By Anna May

Stranger Things gets it right from the very beginning. This series doesn’t just tell the story of three young boys who set out to find their missing friend. No, it tells the vivid story of a whole town in 80s Indiana in such a way you’ll be happy to believe it was filmed when the story was set. Even the incidental music has an 80s twang to it.

This series is not difficult to watch. Matt and Ross Duffer, affectionately known as The Duffer Brothers, have written and directed a brilliant story with easy to digest dialogue. There are a few niggling ‘that wouldn’t happen’, or ‘why didn’t she just say…?’ moments, but these are very few and far between and entirely forgivable for the simple reason they keep the plot moving in the right direction.

The story mostly revolves around four young boys, Will, Mike, Lucas and Dustin and a sinister girl who shows up out of nowhere. The boys are obsessed with the role-play board game, Dungeons and Dragons, which nicely intertwines in places with the overall plot. When Will mysteriously disappears, the remaining trio are determined to find him.

Obviously, the story wouldn’t be complete without a couple of instantly dislikeable bullies. Just add a handful of sex-obsessed teens and the inevitable "No, I can’t, please don’t...oh go on then" scenario and we’re all set!

Winona Ryder plays Will’s mum, Joyce Byers. Rightly so, Joyce is out of her mind with worry. Her eldest son, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), tries to keep her calm and grounded. Already a difficult task given the circumstances and, to make matters worse, Joyce is convinced she can still communicate with Will and has seen a strange creature in the walls of the house. Has her boy’s disappearance sent her over the edge? Seems so.

Despite the three mini heroes’ best efforts, their search for Will is glaringly futile, until Mike stumbles upon a seemingly mute girl (Millie Bobby Brown), who he manages to hide under a table in his basement for most of the series (hmmm). Now things get very interesting indeed. Let’s just say, she’s not exactly your average little girl. No giggly, wannabe cheerleader here. Shy? Maybe. Prone to sudden outbursts of all things crazy? Definitely. We've all been there.

Cue the obligatory town cop, Jim Hopper (David Harbour), with a bitterness and indifference that can only be shaken off by a sudden dose of mystery and intrigue. Well, Chief Hopper, here you are. Have a missing boy, a make-believe monster and a sweet little girl with a buzz cut and a touch of the ‘Carries’ about her.

One thing that struck me about this strange little girl was what happens when she puts her mind to things, as it were. I won’t reveal it here, but it will remind Hemlock Grove fans of what happens after Roman’s dangerous, but most gorgeous, pouts. Copied? I don’t care. It works for me.

I’ve seen comments that Winona Ryder over-acts here and there. I don’t think she does at all. If anything, she sets the bar and the rest of the cast act up brilliantly. Also, you have to give her credit for playing such a neurotic and drab character. We all know she’d be perfectly capable of portraying the standard MILF we’re so used to seeing on our screens, but in Stranger Things she’s as real as she can be as Joyce Byers.

Credit also goes to Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo, who play Will, Mike, Lucas and Dustin, respectively. This is the first time I’ve seen these boys in anything and I’m very impressed indeed.

After reading the blurb about Stranger Things, I worried there would be no relief from the sadness and woe of grieving Joyce and each episode would be steeped in depressing conversations with long, meaningful pauses and tearful stares.

Nope…none of that! Too much going on elsewhere, I’m afraid. The writers regularly remove us from Joyce and her madness, so much so, we never get a chance to become bogged down in the basic reality of it all…and to be fair to her, Joyce’s unfailing optimism convinces us it’s perfectly acceptable to forget Will for a while and look forward to being scared out of our wits by her imaginary wall-botherer.

I’m a heartless cow, I know, but I like my creepy stuff to be just that. So, if you’ve decided to give this a miss because of the lost child aspect…don’t. The story unfolds too strongly in the direction of horror to wallow anywhere else. Is it a gory horror? I don’t think so. However, it pushes its certification of 15 right to the limit without getting too graphic just for the sake of it. Very clever direction indeed.

All in all, this series has a very solid story, which can be built up into anything the writers dare to imagine for future seasons. In the last episode alone, there are easily enough hints at what could be in store. Season two please, Duffer Brothers! Next week, if it’s not too much trouble. Thanks.

Stranger Things - Netflix