Stranger Things Moments: Running Up That Hill

By Owen Quinn author. Photo copyright Netflix

Stranger Things season 4 is full of iconic moments. It is full of exciting, heart stopping sequences and who would have thought that a song and artist I have been a fan of from childhood would become an icon for a whole new generation of fans while us older ones sat smiling?

I get caught up in the emotions and excitement of certain things, usually to the point I swear, cry or speak out loud in a cinema. But never have I jumped up in my seat and yelled at the screen.

Max, as played by the brilliant, Sadie Sink knows that Vecna is gunning for her in order to unlock the walls that separate the Upside Down from our world. She goes to the grave of her late brother, Billy, possessed by the Mind Fayer in season three. Billy sacrificed himself to save his sister and the others. Dustin, Steve and Lucas take her there and wait in the car for her.

But as she reads a letter she has written to her brother, she is possessed by Vecna. As we have seen, he is brutal and every possession is the same. The victim’s eyes go white, they levitate in the air where all of their limbs are broken before Vecna takes their life.

The boys rush forward when they see Max is not right. The only thing that can save her is if she hears her favourite song. They scramble helplessly to find it in her cassette case. Max, in the meantime, finds herself stuck in Vecna’s realm. He traps her in tendrils and taunts her.

Jamie Campbell Bower is exquisite here as his long fingers expand to take Max’s life. His performance is so delicate and nuanced that he could be a shark coming through the water. He and Max are in a devastated landscape, drenched in red. Rubble floats in the air. Max fights to the end.

That is, until the sound of Kate Bush singing, Running Up That Hill, comes over her headphones. But is it too late? As she floats into the air, seconds away from being murdered, the boys call to her frantically.

As the song echoes around where she is trapped with Vecna, Max remembers what she has to live for. She recalls her friends, all the good times she has had, the bonds she has formed and her love for Lucas. She sees her friends still in the graveyard through a rip in this reality.

With the lyrics pumping through her mind, she breaks free through sheer force of will and runs for her life.

Vecan tries to stop her by bringing rubble down from the sky. It was at that point I jumped up and roared, “Run Max!!”

Would she make it? Would Vecna stop her ? Would her death trigger Armageddon?

The screen goes black leaving us uncertain for a moment if she made it.

Then we cut to her in the air and her eyes snap open. She falls from the air and on the ground, surrounded by the boys. For now, Max is safe.

It was interesting to note that she hurt Vecna during her escape. Maybe that gave her the edge allowing her to escape?

This is such a heart stopping sequence that just delivers on every level. You can feel their fear, shiver at the cold callousness of Vecna murdering a child without a second thought, make a mental note to download the song first chance you get and literally be sweating with dread at how close Max was to being the next victim.

Whomever thought of using the Kate Bush song for this sequence was a genius. From the writing to the directing to the performances, Max’s narrow escape is breathtaking.

And it never gets dull. I have watched this part countless times and it still maintains the excitement I felt upon first viewing.

If you want a lesson on how to cement your audience in place, then Running Up That Hill is the template to use.