“We never would have upset you if we knew you had superpowers.”
The focus for this second episode is the mysterious psychic girl, now ensconced in Mike’s basement and very insistent that no adult must know where she is or bad things will happen- as, of course, we have seen. It’s touching to see the growing connection between Eleven, as she tragically seems to be named, and Mike.
Meanwhile Joyce seems to be going off the rails after hearing Will’s voice in a phone call- but we see and hear what she does, which makes us emphasise with her. Plus Winona Ryder is VERY good. Will seems to be calling from wherever he is- and, in a nice nostalgic touch, this often tends to involve the then current “Should I Stay or Should I Go” from Combat Rock, a popular album from the Clash even if I personally think Sandinista was their last good album. We get a nice flashback with Jonathan teaching young Will about Joy Division, Bowie and Television as a good older brother should. We also get to see their douche of a dad, Lonnie, with a lot remaining unsaid- was he abusive?
Meanwhile, Nancy and her friend Barb (it’s weird seeing a teenager with glasses like that) are off to a party at the home off rich creep Steve, who wants to get inside Nancy’s pants. Creepily, Jonathan follows them and takes pictures of them while hiding- what’s he up to, seemingly perving around like this while his poor mother is receiving another weird phone call from Will and blowing up another phone and having weird experiences with light bulbs? This is eerie stuff in all sorts of ways. Especially when something starts pushing on the wall and impossibly distorting it. This is getting better and better.
And then poor Barb drips some blood in the pool and a monster gets her- yet another superb jump cut, and yet again not quite showing us a glimpse of the beast. This is exactly what horror should be. At this point I’m officially hooked.
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