When we think of classic 80s thrillers that made millions off of suspense, it’s hard not to think about the Jaws franchise. A huge great white shark devouring those looking to stop destruction. Yeah, that’s some pretty gruesome and intense stuff. It also happened to be a source of inspiration for a particular scene from season two of Stranger Things.
80s Thriller Jaws was Tapped for Stranger Things Inspiration
“Keery’s character Steve needs to exit the bus to face off with Dart, who brought a few friends — but all the demodogs are supposed to be added in later with CGI,” according to SYFY.
“So how does director Andrew Stanton help get Keery in the mood to stand his ground, and then run like hell, with no visual stimulus? ‘We had Jaws cranked,’ he says, referring to the signature riff from the iconic 1975 shark thriller.”
With a maxed out visual effects budget, Stanton had to weigh his options for creating an intense scene. So, he tapped into Jaws and the films ability to create a suspenseful moment without actually showing the creature until the moment of impact.
“‘What if we couldn’t see any of the demodogs attack the bus?’ he remembers thinking,” according to the report.
“The creatures would throw their bodies against the fortified bus, the bus would rattle and shake, and the characters would defend themselves against monsters unseen until a pivotal moment. And to remind the actors of the sense of suspense he wanted, ‘to truly get that feel, and to get the pace of it, and everyone’s heart rate up,’ he used the Jaws soundtrack.”
Now that we think about it, that scene did have a lot of similar aspects to those in the Jaws franchise films. There’s no doubting the effect of that killer and suspenseful music that played when the killer shark was nearby. Here’s to Stranger Things keeping 80s classics alive, even if it’s just subtle.
