Stranger Things fans have pointed out how the latest season broke a fourth wall with a reference to an iconic '80s horror villian.
Since it dropped last week, fans of the hit Netflix show have so far loved the fourth season, even if they do have to wait another month to see the final two episodes in the second instalment of the season.
There's only one more season to go after this, so it's a good sign that the show appears to be as strong as ever, garnering praise from critics and audiences alike.
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Stranger Things has always been choc-full of references to the '80s and the latest one has fans convinced the writers are straight up breaking the fourth wall.
For those not in the know, the 'fourth wall' is basically an imaginary wall that separates the fictional story from the real world, and this can be broken with references to the outside world.
In episode 5, when talking about this season's baddie, Vecna, and the way he attacks his victims, the Hawkins kids compared him to iconic horror movie villain, Freddy Krueger, of the 1984 film A Nightmare On Elm Street. This would be a relatively new movie to the characters, since season four is set just two years later in 1986.
TikToker @ellienorshellstrop was one of many who pointed out the broken fourth wall:
The thing is, the real Freddy Krueger, who was played by actor Robert Englund, actually joined the cast this season to play the part of Victor Creel, a convicted murderer locked away in an asylum with a special connection to Vecna.
You've got characters talking about Freddy Krueger when the man himself is right there on screen in the same episodes.
Fans have been loving the appearance of the horror movie icon, even more so the fourth wall breaking nature of the reference.
When we first see Englund on camera, he's dragging his fingernails across a table which what could be a reference to Krueger's terrifying razor glove.
The Duffer brothers themselves have confirmed Englund's casting was something they always wanted, calling him an 'icon of icons', and adding that Freddy Krueger was one of the main inspirations for Vecna.
Speaking to USA Today, the Stranger Things creators said they 'really wanted to go scary and explore the types of villains that shook us the most when we were kids' with season four.
Vecna's name may come from the undead lich, who serves as one of the most iconic and dangerous of villains in Dungeons & Dragons, but his appearance and his powers in Stranger Things are heavily inspired by Krueger.
In a strange way the show pays homage to this by having Vecna be the son of Englund's character, making Freddy Krueger into Vecna's dad in a weird, twisted showbiz sort of way.
The first volume of Stranger Things season four is available to stream on Netflix now, Volume Two will be hitting screens on 1 July.
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Topics: Stranger Things, Netflix
Joe Harker