Stranger Things has been called a "Frankenstein's monster of 80s influences" due to its many intertextual references within the show. Not only does it draw on the styles of Stephen Spielberg, Stephen king, John Carpenter and many others from that ear of pop culture but it makes clear references to their works.
One big intertextual reference is to Alien (1979). The Demogorgon in ST is similar to the creature in Alien in many ways, both use a gooey substance that they leave as a trail and trap victims with - also, to enter the creatures netherworld, the characters have to claw their way through the goo. The 'face-huggers' in Alien come out of eggs that peel back in quarters, and ST's Demogorgon's' faces do the same.
Eleven in Stranger Things is very similar to Carrie White in the film Carrie, both girls have supernatural powers that are a factor in their outcasted situations, and both have had sheltered upbringings - Carrie with her extremely religious parents and Eleven with her experimental scientist. They are also both normally sweet and good-natured but can become angry and dangerous when provoked.
Stranger Things plays homage to Close Encounters of the Third Kind as can be seen clearly with this picture from season 2. Both shows deal with parents who have an obsession with the supernatural that everyone else deems as crazy. In Close Encounters, Roy constructs Devil's Tower out of mashed potatoes and shovels dirt into his living room while his family call him mad and leave. similarly, in ST when Joyce realises her missing son is trying to use electrics to communicate with her, she uses Christmas lights to make a wall Ouija board of sorts and even drives an axe through the wall (much like Jack Nicholson in The Shining) to try to reach him.
Stranger Things has many intertextual links with Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, even down to the basis of a suburban boy making friends with a powered being in need. Both Mike and Elliott hide their new friend in their homes without anyone finding out and form a strong and powerful bond. Many moments in the ST universe parallel E.T. such as powers being used on the bicycle, use of a make-shift communication device, curiosity of the other being, government agents in hazmat suits, fear of the other being, and dressing up in a wig.
Stranger Things manages to borrow from Poltergeist, while simultaneously living in a universe where the film exists. Joyce can communicate to Will who is in another dimension that is somehow connected to her house, like in Poltergeist. Both mothers venture into the other dimension in order to retrieve their children.
Both films feature a group of young boys in the 80's who ride around on their bikes and specifically looking for something. Some of the characters parallel each other such as Dustin/Chunk, Mike and Will/Mikey, Lucas/Mouth and Nancy/Andy. Both groups have a joyful spirit and execute their plans without intervention from adults.
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