THRILLS & CHILLS: “Stranger Things 5” (2025)

(Source: IMDb) 

For the past decade, Matt & Ross Duffer’s supernatural horror love letter to Steven Spielberg, Steven King, and all things pop culture circa the 1980s has been a fan-favorite and acclaimed phenomenon, spanning five seasons and jumpstarting the careers of an engrossing young cast—even reviving the career(s) of a veteran or more from the big and small screens. Season Five picks up where its predecessor left off, set during the fall of 1987 (four years after the events of the inaugural eight-episode arc, when Will Byers went missing from the fictitious Hawkins, Indiana), as a ragtag group of local residents—siblings Mike and Nancy Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard and Natalia Dyer), Lucas and Erica Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin and Priah Ferguson), Will and brother Jonathan (Noah Schnepp and Charlie Heaton) and mother Joyce (Winona Ryder); Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), Steve Harrington (Joe Keery), Robyn Buckley (Maya Hawke), former police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour), and the telepathic Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown)—make one final stand (courtesy several resourceful and clever if risky plans) against the all-powerful entity known as Vecna in the alternate dimension known as the Upside Down. 

Mike and Nancy's younger sister Holly (Nell Fisher) plays a key role this time around, as do several other kidnapped children in Hawkins. Ditto the enigmatic and sinister Dr. Kay (a scary Linda Hamilton), who leads a local military base--as well as another secret location--that's still looking for Eleven for more conspiratorial (almost vampiric?) reasons than one. And as the enigmatic Henry/Vecna, Jamie Campbell Bower really knows how to play creepy, unsettling, and straight-up evil. Imagine a cross between Freddy Kruger (from A Nightmare on Elm Street) and Pennywise (from It). 

This fifth and final go-around was split into two parts, with Episodes One through Four released on Netflix on November 26th, and Episodes Five through Seven on December 25th, respectively. The eighth and final episode released on December 31st, with a limited theatrical engagement that same day (as well as New Years Day of 2026), echoing the theatrical approach the Duffers and company had at the end of Season 4. The Duffers directed most of these chapters, while others were helmed by co-executive producer Shawn Levy and filmmaker Frank Darabont (the latter known for previously adapting King stories for the big screen). And in terms of the grand finale, let's just say fans and general viewers may not be fully prepared for what’s on the horizon. The results are jaw-dropping, pulse-pounding, and unhinged. 

Along with a chilling and electrifying score by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein, the show/season's clever soundtrack includes songs by the Jackson 5, Prince, Diana Ross, and Tiffany. The filmmakers were also apparently influenced by the likes of John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, and H.P. Lovecraft, with a little George Miller thrown in. Movie posters of Don Bluth's An American Tail and Disney’s Alice in Wonderland are a fitting thematic bonus, as are references to Madeleine L’Engle’s fantasy novel A Wrinkle in Time. Holly even resembles a modern-day Little Red Riding Hood, dressed for her own scary fairy tale, and with a surprising arc. That goes equally well for the supporting cast of kids (with the talkative Derek being a standout), who are quirky though occasionally foul-mouthed. 

I previously wrote that Season 4 took the series into certified hard-R territory. This final roster of episodes matches that aesthetic and then some, further emphasizing real scares (including some genuine vertigo), strong language (some offensive), bloody violence and gore (some shocking and gruesome), and LGBTQ references. Images of children stuck in a giant hive are creepy and unsettling. The stakes are as high and gripping as they’ve ever been, and not just because of the massive visual effects budget. You genuinely care about these characters and whether they make it or not. In terms of commitment and ensemble effort, the cast really gives this season their all. 

Some fans have been having mixed reactions to certain elements this season. I was personally puzzled by a few minor plot holes and found the runtimes of certain chapters a little too long. Like the previous two seasons, there are some subtle but fairly obvious woke elements in the mix. It is otherwise epic storytelling with strong character development, for sure, which fits the streaming format, revealing further revelations about the Upside Down, as well as certain characters. Speaking of which, one powerful, thrilling plot twist halfway through the season (which I did not see coming) pays off in a very effective and emotional way, highlighting the power of memories, friendships, family, and the importance and need for one another. 

On that same note, one key factor throughout Stranger Things has been characters still grieving, still traumatized, and still struggling with themselves. Robyn, at one point, remembers who she once was as a child, and the parts of herself she had lost. “I was looking for answers in somebody else," she reveals. (To be fair, while that is life-affirming, finding answers in oneself is not enough. Again, we do need other people.) Another driving force has been the complicated, sometimes intense, but universal relationships between friends and siblings, as well as what it means to be a parent, with perspectives on “protecting” kids, and the blurred lines between "lying" and "avoiding" on both sides. From a more spiritual angle, conflicts between pessimistic worldviews (depression) and hopes for a better (or different) future present moments of self-sacrifice, difficult or unexpected choices, characters remembering what they are fighting for, and stories from one generation to the next. If anything, the Duffers and their team really end this series on a strong and emotional note, bringing the saga full circle in more mind-boggling ways than one. Talk about cranking things up to 11.