Back on July 15, “Stranger Things” premiered on Netflix and blossomed into a pop-culture phenomenon.  The show quickly grew an avid fan base and inspired fans to show their appreciation for it in diverse ways.

Creating short films since he was in 6th grade, Jonathan Calderon, 11, is one of the most recent to be bitten by the “Stranger Things” bug and he has begun filming a short film inspired by the show with a few of his friends.

“I was inspired by the classic 80’s aesthetic of the show,” Calderon said, “and how many references to older movies there were, such as The Goonies, and Firestarter, just to name a few.”

Calderon elaborates on the differences his short film has compared to the show.  The short film focuses on a multitude of different stories from each character that lives in a town being terrorized by a secret society.  

Along for the ride is junior, Demitri Naranjo, who has become one of Calderon’s main actors for a myriad of other films,  one of them being a mini-series titled, “The Case”.

“He told me about the idea way before the script was even started,” Naranjo said.  “We continued talking about ideas for weeks and he made the script, then sent it to me and I liked it.”

Having a personal connection to Calderon, Mary Lopez, 9, hopes to add a different flare to the short film that will make it more distinguished from “Stranger Things” while still maintaining the same tone that made the show successful.

“I really hope to incorporate different cinematography than from the show,” Lopez said.  “I enjoyed the cinematography from the show a lot, but I’d really love for it to be completely different and more original.”

All three students are passionate for this short film which is currently in production.  They will follow a similar structure from that of  “Stranger Things” while still modifying plenty of aspects.  With a 13-actor cast and more than 9 different locations set, this will be the biggest project for Jonathan and his team.  The short film is set to release in mid to late 2017 on their YouTube channel, Jerkwad Productions.