love anything sci-fi and are nostalgic for the 1980s, then Stranger Things is essential binge watching.