Horror Report

Tag: stranger things

  • The official Stranger Things social accounts make us get our sunmer Scoops Ahoy all in a tizzy

    The official Stranger Things social accounts make us get our sunmer Scoops Ahoy all in a tizzy

    Call it the summer of comfortity gate.. or just a refresher for fans who long for the summer of 2019 when Stranger Things season 3 got released in the fourth of July proving that one summer casln change everything ..

    But we are fans.. so we will bite..

    The official account went to the socials on Memorial Day to showcase a number of nostalgic images from season 3.. but some are wondering if there’s a hidden message that aa summer of stranger things is coming !!

    People are wondering could this be a hint or just a cheap plot to play on the emotional fragility of fans still dealing with season 5 instability …

  • Immersed in the first shadow on Broadway

    Immersed in the first shadow on Broadway

    As this is written, I just got back from a sunny beautiful New York City, center of the universe.

    A Saturday night with busy crowds and life abounding, and we sat in a Broadway theater enjoying Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Not sure where people reading this are from or how far a quest to New York City would be for you but should you happen to have the spare jingle and time it would serve your needs if you’re a Stranger Things fan to see this.

    From the moment the play opens it blows you away. You’re told by staff to silence your phones and you’ll be admonished if you’re not doing that, but because of the intensity and immediacy of the action you don’t even think about recording it.

    A lot of people have given a lot of five star reviews and influential publications have said that they were blown away by this live performance of The First Shadow.

    The group I saw with and the audience I saw it with clearly were blown away. A couple of kids who were perhaps a bit too young were taken from the audience because of the intensity of some scenes but everybody else respectfully laughed when they should have, jumped when they didn’t know what was coming, and cheered in an enormous round of applause for the actors in this play. You probably already know a bit about The First Shadow.

    Stranger Things: The First Shadow was written by Kate Trefry, based on an original story by Trefry along with Matt and Ross Duffer and Jack Thorne.

    The play serves as a prequel to the Netflix series and takes audiences back to Hawkins in 1959, long before the events of the television show.

    The production first premiered in London’s West End before making its way to Broadway where it has quickly become one of the most talked about live theatrical experiences in recent memory. Critics and fans have praised the production for somehow capturing the cinematic scale of Stranger Things while still feeling like live theater, with many reviews singling out the visual effects, sound design, performances, and shocking stage illusions as something audiences have rarely seen before in a Broadway production.

    Perhaps what was the most amazing of all was the first few minutes. I’m only going to spoil it in this way, when the play opens up it’s immediate action. We’re thrown back into the teenage years of our favorite adult cast from the Stranger Things Netflix series. Isabella Pappas as Joyce is spot on and she and Louis McCartney as Henry Creel steal the show. And once that opening sequence, a very loud opening sequence mind you, happens we immediately are immersed into the opening song with the stage showing the famous Stranger Things logo appearing just like it did on the Netflix show. It suddenly feels like we’re not watching a play but instead we are in the actual world of Stranger Things itself.

    Going to Broadway or theater or plays will do that but the action, the animatronics, the screens, and the set design and tricks played by this show’s staff morphs you into a silent observer in the world of The First Shadow. It feels like you’re there with Henry Creel as he discovers his powers and evil takes itself over. The only other thing I’ll sort of ruin for you is not the ending of the play itself because again, you may have already ruined that for yourself and read about it, but expect to be in awe of a very famous character making an appearance at the extreme end. And what I really loved about it is as we see the post show song play on the screen in front of us on the stage appears that famous little Netflix clickable item of either watching the credits or clicking on the next episode. It gave our audience a laugh while we cheered and instead of the next show playing since the play was over we watched the credits as the cast and crew came out to a roaring lengthy ovation.

    I will say the play seemed flawless. Of course there’s errors that the random viewer may or may not really pick up on but that’s fine, they perfect them as they continue doing plays. But for the audience that saw it today we were in awe and I could have sat through three more hours. Watching this play actually gives you a certain sense of sadness about how season 5 actually was. So many things from the youth of our adults get referenced but not expanded on during season 5. And perhaps it’s just because there was not enough time and the congruity of everything working together doesn’t really flow but, if you have the abilities and means to get there it’s highly advisable that you see The First Shadow on Broadway.

    The cast broke a leg and with Henry Creel in action, many many legs..

  • The Duffers appear to be happy sad and Confused

    The Duffers appear to be happy sad and Confused

    Last night the Duffer Brothers appeared at a live Happy Sad Confused podcast event in Los Angeles and for a fandom already hanging on every rumor surrounding Stranger Things 5 and the so called “Conformity Gate” theories, the event immediately became dissected online in real time. Livestreams  started popping up before audience members were politely asked to stop recording because the discussion was being taped officially for a future podcast release. But by then the attendees had already started taking notes…



    According to attendees, the Duffer Brothers touched on everything from Vecna inspirations to the emotional ending of the series, awkward moments involving Noah Schnapp discussions, Season 2 regrets, the future animated series, music licensing nightmares involving Prince, The Beatles and Michael Jackson, and even strange behind the scenes stories including Joe Keery allegedly officiating a wedding in a Scoops Ahoy costume.


    One thing that immediately stood out from fan reactions online was the feeling that the Duffers seemed surprised some viewers believe Eleven is dead. That alone is probably going to launch another avalanche of theories. At the same time, when “Conformity Gate” was brought up, the brothers reportedly didn’t really engage the theory directly but instead appreciated how closely fans pay attention to the details in their work.


    That answer probably won’t satisfy people who spent months turning Stranger Things into a forensic investigation.


    Some of the bigger revelations or talking points from attendees included the Duffer Brothers admitting they would redo the controversial Season 2 Episode 7 if given the chance. They reportedly clarified that the episode was never intended as a spinoff setup and said they simply wanted to take a big creative swing instead of remaking Season 1 over and over again. They also admitted that ending production on the final season was emotional and that filming the final scene deeply affected them, especially watching Finn Wolfhard perform it in what was allegedly one take while the rest of the cast watched emotionally from behind the cameras.


    Fans online also became hyper focused on comments involving Noah Schnapp and Will Byers. According to audience notes, the Duffers discussed spending a lot of time with Noah during production, mentioned how many questions he asks, and referenced incidents where he allegedly scared production crews by climbing onto things or nearly hurting himself during filming. Some fans interpreted parts of the conversation as awkward or tense while others thought it was simply the brothers joking around in a blunt way that didn’t necessarily land with everybody.
    Another interesting point involved Will Byers’ story arc.

    The Duffers reportedly said that at one point a new love interest for Will may have been discussed, but ultimately they decided his journey was more internal and personal instead of being driven by another outside character.

    Byler was never in the cards..



    The brothers reportedly talked about the challenge of securing music rights for the series and mentioned artists like Prince, The Beatles and Michael Jackson as some of the hardest names to clear. There were also discussions involving why “Purple Rain” was chosen creatively, although some attendees admitted they missed portions of the explanation while trying to take notes quickly.


    Meanwhile the future of the Stranger Things universe was also teased. The animated series appears to be moving forward and was reportedly described as already greenlit for another season. Questions about the live action spinoff were handled far more cautiously with the brothers refusing to reveal much other than saying they do not want to rush it and that it has to be “awesome or forget it.”


    And perhaps the most fascinating thing about the entire event was not necessarily what was said… but how people reacted afterward.


    The Duffer brothers gave us excitement for the past decade and over the past 5 months have become very divisive in the entertainment world. The divisiveness is clearly on display even after the event last night, it doesn’t seem so much damage control was being done but instead the duffers were just being themselves. And that can be appreciated, but the fandom being themselves didn’t seem to appreciate it that much.


    In the end this was just a show but as many shows go for so many people it was more than a show and characters that we got to know as though they were real and we had hopes and aspirations for those characters that many times were deflated. But the biggest deflation of all probably came after the show was done when people point it out all of the plot holes and themes such as time travel never really explored.

    The appearance on this podcast probably will not do much to assuage fans who are upset.

  • Tales from 85 in 26

    Tales from 85 in 26

    Today’s the day!
    The Stranger Things universe is expanding again with Tales From ’85, and yes… the gang is back in animated form..


    This animated take on Hawkins is set between Seasons 2 and 3, filling in that gap in the timeline. But if you’re expecting a full reunion with the older kids or the adult characters, don’t get your hopes too high. Cameos appear to be limited, and this version leans heavily into a different direction.


    Early reviews are already popping up across YouTube, and there’s a clear theme: this is not the same Stranger Things you’re used to.
    The biggest takeaway? It feels more geared towards a younger demographic..


    That doesn’t mean it’s completely disconnected. There are still plenty of 1980s references, some solid musical moments, and enough nostalgia baked in to remind you why you loved this world in the first place. But the tone is different and the animation has been described as a bit over the top, while the dialogue feels a little forced. (Have they seen season 5?!)



    Some fans are just happy to have anything new connected to Hawkins. More content, more lore, more time in that universe. Others aren’t so forgiving, already questioning why this animated series seems to be getting more attention—or at least more episodes—than the long-awaited final season.


    Yeah… Season 5 is still looming out there.
    And let’s not forget, the Conformity crowd is still hanging on to that “Episode 9” theory, waiting for something bigger, something hidden, something that ties it all together in a way we’re not seeing yet.
    So where does Tales From ’85 land?


    Right now… somewhere in the middle.
    It might be something you throw on and binge. It might be something you skip entirely. Or it might surprise you just enough to keep you watching.
    Either way… go in knowing what it is.
    Not the next chapter.


    Just another piece of the puzzle.
    Watch at your own discretion.
    We probably will too.
    And if it’s worth it… we’ll be talking about it again.

  • They were Heroes just for one day

    They were Heroes just for one day

    It’s been months now since the series finale of Stranger Things, and fans are forgetting… they’re forgetting quickly.


    Not just the friendships we made with each other, or the rekindled family moments watching the show and talking about theories together… but the friends we had on the show too. They were ours. We cried for Max Mayfield when she faced Vecna. We cheered for Murray Bauman. We stood against the Soviets. We were wrapped in nostalgia.


    And now… we just have nostalgia for the nostalgia.


    There’s a dullness to it now, like a blunted edge. The new animated series is coming, and no one really seems to care. The fading light of the The Duffer Brothers has cast a shadow over their newest project, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen. And maybe that title says more than it should about what happened when we saw the show!


    Because something very bad did happen.
    The fading star of Stranger Things.


    It was with us for nearly a decade… and then it was gone in an instant. So fast. Quietly slipping away with that closing credit scene, carried out by the haunting echo of a David Bowie song. It didn’t leave with a thud… it left with a whimper.


    Remember the days leading up to the finale? When we were all hoping like hell that Conformity Gate was real… that there was a secret episode coming. One more piece. One more answer. One more night in Hawkins.
    It never came.


    It was never going to.
    But even now, months later, sitting with it… I still feel like Vecna won.


    I know it was just fiction. I know that. But in this world that felt so real… it didn’t feel like a victory. We saw conformity through Mike’s eyes, and the ending felt bleak in a way that lingers longer than it should.


    Maybe one day we’ll get that reunion. Maybe the cast comes back, set in the 90s. Maybe we see who stayed friends… and who didn’t.
    Just like life.


    Because that’s the part that hits the hardest… they move on. And so do we.
    But every now and then, I catch myself. I have to snap out of it… out of that nostalgic fog where I’m thinking about a show that was never real, about people who never existed.

    The eulogy-like sendoff… it just lingers there as a reminder. Time moves on and things that feel massive today become memories tomorrow.
    And eventually they become something we almost forget.

    How we loathe nostalgia…

  • By now you heard a rumor and potentially spread it that Stranger Things will be a movie Next year.. Just Stop..

    By now you heard a rumor and potentially spread it that Stranger Things will be a movie Next year.. Just Stop..

    I’ve been seeing nothing but rumors online for about four or five days now claiming that a Stranger Things movie is coming next year.
    Here’s the problem.


    It’s not.
    Now listen .. I’ll be the first to enjoy being wrong about this. Seeing the season finale of Stranger Things in the movie theater was great. I do wish the finale had been a bit different than it was, but that’s another story. At least I got to hear “Heroes” over the end credits on a big screen. That was cool.


    But these baseless rumors about a Stranger Things movie next year? They’re circulating with no apparent source. No credible trade reporting. No official announcement. Just fake Netflix sites and fan accounts on social media repeating each other until it sounds real.
    And that’s the issue.


    This feels less like news and more like a pressure campaign to will some secret “Conformity Gate” Episode 9 into existence, the mythical lost chapter that people are convinced was quietly made.


    This isn’t forecasting.
    It’s wish casting.
    If this were the weather world, it would be the equivalent of declaring a blizzard because you hope it snows.


    Now, will there be more Stranger Things-adjacent content? Of course. We already know the animated series is coming. Netflix is planning to film the Broadway play for eventual broadcast. There will be spin-offs. There will be knock-offs. There will be things inspired by it for years.
    But that’s not the same as a surprise movie starring the original cast.


    Let’s be honest. They’re not kids anymore. The Duffer Brothers have moved on to other projects. And unless the stars align in some truly weird Upside Down way, the idea that the gang is secretly regrouping for a theatrical film next year feels… far-fetched.


    What bothers me most about these rumors isn’t even the rumor itself.
    It’s when the comments start treating the rumor as confirmed fact.


    That’s how things snowball.


    That’s how a baseless theory becomes a “factoid.”
    That’s how next year rolls around and people get angry over something that was never promised in the first place.


    Now again — I would love to be wrong. I’d absolutely show up. It would be fun to see what another installment could look like.
    But let’s face the music.


    It’s done, folks.
    The only “Episode 9” you’re getting is AI recreations of what could have been… or fan fiction filling in the gaps.


    And honestly? That might be okay.
    We still have the memories. We still have the music.


    And hey  we still have The Squawk over at wsqkfm.com.


    Unrelated to the show.
    But the music will play on.

  • We’re not just squawking about #TheSquawk, they’re playing music again

    We’re not just squawking about #TheSquawk, they’re playing music again

    We wrote a few weeks ago about this TikTok account we’ve been following for WSQK.. The one and only Squawk, and how it seemed like someone got green light permission to build a radio station tied to Stranger Things Season 5, but not officially through the Duffers or Netflix (at least, not that we could confirm).


    Since then we’ve tried reaching out for more info to the fine British lad who runs the streams and the social accounts. We haven’t heard back yet — so we still don’t have confirmation straight from him — but from watching his videos and how the station operates, it definitely feels like it’s a fan-based station that was allowed to exist, not something Netflix or the Duffers are directly managing.


    What is real and has been reported is that a real-world “WSQK The Squawk” station was launched in conjunction with the final season of Stranger Things by UK broadcaster Global, in partnership with Netflix U.K. as part of the show’s promotional experience. It plays nonstop ’80s hits, has in-universe segments like “Rewind at 9” and “Talk to Tammy,” and was set up to mirror the fictional radio station from the show…


    That station has run on DAB in London, on Global Player, and through smart speakers (just ask Alexa or Google to “Play The Squawk”). It was initially planned to broadcast into January and presented by DJs like Mindy Flare and Vance Goodman .. the same voices we all grew up with (lol) ..


    So it does seem as though a real, licensed, pop-up station was created around the finishing of the show and not just a random fan project. But who owns the wsqkfm.com site and runs that specific stream? That’s still unclear and we haven’t found any reliable ownership info through public record or domain lookup, so we’re not including guesses here.


    Still, if you’re like us and just can’t quite let go of Conformity Gate or the nostalgia of the ‘80s, you’ve probably been blasting the WSQK playlists all afternoon — and hopefully that’s been a blast for you as well.


    Here’s the website:
    https://www.wsqkfm.com/

  • The First Shadow coming to Netflix

    The First Shadow coming to Netflix

    There’s been a lot of speculation about what’s next in the Stranger Things universe, and today we may finally have a concrete new piece of the puzzle.


    According to an exclusive report from Collider, the Broadway prequel Stranger Things: The First Shadow is officially being professionally filmed by Netflix for a future release on the platform.
    For fans who haven’t been able to make it to Broadway or the West End, this is big news. Up until now, The First Shadow — which explores the origins of the show’s central villain  has been one of the most inaccessible pieces of the Stranger Things canon. In true Upside Down fashion, it existed… but just out of reach.


    Collider reports that a full week of performances, from Tuesday, February 10 through Saturday, February 14, has been canceled specifically to facilitate filming. Even better, the recorded version will feature the Tony Award–winning production’s original cast, including Louis McCartney, T.R. Knight, Gabrielle Nevaeh, and Alex Breaux. Netflix confirmed late last year that filming would happen, but this is the clearest signal yet that the release is truly on the way.
    This announcement may land differently depending on the type of fan you are.

    A lot of viewers were told — repeatedly — that seeing The First Shadow was almost required viewing before Season 5 of Stranger Things. And yet, many fans walked away from Season 5 feeling that the show didn’t strictly rely on the Broadway storyline after all. That disconnect left some hardcore fans confused about just how “essential” the play really was.


    Still, this is undeniably cool news.


    For those of us who wanted to get to the Broadway show but never quite made it happen, a Netflix release feels like the next best thing. And for the global fan base that simply couldn’t travel to see it, this opens the door in a huge way. Whether it ends up reframing Season 5 or simply adding texture and lore to the Stranger Things universe, making The First Shadow widely accessible feels like a win.


    More answers may still be hiding in the shadows   but at least now, everyone will get a chance to see them.

  • The NOPE heard around the upside down

    The NOPE heard around the upside down

    Season 5 of Stranger Things is now more than a month old–and still people are hoping a secret season finale episode will redeem what many thought was a less than strong conclusion to the long running show..

    Matthew Modine, PAPA for fans, was replying to comments on Instagram when he .. well.. gave some seemingly off the cuff and blunt thoughts about the finale of the show he was a star in..

    For your own enjoyment, it was a ‘nope’ heard around the upside down!

    The same Matthew Modine of course who also posted an interesting video of himself walking down a hall to 11’s room only days after the season finale..

  • Tales from 85 that maybe should have stayed there?

    Tales from 85 that maybe should have stayed there?

    The Stranger Things: Tales From ’84 trailer dropped… and it’s just not hitting for us.


    We wanted it to hit. We really did. But something about it just isn’t doing the business — at least not yet.
    Maybe it’s because animation is meant for a certain type of storytelling. When you think about it, some of the greatest animated stories eventually became live-action movies or television shows. But when it goes the other way around — when something that started with real people becomes animated — it rarely lands the same way.


    I think back to the A-Team cartoon and other 80s properties that began in the real world and then got swallowed up in the animated universe. They existed… but they never quite captured the same magic.
    Now, I’m not saying Tales From ’84 looks terrible. It doesn’t. The concept is interesting. The voice actors may be solid. Even the new character, while a little questionable, could surprise us.
    Maybe we’ll give it a try. Maybe we won’t.


    At this point, once Stranger Things ended, it really ended for us. We haven’t even watched the documentary. Like everyone else, we hoped for that secret ninth episode but deep down we knew it wasn’t coming.
    So in a way, we moved on.


    Maybe the cartoon will pull us back in?
    But the trailer didn’t.