Very pleasant surprise. Netflix and Duffer bros pretty much nailed it.

An elaborate and hard working homage to John Carpenter, Spielberg, Raimi, Stephen King and other horror-adventure masters of the 70's and 80's that also stands on it's own legs.

While Stranger Things does lack sometimes finely timed emotional punch and doesn't go full escalation in some cases, it still blinds with quality. From atmosphere to music, nice story, good characters and damn fine actors, this Netflix show is a great viewing.

I'm not going to spoil anything, story is interesting and if show's synopsis here is not enough for you, then you'll just have to check the show for yourself. It does play with some sci-fi/horror standards, sometimes diving in completely, sometimes defying them but almost always is treating it's story and legacy with respect.

Yes, it is a bit of nostalgia-bate but it uses that as an advantage and not cheap gimmick, which I find important to make it more distinct from other projects that solely bank on cheap nostalgic tricks.

I'm totally recommending it and hoping that we'll get Season 2 or something similar.