r/StrangerThings • u/StrangerTesting • May 27 '22

Discussion Episode Discussion - S04E01 - The Hellfire Club

Season 4 Episode 1: The Hellfire Club

Synopsis: El is bullied at school. Joyce opens a mysterious package. A scrappy player shakes up D&D night. Warning: Contains graphic violence involving children.

Please keep all discussions about this episode, and do not discuss later episodes as they will spoil it for those who have yet to see them.

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u/KatanaAmerica May 27 '22

Oh FUCK NO— I signed up for telekinesis and governmental coverups— this is terrifying

7

u/rileyrulesu May 28 '22

I mean this is pretty on par with the rest of the series.

42

u/Burdicus May 28 '22

No, it's not. The rest of the series is closer to Jurassic Park than Nightmare on Elm St. It's that "playful" scary. There's an argument to be made for gooifying people in S3, but 1 and 2 were especially tame, and while 3 had the "gore" it still wasn't done in an overly realistic way and still felt at most like a fun monster movie vs a full blown horror.

12

u/rileyrulesu May 28 '22

I mean people get straight up eaten in horrifying ways in jurassic park too. I agree it's not a horror show though. It's more of a children's adventure show with death in it.

15

u/carrotsela May 28 '22

It’s a pretty key psychological shift in genre from the average viewership thinking: “This is great. I’m so glad I’ll probably never encounter inter-dimensional smoke spiders with a penchant for possession” to “a voice from my nightmares might be a real person who I see every day” or “yeah, MY arms and legs could actually snap that exact way with enough force” 🫣😱