S01.E02: The Weirdo on Maple Street

[Athena]

Description TBA

[Eegah]

Seeing as Corey Feldman recently crushed our hopes for a second Goonies film, I'll definitely take this as a substitute. The kids are all fantastically written, talking like kids that age actually talk, and even when their actions are blatantly in service of stretching out the plot like hiding Eleven from their parents, it's believable as a dumb kid thing that makes sense to them.

[numbnut]

Lots of ET moments in this ep. Eleven's one-word answers seem like a plot device -- there's no reason why she can't provide more answers sooner. Meanwhile, Ryder's one-note performance is getting old fast. And why does the sister's romance get so much screen time?

[benteen]

I've been enjoying it so far.  Love the setting, the story is interesting and I think the kids are good.  They actually talk the way kids that age talk.  David Harbour is good as well but good lord, is all Winona Rider going to do in this series is scream hysterically?

Edited July 19, 2016 by benteen

[Anela]

So, the Sheriff has (or had) a daughter? I wonder what happened there.

[SeanC]

It wouldn't be an 80s-inspired story with cartoonish school bullies and popular kids.  I'm kind of waiting for the obviously bad crowd Nancy is hanging out with to get eaten by the monster, though for the moment we'll have to content ourselves with her nice friend.  Also, my main thought whenever Steve is onscreen is that he looks uncannily like a young Jean-Ralphio.

I'm guessing that debate about jumping off a cliff will come up again.

Meanwhile, Jonathan's plot takes a strange turn into voyeurism.

[mjc570]

I liked Jonathan a  lot, until the creepy voyeurism,   I assumed he was there to rescue Nancy from the inevitable attempted rape or monster attack.  Don't care about Nancy, do not understand why there is so much time devoted to her. 

I still like the boys, but 11 needs to step it up soon.  I can't express how tired I am of Winona Ryder's horrible one-note performance.

I was confused about who Sandra is - is she the sheriff's wife (I assume that was him at the end)?  I thought he lived in a pigsty by himself.

[Corgi-ears]

23 hours ago, Anela said:

So, the Sheriff has (or had) a daughter? I wonder what happened there.

A random townswoman, in Ep 1, told the science teacher while they were search-partying, that the Sheriff's kid "died a few years back" -- belying his claim that she "lives with her mother in the city." Of course, there is a chance that said daughter is Eleven (just speculatin'; I haven't watched beyond Ep 2).

 

5 hours ago, mjc570 said:

I was confused about who Sandra is - is she the sheriff's wife (I assume that was him at the end)?  I thought he lived in a pigsty by himself.

I imagine it was a one night stand, or a fuck buddy. They have those in the 80s, right? Come to think of it, maybe she was even the "random townswoman" (though the first scene was too dark to tell).

[KateeBar]

Enjoying the kids and their manic energy, it feels pretty normal to me. I also like the sheriff and hope we keep digging into his story. I immediately thought Eleven is probably his daughter, but I'm back and forth on that right now. 

I think we are seeing too much of Nancy and Steve, but I'm hoping maybe Steve ends up being a good guy instead of the high school gigolo, just to play against type. Or, if he's going to do something terrible to Nancy, then I want Eleven to enact telepathic vengeance of some sort. 

Like apparently everyone else, I'm weary of Winona's performance. I keep telling her to just shut up and stop wailing. Also, where's the dog? I'm quite worried about him and dead girl's cat on The Night Of.

[Anela]

4 hours ago, Corgi-ears said:

A random townswoman, in Ep 1, told the science teacher while they were search-partying, that the Sheriff's kid "died a few years back" -- belying his claim that she "lives with her mother in the city." Of course, there is a chance that said daughter is Eleven (just speculatin'; I haven't watched beyond Ep 2).

 

I imagine it was a one night stand, or a fuck buddy. They have those in the 80s, right? Come to think of it, maybe she was even the "random townswoman" (though the first scene was too dark to tell).

I wondered if Eleven is his daughter, as well.

[Chaos Theory]

17 hours ago, mjc570 said:

I liked Jonathan a  lot, until the creepy voyeurism,   I assumed he was there to rescue Nancy from the inevitable attempted rape or monster attack.

I doubt rape.  Monster attack maybe.   This is reminestent of old 80s movies and there were a bunch of 80s and early 90s movies where douchbag boy makes bet that he can  bag nerd girl but ends up falling in love with her.  My guess is he has sex with her and then dumps her but when she doesn't die of shame and embarrassment and a love triangle develops between him and Jonathan.     There were some interesting monster movies involving teenagers and body snatchers so who knows.  Its been awhile.  But I seriously doubt rape.  Its TV-14 which is essentially PG and also a love story for 1990 movies.  

Edited July 17, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[tennisgurl]

We have our underage drinking teens, shady Men in Black types, one note bullies, and deadbeat dads in ugly stained shirts! The 80s cliche gang is all here!

We have our ET now, who in this version is a little bald girl who might be an alien or a monster or a kid who has been experimented on. Or something. This is all starting to get a little X Files, but with more manic kids on bikes. 

I hope the teens have a point soon, or that Winona will be able to do something other than be "scared mom". 

[Ronin Jackson]

Sorry wrong thread

Edited July 18, 2016 by Ronin Jackson
wrong thread

[Primetimer]

Also, maybe a few reliable Band-Aids.

View the full article

[Dave in Chicago]

In a sea of 80s references, they really got these kids to commit to period appropriate hair. Barb is full-on Martha Plimpton in "Goonies".

[DrLar]

Man that camera should cost a fortune back in '83! and Byers family doesn't seem that good, scrapping for a phone with advance pay? Deadbeat ex-husband doesn't seem to send any money either..

[Arynm]

Barb is so close to a friend I had in high school that I am having trouble separating her from my friend. She is exactly like Barb down to the hair and clothes and mannerisms. I am bummed she got eaten or taken or whatever happens. So the blood drew the monster? Was Will bleeding when he was taken? The wall moving really scared me, but I was yelling at her to get her butt back in there and telling it to give her back her son! I like the show, its hitting all the 80s high notes of the movies back then, its scary and I like the vibe, plus the music is awesome

[KaleyFirefly]

On 7/18/2016 at 11:55 AM, Dave in Chicago said:

In a sea of 80s references, they really got these kids to commit to period appropriate hair. Barb is full-on Martha Plimpton in "Goonies".

And Mike's mom's hair. And Winona Ryder's hair.

[Chyna]

On 7/16/2016 at 9:17 AM, SeanC said:

 Also, my main thought whenever Steve is onscreen is that he looks uncannily like a young Jean-Ralphio.

YES! I've been wondering who that guy reminds me of. That's it!

[bilgistic]

Clearly Barb was in a parallel dimension, right?? It was the "same" pool she was trying to climb out of...?

Edited July 24, 2016 by bilgistic

[kangarara]

Wait, what? #correction (maybe?) "Nancy is Will's sister" Isn't Will the missing kid who is Wynona's son who also only has a brother? Isn't Nancy Mike's sister? (this is not jerkitude, these kids (including Eleven) all look WAAAY too similar to me)

[Armchair Critic]

On 7/19/2016 at 10:57 AM, Arynm said:

 

Barb is so close to a friend I had in high school that I am having trouble separating her from my friend. She is exactly like Barb down to the hair and clothes and mannerisms

 

She reminded me of my friend back then too. I started to date before her and she got stuck tagging along and was more straight laced than me. Deja vu!

[Laurie4H]

On a random note.  The Bangles song Hazy Shade of Winter is from 1988....I'm very nitpicky about that.  lol

[Whimsy]

On July 17, 2016 at 8:15 AM, Anela said:

I wondered if Eleven is his daughter, as well.

I thought Eleven called Matthew Modine's character "papa"?  

On July 24, 2016 at 0:33 PM, Laurie4H said:

On a random note.  The Bangles song Hazy Shade of Winter is from 1988....I'm very nitpicky about that.  lol

I was also bothered by this and my google search came up with 1985, but it's at the latest 1987 since that's when Less Than Zero came out and the song was in that movie (first time I fell madly in love with RDJ). It is still later than this episode, though  

Child of the '80's here too  I was 11 in 1983 so this has been a real trip!

[Kiss my mutt]

I was 12-13 when this movie was set and none of us said "just sayin'". Do any of you remember that?  i didn't hear it until about five years ago when my kids started saying this annoying phrase. 

[Whimsy]

It may be regional. I've been saying "just sayin'" my whole life. 

[stillshimpy]

I was 15 in 1983 and yes, "just sayin'" and recall it too, but weirdly enough, where I was on the East Coast, it was pretty gender-specific.  Guys were very prone to "just sayin'" .  

Quote

I hope the teens have a point soon, or that Winona will be able to do something other than be "scared mom".

Nancy's story is driving me nuts at the moment.  She's supposed to be a dedicated student, very serious about school....who immediately ditches that because of a guy's interest in her.  I know cliches exist for a reason and in '83 it's not like we were steeping in Girl Empowerment Messages but since that's essentially all we know about her I tend to focus on irritating things like, "Yeah, first time shotgunning a beer...without an epic belch, eh? Puleaze."  They've just delicate-flowered Nancy up to an irksome degree.  

But then, in keeping with the mid-80s sort of dramatic turn on characterization:  almost everyone so far has one easily spotted, animating force with little to no shading.  Nancy pitches everything, pretty much immediately, for a guy.  The kids are all different forms of a the quintessential geek, D&D, LoTR, Hobbit-loving gang of misfits.  All of the performances seem to be directed with that in mind, emphasizing one emotional note at a time rather than going for layers.  Very early eighties where there wasn't a lot of trust in audiences to pick up on subtle nuance within characterization.  

It's serving the story pretty well at the moment in all areas except for poor Winona's "frantic mom" thing.  Also, for the love of all things related to follicles, I don't think we need her hair to look quite as perpetually alarmed as it does for us to get "No really, she's freaking the hell out, 24/7".  At first I thought it was just Ryder playing it broad, but across the board there's that slightly cardboard feeling to most of the characters.   

I particularly love how Nancy's parents are apparently profoundly deaf because they can't hear conversations , footsteps or inept teenage boys hurling themselves at the roof.  I get that it is supposed to be emphasizing that helicopter parents weren't really a thing in 1983, but since most of this is going down at a time when one of their kid's friends has gone missing, it's particularly amusing that they are on the very opposite of high alert.  That and apparently neither ever go near the basement, at all, as there is a stray, spooky child in a tent, out in the middle of the rec room.  One of their son's best friends is missing, you'd think they'd at least cast a look or two around the actual premises, just in case. 

Edited July 29, 2016 by stillshimpy

[Kalliste]

On 7/17/2016 at 0:17 AM, SeanC said:

 Also, my main thought whenever Steve is onscreen is that he looks uncannily like a young Jean-Ralphio.

I keep thinking this too, I actually looked him up to see if it was him. He is somewhat less annoying though :D Not that it would be hard.

On 7/26/2016 at 11:01 AM, GenL said:

I thought Eleven called Matthew Modine's character "papa"?  

Same, unless she has been raised to believe he is her father and actually is Hopp's daughter.

I'm pretty intrigued by the Eleven story at this point, much more than any of the other storylines really. I would be happy having more of the secret organisation stuff than the 'my son is missing!" stuff.

[hatchetgirl]

I'm a firm believer that Wynona Ryder went to the Banana Slug School of Acting, along with Nick Cage, so no big surprise here.  I agree that I 

I'm enjoying this, but it's way slow.  

I think we'll find out that the Sheriff's daughter fell off that quarry cliff and that's why he knows what happens when a body hits water like that.  

I, embarrassingly, had to admit to my hubby that I had Barb's hair.  Boy it's bad.  I didn't have the jacket though.  

Quote

Clearly Barb was in a parallel dimension, right?? It was the "same" pool she was trying to climb out of...?

Did I miss something?  I saw her sitting on the diving board and then gone. I didn't see her trying to climb out of a pool.  

Edited August 3, 2016 by hatchetgirl
To add that I had Barb Hair.

[nodorothyparker]

Poor Barb.  She's doing her best to be the dutiful best friend in that hair and those glasses and high-waisted jeans and what does it get her?  Taken by the monster in the two seconds while voyeur boy is changing film and Nancy is off getting some.  These teenagers are really going to need a slasher or something to show up soon.

Winona Ryder is still only hitting the same note over and over.  When the walls are bulging, girl, it's time to get out of the house and stay the hell out.  I guess she'll be back at the dollar store or wherever the next day to guilt her boss into giving her a third phone to fry.

The kids in this continue to be absolutely terrific. It's hitting every last 80s movie cliche in the box but it's working for me.  Eleven's monosyllabic ET schtick could become very tedious very quickly but so far the actress has my attention and has me wanting to know what happened to her that she seems to have no idea about general societal stuff.

Edited August 6, 2016 by nodorothyparker

[OceanicFlight818]

While I am loving the show so far, what I'm really dropping in to say is that I like the "long form" recap that we got for this one....reminds me of the old TWoP days, which is a good thing!

[lark37]

I'm enjoying this enormously. Other than GoT, this summer has been pretty abysmal as far as TV goes. The stellar reviews brought me to watch this show, and it hasn't disappointed. Yes its silly that Mike's parents don't hear the boys practically yelling at Eleven and his mom apparently never cleans her basement, but sci-fi usually requires some suspension of belief. I like Winona Ryder and to be fair, has the script so far given her much to do other than whine and cry? An actor can only do so much with the material given!

[guilfoyleatpp]

On 7/24/2016 at 9:33 AM, Laurie4H said:

On a random note.  The Bangles song Hazy Shade of Winter is from 1988....I'm very nitpicky about that.  lol

That bugged the shit out of me too.  Hazy Shade is very 1987 to me. Not 1983.

Melt with you was spot on, though.

[nodorothyparker]

I'm trying not to be super nitpicky about it as long as they're getting the story relevant stuff right, but I did catch that too.  I loved that song (and the Bangles) so I did remember that it was in the movie trailers for Less Than Zero, which came out when I was in high school a couple of years later.  It would be a much bigger deal to me if this was the song the characters were playing over and over like Should I Stay or Should I Go.

[david gideon]

I wonder if the title of this ep is a reference to the Twilight Zone ep The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street. Or not. Sometimes Maple Street is just a street.

[Sader87]

The mention of the band The Smiths (in Indiana 1983) is probably wrong too. Very few in America knew of the Smiths in 1983....much less people living in rural Indiana. 

[Danny Franks]

Loved the ET homage, with Mike showing Eleven his Star Wars figures and toy dinosaurs. That brought a huge smile to my face. Even bigger than Eleven's smile the first time she tried the La-Z-Boy. The young actress playing Eleven is tremendous at generating empathy, just through her facial expressions. A very nice performance from her, so far. Hopefully she'll start to speak a bit more, as the season continues.

Jonathan, Nancy and Steve remind me even more of the Goonies now. The pretty, popular 'good girl', her douchebag boyfriend and the guy from the wrong side of the tracks. I'm sure that's what the writers are going for, there. But it looks like Nancy might be short a best friend, now. I hope she becomes more than the winsome, pretty, misguided girl soon.

I'm glad Matthew Modine is a villain because I've never liked him. Never could figure out why people once thought he was movie hero material. He always comes across as very cold and aloof, an old fashioned patrician type. Which seems to be what he's playing here, so far.

I'm loving the music that the show has used so far. I'll Stop the World and Melt With You is a great tune (and it reminds me of Chuck so, doubly good). They need to release this soundtrack, or put it on Spotify as a playlist (along with the cool credit music).

The bulging wall freaked the shit out of me, I have to say. There's something about that trope that is just creepy as hell. Walls, lights, creepy staticky phone calls sending you fleeing your house in the middle of the night. These are reasons why I'd never want to live out in the middle of nowhere.

[nodorothyparker]

There is an extremely thorough Spotify soundtrack that includes the credits theme. 

[thuganomics85]

11 showing the boys some of her mind powers was a fun scene.  I liked how quickly they went from stunned to accepting, because I imagine at that age, that would be a pretty cool reveal.  I do hope she starts opening up to them more soon, and they don't keep this mystery going for too long when it comes to her, but the actress is really selling.  At least we did get a few things, like she apparently calls Matthew Modine's character "Papa" (I'm guessing not blood-related, but he was like a father to her), and she seems to have some idea about what happened to Will.

As soon as the older teens said they were going to go to a party, I knew something bad was going to happen to them, and sure enough, it was poor Barb that got taken by whatever this thing is.  They even had it happen while Nancy and Steve were getting it on, which is just another version of the "Sex leads to bad things!" trope, that is common from film/shows in that era.  Actually, that still happens to this day.  I knew hope this leads somewhere soon, and Nancy gets more interesting, although the actress is very winning.

I do like that Will's presence is still around, thanks to the flashbacks.  I wonder if they'll keep having one for each episode until the big mystery is revealed.

Chief Hopper continues to be my favorite.  David Harbour is perfect for the role.

The little scare scene with Joyce was intense and creepy, even if I still find Winona Ryder a bit over-the-top in a lot of it.  Then again, her child is missing, so I guess it would make sense that Joyce would be frantic.

[Kel Varnsen]

Do we know the doc isn't El's bio dad? With the ethics he has, having sex with your test subjects wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

I thought about the "sex=death"trope too and found it interesting that isn't it usually the people who have sex who die? I am not a big horror movie guy but that is what Scream taught me.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Kel Varnsen

[methodwriter85]

On 8/22/2016 at 10:49 AM, doram said:

The old tropes would have had Nancy bite it - first victim dies from sex - and virgin! Barb would have been the Final Girl. 

Let's be honest here. Barb would never be the Final Girl, because the Final Girl must, above all else, be conventionally pretty and thin. I gotta tell you though, I finally have my wish-cast for Eleanor in the movie version of Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park.

I did feel for Barb. I can't shot-gun a beer for shit, either.

It's fun watching this version of 1983, compared to The Americans version of 1983.

[Snookums]

Quote

I'm loving the music that the show has used so far.

I nearly died of love when they used "I've Been Waiting (For A Girl Like You)" during the sex scene. It was just the A #1 Perfect Choice for those characters trying to make this a romantic, important event. You could tell Steve truly thought that that song proved how sophisticated and adult he was. And I kinda wanted to cue it up and grab my husband but he would have passed out laughing.

[EarlGreyTea]

Finn as Mike gave a great performance this episode. Goes without saying that Millie/Eleven did too, but they had a great give and take in their scenes together. I think they auditioned together, and Millie said she felt they had great chemistry from the start. Eleven's seriousness and silence contrasts nicely with his friendliness and chatter - and it illustrates how much Eleven has missed out on a childhood. The La-Z-Boy moment was probably one of the only times she genuinely smiled in the whole series.

Mike seems to have been established as the heart of the group, and he showed major empathy toward Eleven, making sure the other boys didn't pester her, offering up his sleeping bag to her, giving her food, showing her all his toys. A kid's idea of gracious hosting. Gotta say it was cruel of him to give her an Eggo waffle without syrup though.

My favorite moment of the entire series is the boys' complete freakout to Eleven trying to change in front of them and her complete bafflement at their reaction.

Actor playing Will looks SO much like he belongs in the Culkin family. He's a ringer for Kieran Culkin.

Edited September 6, 2016 by EarlGreyTea

[methodwriter85]

On 9/1/2016 at 0:45 AM, Snookums said:

I nearly died of love when they used "I've Been Waiting (For A Girl Like You)" during the sex scene. It was just the A #1 Perfect Choice for those characters trying to make this a romantic, important event. You could tell Steve truly thought that that song proved how sophisticated and adult he was. And I kinda wanted to cue it up and grab my husband but he would have passed out laughing.

I really loved that choice, too. Foreigner seems to be a go-to "sexy times" song if you're looking for something from the late 1970's through the mid-80's. I still remember Sam Beckett sexing up a psychic to "I Want To Know What Love Is" in an episode of Quantum Leap set to 1985. And this spring, there was a rather funny scene of Tyler Hoechlin getting ready for a 1980 night out in the movie Everybody Wants Some, to the tune of "Urgent."

[zxy556575]

10 hours ago, EarlGreyTea said:

My favorite moment of the entire series is the boys' complete freakout to Eleven trying to change in front of them and her complete bafflement at their reaction.

It was funny but it also told us something horrific about Eleven's past. I think the show was careful not to imply any sexual abuse, but just the fact of the hospital gown instead of actual clothing and that El thought it was normal to undress in front of people ... ugh.

[EarlGreyTea]

On 9/6/2016 at 8:15 AM, lordonia said:

It was funny but it also told us something horrific about Eleven's past. I think the show was careful not to imply any sexual abuse, but just the fact of the hospital gown instead of actual clothing and that El thought it was normal to undress in front of people ... ugh.

Interesting take! I actually didn't see it that way, because like you said sexual abuse was never implied (thank God). I saw it more like she has no idea about societal norms and privacy, not because she'd been forced to undress in front of people. But you're probably right - poor girl probably had no privacy, not even in her own mind.

In a similar vein, when Mike gives her his sweatpants to wear, she holds the cloth up to her cheek like she's never felt anything so soft before on her skin. Which she probably hadn't, aside from that Benny's burgers shirt. Which also tells us something depressing about her past.

Edited September 9, 2016 by EarlGreyTea

[VCRTracking]

Still don't know how the boys knew Eleven was a girl if she didn't speak until they got to Mike's house.

[lezlers]

On ‎11‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 10:47 PM, VCRTracking said:

Still don't know how the boys knew Eleven was a girl if she didn't speak until they got to Mike's house.

She's got a feminine face.  The burger place owner did the same thing.  Thought she was a boy initially then, only after looking at her for a minute, realized she was actually a girl.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

It's not at all surprising that a girl who was locked up in a creepy quasi-scientific facility (purpose still TBD) has no idea about social norms, privacy, or appropriate behavior with kids her own age. But as sad as that is, I love that the boys are still young enough that they were firmly against her undressing in front of them. You know that most high school boys would welcome a girl their age in any state of undress in their presence.

Poor Barb - she was trying to do the right thing for her best friend (accompanying her to a party she didn't want to attend, being a very obviously ignored fifth wheel, warning Nancy not to go upstairs and do something stupid, and then waiting for Nancy - even though Nancy said she would get a ride home) and what does she get in return? Attacked by the mystery monster!

I really liked Jonathan because he has taken on a lot of responsibility in his family. He is obviously used to being one of the parents in the household, taking care of both his little brother and his mom. But he really lost me with his creepy stalker pictures in the bushes. I mean, I want to give him a little bit of credit because he came upon the party accidentally (which is better than going there on purpose to spy) but damn, dude.

I totally love the musical choices. "I Melt with You" always reminds me of Valley Girl and "Hazy Shade of Winter" is totally Less Than Zero for me.

On 7/24/2016 at 9:33 AM, Laurie4H said:

On a random note.  The Bangles song Hazy Shade of Winter is from 1988....I'm very nitpicky about that.  lol

According to wikipedia, The Bangles had been playing that song live since 1983 but they never recorded it until they were asked to contribute a song to the Less Than Zero soundtrack. Both the single and the soundtrack were released in November 1987. So I guess technically the show could claim that people who had attended Bangles shows would be familiar with that song, but let's be real - most people didn't hear it until the movie promos began in 1987.

I find it sweet that Mike was so determined to help Eleven (even before she recognized Will in his photo), but I also understand Lucas and Dustin's concern. Despite this, DUDE, you guys, just because she doesn't speak a lot doesn't mean she's deaf so maybe quit talking shit about her RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER. Even after they found out she had Firestarter superpowers, they were still talking about her like she wasn't even in the same room.

[Casually Observant]

On 7/29/2016 at 10:12 AM, stillshimpy said:

Nancy's story is driving me nuts at the moment.  She's supposed to be a dedicated student, very serious about school....who immediately ditches that because of a guy's interest in her.  I know cliches exist for a reason and in '83 it's not like we were steeping in Girl Empowerment Messages but since that's essentially all we know about her I tend to focus on irritating things like, "Yeah, first time shotgunning a beer...without an epic belch, eh? Puleaze."  They've just delicate-flowered Nancy up to an irksome degree.  

Yes - Nancy is the good girl from the good family.  She would not have just chugged that beer and ditched her friend.  That went completely against type in my opinion.  You never ditch your friend, not even for a cute guy.  So that rang false to me.  Especially when Barb cut herself, Nancy should have felt really bad and decided they should leave and should have driven Barb home.  Steve and his friends were being such a**holes that Nancy should have been offended and walked away. But, I guess she is just weak and stupid. Gah! I hate women who do this.
I particularly love how Nancy's parents are apparently profoundly deaf because they can't hear conversations , footsteps or inept teenage boys hurling themselves at the roof.  I get that it is supposed to be emphasizing that helicopter parents weren't really a thing in 1983, but since most of this is going down at a time when one of their kid's friends has gone missing, it's particularly amusing that they are on the very opposite of high alert.  That and apparently neither ever go near the basement, at all, as there is a stray, spooky child in a tent, out in the middle of the rec room.  One of their son's best friends is missing, you'd think they'd at least cast a look or two around the actual premises, just in case. 

So true - if Nancy and Mike's mom had any kind of mothering skills she would have been really agitated that her son's friend was missing and would have asked all kinds of questions and not let any of the kids out after dark until further notice.  The Dad is written as such a dull, uninvolved parent. I just want to go and shake him.

One more gripe - The littlest daughter with the pig tails.  She looked to be about 3 or 4 and she doesn't speak. She looks terriby neglected. She just sits there with no parental attention.  I kept thinking, "What is wrong with this little girl?  Is she going to turn out to be 'special' in some way?"  Otherwise, having her in the scenes seem unnecessary.

 

 

On 8/6/2016 at 3:09 PM, nodorothyparker said:

Poor Barb.  She's doing her best to be the dutiful best friend in that hair and those glasses and high-waisted jeans and what does it get her?  Taken by the monster in the two seconds while voyeur boy is changing film and Nancy is off getting some.  These teenagers are really going to need a slasher or something to show up soon.

True, if we are following the usual trope, naughty kids get killed first.  (They asked for it, didn't they?)  Now, Barb was a true friend. She didn't deserve the poor treatment by the rest. I felt bad that she was still out there sitting on the diving board, waiting for her friend Nancy, when the creepy thing gets her.  

Winona Ryder is still only hitting the same note over and over.  When the walls are bulging, girl, it's time to get out of the house and stay the hell out.  I guess she'll be back at the dollar store or wherever the next day to guilt her boss into giving her a third phone to fry.

Ha ha!  Yes.  Working at the Dollar Store.  That about sums it up.  

The kids in this continue to be absolutely terrific. It's hitting every last 80s movie cliche in the box but it's working for me.  

Except, I didn't like how the boys were being so mean to Eleven and shouting at her. I felt that was pushing the bounds of believability.