The people tasked with crafting subtitles for the biggest and most popular TV shows and feature films don’t get anywhere near the credit they deserve, especially when it comes to the masterminds behind the audio accompaniments that transformed Stranger Things 4 into a viral phenomenon for reasons that had nothing to do with the storyline.
Some of the many nuggets of subtitle gold to emerge during the Netflix behemoth’s most recent run of episodes include “dissonant gibbering,” “tense industrial synth music playing,” “sibilant trilling,” “fissure writhing wetly,” and of course the single greatest of all-time; “tentacles undulating moistly.”
Stephen King has gone on record several times as being a fan of both Stranger Things and the Duffer Brothers’ mining of his back catalogue for inspiration and influence, but he clearly wasn’t watching with the captions on after he took to Twitter and revealed his favorite musical accompaniment.
Then again, he almost instantly retweeted somebody who brought Stranger Things 4 to the table in response, so maybe he simply isn’t a fan of the moistest undulations this side of the Upside Down.
“Tense auspicious music” is one thing – and entirely descriptive regardless of the fact King didn’t even name what it was that compelled him to share his latest musings on social media – but there’s nothing out there that can hold a candle to the insanity of Stranger Things 4‘s subtitling excess.
In fact, it became such a sensation unto itself that you can guarantee those responsible for putting them together are going to feel under immense pressure to continue raising the bar whenever the final season drops.