The long-awaited return of “Stranger Things” is finally here. Ross and Matt Duffer bring viewers an action-packed season full of supernatural goings on and international adventures. With a $30 million budget per episode, “Stranger Things” Season 4 Volume 1 takes our beloved characters across dimensions and through the past with mammoth sets and impressive set pieces.
March 1986 sets the scene for the fourth season of “Stranger Things.” Eight months after the events of Season 3, we reunite with our characters, who are now split across the country with Will (Noah Schnapp), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), and Joyce (Winona Ryder) living in sunny California instead of Hawkins, Indiana. The season splits into three overall storylines and two volumes. One storyline takes place in Hawkins, one in California, and one in the snowy prisons of Russia.
New Plots, and New Additions to the Cast
The Hawkins storyline sees the quiet town racked by a series of gruesome murders. However, as our characters investigate each death, it soon becomes apparent there is something supernatural behind the murders. The show’s California storyline sees Mike (Finn Wolfhard) visiting his girlfriend Eleven; but as the events in Hawkins grow more dangerous, (*Spoilers*) Eleven must go off and regain her powers after losing them in the season three finale. The third storyline follows Joyce and Murray (Brett Gelman) who learn that Hopper (David Harbour) may be alive after receiving a mysterious parcel in the mail.
Viewers also meet a whole host of new characters. “Booksmart” star Eduardo Franco joins the cast as Argyle, one of Jonathan’s new Californian friends.Joseph Quinn (“Dickensian,” “Catherine the Great”) stars as Eddie Munson, a high school outcast and leader of the Hellfire Club. This is a Dungeons and Dragons club that Mike and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzaro) are a part of, who gets accused of committing the horrific crimes occurring in Hawkins. “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” star Jamie Campbell Bower portrays the complex character of Henry Creel/001/Vecna.
These three new additions join a range of returning cast members from the previous seasons of the show including Joe Keery, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, and many more. The return of “Stranger Things” also sees the return of some of the show’s most iconic friendships. We see ice cream scoopers turned movie rental workers Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Hawke), as well as exploring new friendships. These include Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), new pal Argyle, and a blooming bond between Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Robin.
Some Interesting Cameos this Time Around
Volume 1 also paves the way for the rekindling of old flames, with various details that hint at a potential reunion between Steve and Nancy after their breakup in Season 2. We see hints of the same for Max (Sadie Sink) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) after Max ended their relationship. Horror icon Robert Englund, known for his portrayal of Freddy Krueger in “A Nightmare on Elm Street” makes an appearance in one episode as Victor Creel, Henry Creel’s father. Even though Englund only appears in a small portion of the show, he manages to give a chilling performance.
Like previous seasons, Season 4 Volume 1 features notable performances from many of its cast members. Millie Bobby Brown once again gives a stellar turn as Eleven. The first half of Season 4 pushes Eleven to her limits and allows her to give one of her best performances as the psychokinetic teen. Newcomers Joseph Quinn and Jamie Campbell Bower also give impressive performances as their respective characters. Quinn’s portrayal of societal outcast and suspected murderer Eddie Munson is one of the most memorable parts of the season. His performance allows viewers to see Eddie as a character who can be both lovable and intimidating, while stealing every scene he’s in. This is shown in the cafeteria scene in “Chapter One: The Hellfire Club,” in which Quinn’s character jumps on a table and yells across the room.
Viewers are in Store for a Darker Journey this Time Around
(*spoilers*) Another sensational performance from Volume 1 comes from Sadie Sink who plays Max Mayfield. Still grieving over Billy’s (Dacre Montgomery) horrific death in the season three finale, Max’s storyline gets much more vulnerable. Audience see deeper and more raw side to the character, unlike we’ve seen before. Sink gives a miraculous performance and wouldn’t be a surprise if it got the actress her first Emmy nomination. And perhaps the most terrifying and diverse performance of the season comes from Jamie Campbell Bower. He plays three different characters across the first seven episodes: Henry Creel, Hawkins Lab orderly 001, and the fearsome creature Vecna. Bower’s performances are utterly terrifying. Combined with SFX artist Barrie Gower’s work, this makes for one of the scariest things to come from the series.
“Stranger Things” makes sure to take its viewers on a much darker journey this season. It pitts its characters against a threat unlike anything they’ve ever faced. Volume 1 takes a deeper dive into the horror genre in its seven episodes, with stomach-churning SFX being a big part of the season. We see this either through the horrid death scenes that feature bones snapping in every direction, or the putrid vines that make up Vecna’s physical form.
Crisp Editing Gives the Season a Boost
Editors Dean Zimmerman, Casey Cichocki, Nat Fuller, and Katheryn Naranjo provide Volume 1 with crisp editing. It makes the season even better than it already is. Kate Bush’s chart-topping song “Running Up That Hill” may be the unofficial theme song of Volume 4. The song play a major part in Max’s (Sadie Sink) storyline, especially in the climax of “Chapter Four: Dear Billy,” a scene in which is arguably one of the best, if not the best, scene of the show. Performances from Sadie Sink, Gaten Matarazzaro, Joe Keery, Caleb McLaughlin, and Jamie Campbell Bower — alongside incredible editing and nail-biting tension keep you enthralled through the entire sequence.
“Running up That Hill” has also been reworked in a variety of ways to be included in trailers for Volume 2. This is as well as episodes in Volume 1, similarl to how The Clash’s song ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ was featured heavily in “Stranger Things” Season 1. ‘Running up That Hill’ also isn’t the only ’80s classic to be featured in Volume 1. “California Dreaming” by The Beach Boys, “Object Of My Desire” by Starpoint and “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” by Dead or Alive are among the some the other ’80s hits to be included in Volume 1’s soundtrack.
A Solid Soundtrack, SFX, and Great Use of Subtlety
Cinematographers Caleb Heymann (“Fear Street,” “How to Be Alone”) and Brett Jutkiewicz (“Italian Studies,” “The Black Phone“) both create magnificent visuals for their respective episodes. Jutkiewicz’s cinematography in “Chapter Four: Dear Billy” features some of the best shots in the entire season. And Heymann’s work on “Chapter Six: The Dive’s” final scene is phenomenal. It shows Steve (Joe Keery) attacked by vicious bats in the Upside Down, and is one of most intense moments in the season.
Volume 1 also makes excellent use of subtlety to add meaning in certain scenes. We see an argument between Mike and Eleven over Mike not writing ‘love Mike’ in his letters to her. In addition, we see multiple hints of Will’s (Noah Schnapp) sexuality — which is expected be addressed by the Duffer brother in Volume 2 — and a minor detail in which Steve makes sure to not accidentally out Robin to Nancy in a scene between the two.
Setting the Stage for a Triumphant Volume 2
Volume 1 is certainly one of the stronger editions of the show. It comes in second behind Season 3, and sets up Volume 2 to potentially make Season 4 the series’ best. However, there are some minor issues that appear throughout the seven episodes. Jonathan’s character taking a complete 180º from the Jonathan we know and love to become a stoner. Additionally, the whole Russia storyline feels prolonged and dragged out. The season also makes excellent use of its significantly longer episode run-times. The shortest episode is 63 minutes with the finale episode, “Chapter Nine: The Piggyback,” expected at 139 minutes.
Overall, Season 4 Volume 1 is a thrilling first half to a monumental adventure for the beloved “Stranger Things” characters. Ending on a cliffhanger, the seven-episode volume scrapes the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come in Volume 2. Magnificent performances and jaw-dropping visuals in Volume 1 builds viewers’ excitement. It gets them ready for a two-episode, four-hour long event when Volume 2 drops on Netflix on July 1st.
“Stranger Things” is available to stream on Netflix.
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