Tales From ’85: Stranger Things Returns in Animated Form with a New Threat
Stranger Things sails into animation with Tales From ’85, a ten-episode series now streaming on Netflix. Featuring fresh faces and a menacing new foe, the show blends nostalgia with accessible thrills for newcomers and longtime fans alike. The adventure slots between Season 2 and Season 3, sending the Hawkins crew into a battle beneath snowbound woods and the damp sewers, where a terrifying monster lurks.
The creature first earns a rough nickname—the Snow Shark—as it glides beneath the powder before striking. But as events unfold, the monster’s true nature emerges. Spores released from a forest terror transform into new forms, and the threat proves capable of regenerating into different shapes after each encounter. Across episodes, it shifts into variants that recall a scorpion, a dinosaur, and even a pumpkin creature, echoing The Thing’s shape-shifting horror.
In the classroom, Mrs. Baxter’s lessons about life cycles and extinction mirror the monsters’ evolution. She cites Alien’s themes of survival and how spores can guarantee a species’ continuity, arguing that without a host, extinction follows. The kids apply this logic to their foe, and Dustin dubs the creature the Aboleth, drawing from its Monster Manual lore.
A green goo—taken from an Upside Down dead specimen—reanimates the Aboleth, offering a possible path to regeneration but underscoring the danger it poses. The kids realize that killing the Queen—the so-called Horde Prime—is essential. They also discover the creature and its tendrils are vulnerable to light, prompting the construction of a makeshift “Light Gun” to finish the job.
The finale sees the group venturing into Hawkins’ sewers to confront the Aboleth Queen and seal the threat by crushing the monster as a portal to the Upside Down flickers shut.
Jaws-Style Horror Looms Over Tales From ’85
Tales From ’85 creator Eric Robles notes that Matt and Ross Duffer gave him loose direction on the new monster, then stepped back to let him craft something distinct yet interconnected with the Upside Down. “We started with the idea of classic Demogorgons and Demodogs,” Robles explains, “but the Duffers said, ‘This is your world now. Create the science behind these creatures, and make them different.’ That opened a floodgate for us to design truly unique beasts.” He adds that the series shares DNA with Upside Down creatures, fusing Hawkins Lab science with otherworldly matter.
Robles also cites Jaws as a major influence, teasing the sense that something lurking beneath the snow could emerge without warning. The result is a roster of distinctive monsters that feel both familiar and fresh, anchored by the sense that danger could be hiding just out of sight.
Tales From ’85 is now streaming on Netflix. For more Stranger Things content, you can check our ranking of the characters or explore the Tales From ’85 soundtrack listings.