The Duffer brothers were huge fans of science fiction and thriller works way before they became writers, directors, and producers. The twin brothers, Matt and Ross Duffer are the masterminds behind Stranger Things. Thanks to their successful Netflix sci-fi and horror series, their net worth grew exponentially. Each brother came to have a net worth of $16 million with an annual income of $1 million.
The brother's love for making films has always been there. Using a camera that their parents gave them, they started making films in the third grade. To nurture their love for films, the Duffer brothers studied film at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in California. The road to making Stranger Things was long as the Duffer brothers were inspired by so many works that kept adding to the making of their masterpiece.
9 The Duffer Brothers Were Inspired By The Movie Prisoners
The first inspiration for Stranger Things was from the 2013, Denis Villeneuve film, Prisoners. They got the idea of a man searching for his missing daughter. Piecing that with "more childlike sensibilities," according to the brothers, and adding a monster, experiments done on humans during the Cold War and the '80s, they got the premise for their show.
The brothers then proceeded to pay a tribute to some of their most beloved TV shows and films, creating a hit Netflix series.
8 The Duffer Brothers Were Inspired By Stephen King And George R.R. Martin
Turning the idea into a reality, the brothers wrote a 20-page pitch that very much resembled the works of Stephen King. The brothers were heavily influenced by the book "It." They loved how it had elements of childhood and adulthood, and a group of kids struggling with a scary clown. They were also inspired by The Shining, Firestarter, and more of King's works.
Much like the creator of Game of Thrones, the brothers wanted to color outside the lines. They wanted to keep the audience on edge, never able to guess what was next. Successfully, they created the complex and unpredictable story they wanted to create.
7 The Duffer Brothers Were Inspired By The Movie The Goonies
The Duffer brothers were highly influenced by Mikey from The Goonies to the point where they initially made Stranger Things' Mike based on him. According to the brothers, Mike was supposed to be a dreamer like Mikey. However, they fell in love with Finn Wolfhard and changed Mike to be more like him with that anxious and twitchy energy.
6 The Duffer Brothers Were Inspired By The Movie Stand By Me
Stand By Me was such a huge part of making Stranger Things that the cast auditioned using scenes from it. In the movie, the four kids found the corpse of a teenager, which is very similar to what happened to Will in the first season of Stranger Things.
Moreover, the brothers loved how the four friends in the movie were always in danger. It created a sense of excitement and unease that they wanted to recreate in their show. According to the Duffer brothers, "It was important for us to keep that danger alive: even though these kids are cute and lovable, it did not mean that the show will keep them safe."
5 The Duffer Brothers Were Inspired By The Video Game Silent Hill
Being hardcore fans of video games, the brothers were highly affected by the first Silent Hill video game. A lot of the Upside Down is similar to the video game and people caught on to that. Moreover, the writers were inspired by the amazing character development and the unfolding of the story of another video game: The Last of Us.
4 The Duffer Brothers Were Inspired By Working With M. Night Shyamalan
The brothers worked on the TV series, Wayward Pines, with the amazing writer and director, M. Night Shyamalan. During that time, Shyamalan mentored them, and they learned a lot from him. According to the Duffer brothers, they learned the 'ins-and-outs' of making a TV series, which ultimately gave them the confidence to create their own show.
The brothers worked before with many filmmakers and were always in awe of their work. However, if it wasn't for Shyamalan, they probably wouldn't have had enough experience and bravery to make their own successful TV show. Looking closely, their work is definitely influenced by the psychological horrors of Shyamalan.
3 The Duffer Brothers Were Inspired By Star Wars And The Lord Of The Rings
According to the Duffer brothers, Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back was a major source of inspiration. They wanted to recreate the feeling of feeling eager to know what happens next as Star Wars fans always felt. Inspired by The Lord of the Rings as well, they dreamed of making the audience of Stranger Things have the same feeling they felt while watching the characters of The Fellowship of the Ring head off to Mordor.
The end of the fourth season of Stranger Things was heavily inspired by Empire Strikes Back, as the brothers recreated the last scene of the movie. Both of them end with a wide shot of the backs of the main characters, looking at a dark supernatural being. They said in an interview with Collider, "We wanted to hand at the notion of war, and a supernatural war coming to Hawkins." And that they definitely did.
2 The Duffer Brothers Were Inspired By The TV Show True Detective
The Duffers admitted that watching the first season of True Detective was very inspiring for them. They were impressed by how the filmmaker, Cary Joji Fukunaga, had gotten into making a TV show. Seeing how good the first season of True Detective was, they hoped that maybe someone would take a chance on them to create their own TV show.
However, according to Ross Duffer, it was people like David Fincher and Jenji Kohans that paved the path of filmmakers making TV shows. That is why Netflix felt comfortable giving some newer voices a shot.
1 Other Movies That Influenced Stranger Things
There's a video online of scenes from Stranger Things parallel to different works. It highlights the similarities between the hit TV show and E.T, Close Encounters, Poltergeist, and a lot of the '80s most famous movies.