30 easters eggs you might have missed in Stranger Things 4 Volume 1
By Daniel Roman
10. Vecna’s Hand
Season 4’s main villain Vecna contains a multitude of easter eggs. To start, he has a giant, claw-like left hand. This is a reference to the D&D character Vecna, for whom this Vecna is named; the D&D Vecna has a monstrous hand infused with dark magic.
The design of Vecna’s hand is also a nod to Freddy Krueger, the Nightmare on Elm Street villain who had a huge influence on this season in general. Krueger had a glove with razors attached to it like long claws; he wore it on his right hand, though.
11. Chrissy and Jaws
One of the many films referenced in Stranger Things 4 is Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. Will Byers has a Jaws movie poster in his bedroom, and back in the earlier seasons Hopper drove the same type of Chevrolet Blazer as Chief Brodie.
Stranger Things 4 also has another big nod to Jaws: the first victim of the shark in that movie is named Chrissie. A different Chrissy is Vecna’s first victim in Stranger Things 4.
12. Upside Down camera angles
After being largely absent from season 3, the Upside Down returns in force in Stranger Things 4. Much of Episode 7 revolves around the older teens being stuck in that haunting dimension. There’s one particular camera pan that flips from right side up to upside down as it shows the two groups of kids riding their bikes to the Munsen trailer, which plays off the idea of the Upside Down being a mirror dimension.
But it’s not the only time that type of shot crops up in season 4. During Episode 2 when Chrissy’s body is discovered, the camera begins with an upside-down shot of the trailer park that gradually shifts to an overhead view of the crime scene, underlining that Vecna attacked her from the Upside Down.
13. Vecna the Spider
Late in season 4, we discover that Henry Creel had an obsession with a nest of black widow spiders he discovered in the Creel House. Vecna is linked with spiders several times; he hangs from a bunch of tentacles like a spider in a web while he psychically hunts his prey. Vecna also traps his quarry in a helpless state, which is how spiders kill bugs unlucky enough to get caught in their webs.
And if we want to get real deep on the spider stuff, Pennywise from Stephen King’s IT also has a giant spider form. The Duffer Brothers have said that IT was one of their biggest original influences for Stranger Things, and there are quite a few nods to it this season.
14. Bitchin’!
In Episode 2 of Stranger Things 4, Mike flies to California to spend spring break with Eleven and the Byers family. Though Eleven has been struggling with bullies at school and generally having a hard time adjusting to normal life, she is determined to put up a front that everything is fine.
As they arrive at the Rink-o-Mania skating rink, El turns to Mike and says, “Bitchin’, right?” This is a nod to season 2; Eleven picked up this bit of slang from the psychic teenager Eight during her time in Chicago.
15. The Roller Rink spectacle
Of course, El’s charade falls apart in spectacular fashion. In Episode 2, Eleven is trapped on the roller skating rink by a group of bullies and humiliated while a crowd of other teens laugh at her. It culminates in her getting a milkshake dumped on her. A short while later, Eleven snaps and seriously injures main bully Angela.
The set-up of this scene feels like a nod to Stephen King’s Carrie, which features a scene at a school prom where the main character is similarly humiliated before having a bucket of pig’s blood dumped on her. Like Eleven, Carrie snaps…except it’s much, much more gruesome.
16. The Hawkins Post
As a way to get Eddie Munsen’s uncle to talk to her about Chrissy’s murder, Nancy commiserates with the guy about how rude journalists can be. In particular, they joke about the Hawkins Post, with Nancy saying that her old colleague there, Chuck Bailey, “doesn’t know his ass from his elbow.”
Both Nancy and Jonathan worked at the Hawkins Post in season 3, where they were constantly abused in the workplace; especially Nancy, owing to her being a woman working at a male-dominated business. So when she talks to Eddie’s uncle about the Hawkins Post, she knows what she’s talking about.
17. Michael Myers
In that same conversation between Nancy and Wayne Munson, he relays the story of Victor Creel. Wayne believes Victor is responsible for Chrissy’s death, since the murder is so strikingly similar to the way Creel’s family died back in the ’50s. He compares Victor to Michael Myers, the white-masked serial killer from the Halloween movies. The first Halloween film came out in 1978, several years before this season of Stranger Things is set.
18. The Video Store
The Family Video store where Steve and Robin work is a goldmine of references to ’80s movies. There’s a lifesize cardboard cutout of Freddy Krueger, the iconic villain from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. There are displays for Raiders of the Lost Arc and European Vacation, as well as posters for a slew of movies including The Last Dragon, The Man With One Red Shoe, and Teen Wolf. Then there’s the list of borrowed movies Robin goes through when she, Steve, Dustin, and Max are tracking down Reefer Rick, which include a ton of other titles. It’s an easter egg extravaganza!