Stranger Things

What’s it about?

In the summer of 1985, amid mall culture and teenage romance, the Mind Flayer possesses Billy and recruits Hawkins residents while a secret Russian plot to reopen the gate forces the group into a battle at Starcourt Mall. 

Stranger Things appeals to teenage audiences, with many having aged through their teenage years as the show released new seasons. Because of this, each new season tends to have more graphic content than the previous one. Here are the content warnings for each season:

Season 1 –  M | Horror, violence

Season 2 – 13 | Horror

Season 3 – 13 | Horror

Season 4 – 16 | Horror, graphic violence

The facts

• Created by The Duffer Brothers
• Starring Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Dacre Montgomery, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, and Cara Buono
• English language
• 8 episodes, 50 minutes per episode, on average
• Series awarded 12 Primetime Emmys

Why did it get this rating?

This series was self-rated by Netflix. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Graphic violence

Season 3 is stronger and more frequent in violence than the previous seasons. 

This show contains various bloody, violent scenes, with some scenes depicting large amounts of blood splatter and people being killed, but the actual killing is not always shown. It often places child characters in danger from an alien monster.

Often, there are scenes where it feels like something violent is going to happen. Often these scenes are followed by a jump care or something comedic.

Some of the strongest moments of violence include:

• Two characters die as their bodies melt – their guts and blood move around to form a monster. This scene may disturb some viewers. It is much gorier than the rest of the violence in this season.
• A character has a very graphic wound on their leg from a parasite inside it, with the leg shown pulsating. Another character cuts into their leg, moving his hand around under the skin. This is shown in detail, but mostly shown in brief glimpses, focusing on the characters facial reactions.
• One older male teen sacrifices himself to save his friends. He is impaled multiple times by a monster, screaming throughout the scene as blood seeps through his clothing and out his mouth. This scene may shock some viewers.
• A monster controls human’s bodies and minds to access a physical form. It later causes them to die and melt into a bloody mess of gore and bones, which it combines to form a giant, red, bloody monster. Rats are also seen to be melted and exploded into puddles for the same reason.
• A man is clearly dismembered in a rotating blade, but it is so brief that if you blinked, you’d miss it.

Horror

This series follows a group of teenagers who are hunted by a menacing and frightening monster. Its appearance is likely to frighten viewers, with a large face that opens revealing sharp teeth and an overall slimy and fleshy body. There are various creepy and unsettling scenes throughout.

There are several jump scares and scenes where innocent characters are killed.

Content that may disturb

Trauma is depicted in the form of a teen girl’s flashbacks to being locked up, brainwashed, and experimented on in a windowless room alone, by a man who she calls “papa.”

Sexual references

There is a sexual reference when a boy teenager says how “happy screams are heard when Billy is alone with a girl,” implying orgasms, but this is likely to go over younger viewers years.

Offensive language

This series contains offensive language such as “b*tch,” “a**,” “d*ck,” “sh*t,” “bastard,” “p*ssy,” and a couple uses of “f**.” There are also a few uses of offensive and derogatory words, such as “wh*re,” “sl*t,” and “f*ggot.”

The middle finger is used in insult a few times throughout the show.

When content stays with you:

We all have our boundaries, and it’s completely okay if something you’ve watched is weighing on your mind. If certain content lingers with you, consider having a chat with friends or whānau to debrief about what you’ve just seen. But if you’re still feeling affected, please reach out to any of the following helplines for support.  

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

• Navigating Early Horror Experiences: Don't Let Nostalgia Get in the Way of Good Choices! | Classification Office
• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Brain development – how it works, why it matters