Finding my Beloved 80s-Style Horror in Stranger Things

I know that people usually fall on one side of the fence or the other about scary movies, but I love a good horror movie. There's something about the safety of getting scared when you know you're actually safe that does it for me. I don't do roller coasters but give me a good horror flick any day and I'm good to go. 

However, I've found (and this is going to make me sound old) that I often have trouble satisfying my need for a good horror movie with the ones coming out these days. There are exceptions. I liked The Conjuring. The Ring freaked me the hell out. The Strangers was great. But I often find with newer horror movies that either A) they don't scare me B) they rely on too many special effects or C) they're just too gory. 

I blame the 80s for my snobbery when it comes to this. Horror when I was growing up was creepy. Poltergeist. Halloween. It by Stephen King. Nightmare on Elm Street. The Exorcist. Sometimes you saw the monsters. And sure, there was gore. But they had that ultimate horror drug: DREAD. That feeling of not knowing quite what's going to happen but knowing that it's not going to be any kind of good. That's what I crave in a good scary movie.

So went I went online to vaguely complain about a recent horror film I didn't love, a number of people suggested I check out the show Stranger Things on Netflix. My mom had already mentioned it to me, so I decided to give it a try. It's set in the 80s, first of all, which got me interested immediately. But once I started watching it, I realized that they didn't just set it in that time period, they tried to nod to what horror movies were like in that era and even layer in references from movies from that time. I love it. It's creepy and there's a good level of "WTF is going on?" and monsters and government conspiracies and a band of kids trying to figure everything out. Love. It. I only have 3 episodes left of the first season, but it's already a winner for me.

So if you're like me and love a little old school scary, then you might want to check it out. Here's the trailer:

Oh and if you do watch it or already watching it, then you'll get why what happened in the video below freaked me out. Hubs and I had just finished watching two episodes when we shut off the TV and he left the room. I turned on the lamp and this is what happened. o.0 The show plays a lot with the idea of electricity and people communicating through it. Needless to say I was a little freaked out by my lamp's behavior lol. I called hubs back in the room and he was like, "Oh hell no. I don't want any part of that." Ha.

When you finish watching an episode of #StrangerThings , turn on your lamp and this happens. 0.o pic.twitter.com/YCmS6q86B5

— Roni Loren (@RoniLoren) August 3, 2016

Anyway, if you watch it, let me know what you think of the show. Any other horror movie fans out there? Which are your favorite movies or shows? I'll take recommendations! 

Life Lessons From Poltergeist

I'm true believer that every good story,whether it be a book, a movie, or a TV show, has a lesson--some nugget of knowledge that can help us get through life better. So I figured I'd start occasionally picking out a story here on the blog and sharing the most important things I learned from it.

And in honor of Halloween approaching, I figured I'd pick one of the formative horror movies of my young years--Poltergeist.

Now pay attention. If you don't heed these life lessons, you could end up sucked into the television. I'm doing you a public service. 

1. Never leave your TV on a white noise/snow channel. This is where the evil lurks.

2. Never trust a clown or have one in your house. (see the movie IT for further confirmation on this lesson.)

3. If your orthodontist tells you to get braces, ask for those invisalign things instead. The metal kind can attack you.

4. No large oaks should be within ten feet of your house because, well, they eat children.

(We actually had one of these trees in our yard when I first saw this movie. It would tap against our windows at night. I think it ate a few neighbors.)

5. If chairs do THIS in your house...Move. The. F*ck. Out. Okay? Let's not negotiate on this one.

6. And for the love of God, DO NOT go into the light. 

Here's the trailer for the movie, which contains one more lesson--if you have to ask the neighbors if they've experienced any disturbances lately, you should have already left town and be staying at a Holiday Inn. 

See, now aren't you glad you read this? You may have been walking down the street today and stumbled into a people-eating oak tree. Your welcome.

So were you a fan of this movie? Did it scare the bejeezus out of you like it did me at the time? What's your favorite 80s horror movie? And did I miss any life lessons from this one?