A large part of the appeal, at least in the infancy of Stranger Things , was its use of '80s nostalgia to tell its story. From the opening title to the look of the show itself, Stranger Things paid spiritual homage to creators like Stephen King , Steven Spielberg , and John Carpenter .

Even as the show dives into its final season, there are multiple references to iconic movies from the '70s and '80s that can be found in each episode of Stranger Things . While the list of movies that influenced the Netflix hit runs deep, the following 10 movies were large sources of inspiration for Stranger Things .

10 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' (1977)

Image via Columbia Pictures

Director Steven Spielberg aimed his camera from the ocean to outer space in Close

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