Netflix - Stranger Things Season 4 : Our review of the excellent season 4

By Mulder, 26 may 2022

The fourth and final season of the cult American science fiction and horror TV series Stranger Things, titled Stranger Things 4 arrives tomorrow via Netflix's streaming service and will be offered in two parts. The second will arrive on July 1, 2022 and will include two episodes. We were able to discover the first seven episodes and we will never forget this episode 7 which has literally shocked us so much this one is more like a movie than a series episode. 

This fourth season produced by the creators of the series, the Duffer brothers, as well as Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen and Iain Paterson, turns out to be the most violent and mature. We will learn new elements about the main characters and while the action takes place in different countries and give greater importance to the characters of Jim Hopper (David Harbour perfect once again), Joyce Byers (Winoda Ryder is always so cute) and of course to the heroes of this cult series Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) 
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Since its release in 2016, the global phenomenon Stranger Things has won more than 65 awards and 175 nominations, including Emmys, Golden Globes, Grammys, SAGs, DGAs, PGAs, WGAs, BAFTAs, a Peabody Award, AFI Program of the Year, People's Choice Awards, MTV Movie & TV Awards, Teen Choice Awards, and many more. The series, which has received three Emmy nominations for Best Drama Series, is one of Netflix's most-watched titles. Season 3 totaled 582 million viewing hours, making it the second most popular English-language series on Netflix's Top 10. 

It's been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Our group of friends is separated for the first time, and the complexities of high school haven't made things any easier. In this time of vulnerability, a frightening new supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, could finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down. This new season takes a malicious pleasure to destabilize the spectators and fans of the series by blurring the tracks by taking away Eleven's powers and by bringing a really anguishing climate which will remind some of the atmosphere of the first part of the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street (1985). It is not a coincidence to find in one of the important supporting roles of this fourth season the actor Robert Englund who played Freddy Krueger several times. This season is also the most violent, showing many very violent scenes and reminding us in some ways the universe of Evil Dead.

Of course the first episode will be destabilizing for many viewers as it refuses to play in simplicity and to put Jane Ives (Eleven) at the center of the story. After an introductory scene without any words and in which an important work was made on the sound to propose to the spectators a real sensory experience, we find our main characters who have been separated. The conclusion of the third season left the spectators with some important questions, such as how to propose a sequel to this epic conclusion and what about Jim Hopper and the Russian army who seems to want to make Eleven a military weapon. The Duffer brothers wanted with this fourth season to leave the usual format of duration and to propose longer episodes closer to one hour or even ninety minutes like episode 7. We had to wait three years to discover this new season and yet we dive back into this universe with an intact pleasure and devour the seven episodes. 

This new season is characterized by a will to rely on a large number of subplots and to show that the young heroes have grown up and had to face many difficulties and that the paranormal events taking place in Hawkins will once again confront them with a powerful enemy having a strong link with Eleven. The action takes place in Indiana, California, Nevada, Alaska and even Siberia. The powerful demonic sorcerer Vecna, stalks the Hawkins teenagers in this season and destroys their minds and bodies by possessing them and making them suffer martyrdom. The influence of American and Asian movies from the 80's can be felt at several moments in this new season. As for the last scene of episode 7, it announces some very heavy stuff for the last two episodes of this cult series that will remain forever in our memory.

Synopsis: 
Six months have passed since the battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Our group of friends is separated for the first time and the complexities of high school have not made things any easier. In this time of vulnerability, a frightening new supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, could finally end the horrors of the Upside Down.

Stranger Things
Created by The Duffer Brothers
Starring Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Matthew Modine, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, Dacre Montgomery, Sean Astin, Paul Reiser, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Brett Gelman, Jamie Campbell Bower, Eduardo Franco, Joseph Quinn
Composers : Michael Stein, Kyle Dixon
Executive Producers : The Duffer Brothers, Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Cindy Holland, Brian Wright, Matt Thunell, Karl Gajdusek, Iain Paterson
Director of Photography : Tim Ives, Tod Campbell, Lachlan Milne, David Franco, Ricardo Diaz
Editors : Dean Zimmerman, Kevin D. Ross, Nat Fuller, Katheryn Naranjo
Production companies: 21 Laps Entertainment, Monkey Massacre
Distributor: Netflix Streaming Services
Release: Original Network: Netflix
Running Time: 63-98 minutes

Photos: Copyright Netflix

(Source: press release)