Super 8 and 4 Other Best Movies to Watch While Waiting for Stranger Things Season 5
Two Stephen King adaptations, mysterious child abductions, and a search for pirate treasure.
Season 5 of the Duffer Brothers' Stranger Things won't be released anytime soon – not until November 26. If you're a Hawkins fan who misses fighting monsters, here's a list of movies with similar styles and plots.
1. The Black Phone, 2021
It's the 1970s in a small town where the strong beat the weak at school, indifferent adults beat defenseless children at home, and a masked maniac roams the streets.
Another missing child report makes everyone anxious, but Finney is more frightened by his alcoholic father. Meanwhile, his sister, Gwen, has prophetic dreams of her friends being kidnapped.
When Finney becomes the next victim, Gwen digs through her dreams to find her brother.
2. The Goonies, 1985
This iconic '80s film tells the story of children and teenagers who accidentally discover a pirate map in the attic.
The kids' family is threatened with eviction, so finding the treasure could save their home. A series of traps, labyrinths in caves, and pursuit by bandits are only a few of the many obstacles they face on their way to the three-hundred-year-old treasure.
3. Stand by Me, 1986
Stand by Me, directed by Rob Reiner, is a film adaptation of Stephen King's novella The Body. It is one of King's rare works without a mystical component.
The plot follows four teenage friends who, upon learning that the body of a missing boy is in the woods, decide to go see it and become local heroes.
4. Super 8, 2011
In 1979, a group of teenagers are filming a movie about a zombie invasion. During filming, the young filmmakers witness an accident on the railroad tracks.
A train derails, and for some reason, their schoolteacher ends up at the scene of the disaster. The next morning, the military arrives in the city, and people and their dogs begin to disappear. In short, very strange things are happening.
5. It, 2017
It would be a crime not to mention this other adaptation of the King of Horror's novel. In the fourth season of Stranger Things, a new villain appears: Vecna.
Viewers now know that the former lab test subject has always been present in the Upside Down, waiting for the right moment. When choosing victims, Vecna seems to pay homage to another kidnapper – Pennywise.
It features losers on bicycles, the motif of a cursed city, a scary old house, and finally, Finn Wolfhard.