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  1. A rift to the Upside Down on Bondi Beach
    Photograph: Nigel Kippers
  2. Scientists and lifesavers investigate a Stranger Things rift
    Photograph: Nigel Kippers

A gateway to the Upside Down has opened on Bondi Beach

With Stranger Things 4 dropping on Netflix, a menacing rift has appeared on Sydney’s iconic beach

By Time Out in partnership with Netflix
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Well, this is more terrifying than finding a baby demogorgon in your trash can. A mysterious and forbidding gateway to an alternate dimension appears to have opened on the sands of Bondi Beach.

Early morning dog walkers and wave riders were surprised today when the gaping wound in the fabric of space and time seemed to have appeared overnight in the famous spot in Sydney’s east, complete with tentacle-like vines and a glowing red core. 

Bondi Rescue lifeguards rushed to the scene while Hazmat-suited officials attempted to cordon off the rift from curious passers-by.

So is the ghastly portal the result of experiments conducted on a child with extraordinary mental powers? Is it the work of an advanced device developed by foreign scientists? Whatever the explanation, reports are coming in that this is only the first of many such strange rifts appearing across the globe today, coincidentally the day that sees the arrival of Volume One of the fourth season of hit Netflix program Stranger Things.  

Little Niche NoshPhotograph: Nigel Kippers

A shadowy netherworld populated by monstrous “demogorgons”, the Upside Down is the alternative dimension that vexes the citizens of Hawkins, Indiana in the popular Netflix program set during the 1980s. 

The series was created by the Duffer Brothers, who drew upon a large number of 1980s movies for inspiration, including science fiction films (ET: The Extra Terrestrial, Firestarter), horror (Poltergeist, Halloween) and coming of age (Stand by Me, Pretty in Pink). 

The first volume of Stranger Things 4 streams only on Netflix from 5pm AEST today, with volume two arriving July 1. Set in 1986, the season is highly anticipated and sees the return of all the major cast members in what is being teased as a major showdown against a powerful creature from the Upside Down known as Vecna. 

And the portal on Bondi Beach? Experts advise us that it will close at noon today leaving behind nothing but a disturbing memory. We hope.

Stranger Things 4 Only On Netflix, Volume 1 May 27, Volume 2 July 1.


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