Ahead of the second season of cult series Stranger Things, streaming service Netflix has revealed a range of poster designs that directly reference supernatural movies from the 1980s.

The six posters take explicit visual cues from one of the numerous sci-fi films that influenced the show's retro aesthetic, including Alien, The Evil Dead, The Running Man, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Firestarter and Stand By Me.

Like the original posters, the Stranger Things artworks are highly stylised, with each poster having its own unique logotype.

They also have a low-resolution visual style that is reminiscent of the retro, low-budget film adverts of the era.

Alongside the obvious visual references, the posters contain deliberate plays on cult slogans. For instance, "in space, no one can hear you scream" from Alien is replaced with "in The Upside Down, no one can hear you scream", referencing the alternate dimension at the centre of the story.

In the rework of Wes Craven's A Nightmare of Elm Street's, its female protagonist Nancy is swapped out for Stranger Things' character of the same name. Both girls are positioned at the centre of the posters, with a clawed figure looming directly above them.

Meanwhile, the poster that pays tribute to the film remake of Stephen King's Firestarter puts character Eleven in a pose made famous by Drew Barrymore.

The marketing campaign has been shared widely across social media platforms using the hashtag #StrangerThursdays. To add to the Stranger Things mania, the show's official Twitter account has also been sharing a series of teaser trailers, memes and gifs.

Stranger Things – whose cast includes the award-winning actress Winona Ryder – quickly ascended to cult status after its inaugural release last year. The second season of the supernatural thriller will return to the online streaming service on 27 October 2017.

But this is not the first time Netflix has used clever design to market its shows.

For example, last month the streaming site partnered with creative agency Carrot and a California cannabis dispensary to produce weed-themed around several of its TV series to promote new show Disjointed, which is set in a cannabis dispensary.