‘Stranger Things’ Season 4: Who Plays Chrissy Cunningham?
Stranger Things Season 4 introduced a new host of characters to the sci-fi Netflix series. When Chrissy Cunningham first appeared on stage, she seemed like a typical pretty, popular cheerleader. However, the first episode revealed that she has some demons of her own and things got really dark really fast. Here’s a quick rundown of the character and the actor who plays her.
[WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Stranger Things 4 Episode 1, “The Hellfire Club.”]
‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 introduced Chrissy Cunningham
In Stranger Things Season 4 Chrissy Cunningham is a pretty, popular cheerleader. Her boyfriend Jason is the captain of the basketball team and it would seem that she has a pretty carefree life. However, the Netflix series quickly dispelled that idea. Max overhears Chrissy vomiting in the bathroom in the first episode, presumably from an eating disorder.
After Max leaves, Chrissy hallucinates the distorted voice of her mother trying to open the door and calling her a “fat pig.” Later, Chrissy meets Eddie Munson, head of the Hellfire Club, in the woods to buy weed. Before he arrives she has another odd hallucination of a grandfather clock in a tree. Chrissy asks Eddie for something stronger and later is shown following him into his trailer.
Chrissy enters a trancelike state while inside her own mind she runs through a horror movie version of her own house with distorted versions of her parents. Vecna appears, placing his hand over her face. Eddie watches as Chrissy levitates, her limbs twist and crack, and finally, her eyeballs burst.
Grace Van Dien plays Chrissy in ‘Stranger Things’
Stranger Things Season 4 is without a doubt stepping up the horror aspect. Fans got their first dose of terror through Chrissy’s experiences. Chrissy is portrayed by Grace Van Dien, a 25-year-old actor from Los Angeles, California. It’s not Van Dien’s first foray into horror either.
In 2017 Van Dien portrayed Samantha in the thriller/horror film Awaken the Shadow Man, according to IMDb. The film follows a pair of brothers as they dig into the recent disappearance of their mother. The pair become suspicious that their mother’s bereavement group may be involved in something sinister.
Van Dien also portrayed Katie Campbell in the short-lived drama TV show The Village. Her longest role on a TV show came when she was cast as Brooke Osmond in Greenhouse Academy. The series follows students at an elite boarding school in Southern California who uncover a deadly plot.
‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 amps up the horror elements
Stranger Things has always had some frightening elements, but season 4 is stepping up its horror game. Prior to the release of the new episodes, the cast of Stranger Things warned that this season will be especially disturbing. “I thought they’d have to tone it down,” Eddie actor Joseph Quinn told E! News.
“I didn’t think they would commit to how gruesome it was on the page.” The actor who plays Robin, Maya Hawke, referred to a gruesome element. “The bone-breaking is really not my favorite thing to watch,” the actor said. Be advised that this season of Stranger Things is not for the faint of heart.
Stranger Things is currently streaming on Netflix.
