In the series finale of \u201cStranger Things,\u201d Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) ends up being a student at New York University in pursuit of a filmmaking career, and he tells his pals that he\u2019s working on an \u201canti-capitalist cannibal movie\u201d titled The Consumer. Were creators Matt and Ross Duffer hinting at an in-universe spinoff movie down the road? Actually, the brothers were referencing a cannibal short film they already made together nearly 20 years prior!<\/p>\n
The Duffer Brothers got their start directing a couple short films before they got around to creating the pop culture phenomenon that became \u201cStranger Things,\u201d and one of those shorts was indeed a cannibal horror movie. It wasn\u2019t titled The Consumer, however, but rather Eater<\/a>.<\/p>\n Eater was co-directed by Matt and Ross Duffer during their time at California\u2019s Dodge College, not unlike Jonathan Byers making a cannibal movie of his own while off at college!<\/p>\n Written and directed by the Duffer Brothers back in 2007, Eater was based on the same-titled short story by Peter Crowther. In the 18-minute short, \u201cA rookie cop (Emanuel Borria) works the night shift at a police station with a cannibal prisoner on the loose.\u201d<\/p>\n You can watch the suspenseful cannibal short below for a peek inside the minds of the Duffer Brothers when they were getting their start, just about 10 years prior to \u201cStranger Things\u201d!<\/p>\n It\u2019s interesting to note that Eater star Emanuel Borria reunited with the Duffer Brothers for \u201cStranger Things 5,\u201d playing the character Sergeant Luis Ramirez in three of its episodes.<\/p>\n