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Season 2 of Stranger Things looks even creepier and more intense

The Upside Down is back, and it looks like it's about to eat the world.

We saw the first trailer for season 2 of Stranger Things at Comic-con.
Excitement about Netflix retro-horror series Stranger Things was at a fever pitch during Comic-con this weekend, especially after we saw the first trailer for season 2. Set during the mid-1980s, the series picks up one year after the events of the first season. The trailer promises we'll be diving deep into the Upside Down mythos, which represents an even greater threat than before.

The kid gang is back together, innocently playing videogames, when Will starts to see visions of the Upside Down taking over the entire world. And you know what? It's scary and looks amazing. I wasn't that excited about a second season for this show—I thought the ending of last season was basically perfect, and that the new season should focus on a new horror story. But this trailer guaranteed I'll be tuning in.

It looks like we'll focus a lot Will's post-Upside Down transformation. The scene of him in some kind of experimental facility is reminiscent of what we saw happening to Eleven last year. David Harbour, who plays Sheriff Hopper, said on Wired's Facebook Live that his character has changed a lot in the past year. We'll see flashbacks of his journey, Harbour said, and it has "a lot to do with the Eggos he's delivering to the woods."

There are also little touches that suggest this season will draw more connections between the Upside Down and 1980s culture and politics. There's a great bit where the kids are experiencing what looks like existential horror while dressed as the Ghostbusters, in front of a lawn sign that reads "Reagan/Bush 1984."

Political commentary or coincidence? You be the judge.

Stranger Things season 2 is coming October 27 to Netflix, just in time for a Halloween binge.

Listing image by Netflix

Channel Ars Technica