Netflix Made ‘Stranger Things’ Cut a Face-Melting Death

Stranger Things hasn’t shied away from dark, often emotional deaths over the course of the show. The sci-fi horror series is a love letter to 1980s films, set in that era and using its tropes and style to full advantage. The creators of Stranger Things, Matt and Ross Duffer, have also embraced the genre’s unique ability to give characters a violent end when the narrative calls for it, often with gory results. One particularly gruesome demise, however, was too much even for Netflix.

While speaking with The Times, the creators revealed the death that prompted Netflix to force them to cut it. Despite Ross’s assertion that “We try to restrain ourselves,” he added:

“There was one shot in season three that we did have to cut. It was when Bruce [an obnoxious local journalist] was melting. His nose melts into his face and Netflix said, ‘Absolutely not!'”

Matt also chimed in, noting how costly it was to axe the scene and adding that the streaming service also asked them to edit a death from Season 1 involving the diner owner.

“It’s too bad because it was like a $40,000 shot! The only other shot Netflix asked to be cut was when Benny [Hammond, a diner owner] is killed in season one: you saw the bullet go through his head.”

Stranger Things has featured many memorable deaths, including Barb and Eddie. Some scenes are also shocking, subverting audience expectations, like the bone-breaking death of Crissy Cunningham or the massacre at the Hawkins Lab. Still, Netflix has lines the show can’t cross, even with Season 5 promising to up the ante.

‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Promises The “Most Violent Death” Yet

The trailer for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things has already promised intense action as the characters attempt to stop Vecna from destroying the world. Eleven is pushing her powers to the limit, and the stakes couldn’t be higher as each character barrels toward an unknown end, with the show even said to be making a time jump in the narrative. Ross noted:

“The goal was always to scale up each series with the age of the characters and our audience, but then we keep getting new audiences. Hopefully, parents don’t get too mad at us.”

Season 5 of Stranger Things looks to fulfill the promise, and while Matt said “Season 5 is not as violent as Season 4,” he added that it ups the ante in at least one respect:

“It has the most violent death of any season.”

The final season of Stranger Things is set to debut in three parts, with Volume 1 hitting Netflix on November 26. Volume 2 is set to release on Christmas Day, before the show wraps up with the finale on New Year’s Eve. How the series concludes remains to be seen, but fans can rest assured that they’re in store for more shocking deaths as they say goodbye to the residents of Hawkins.