Stranger Things season 2: Cast teases a darker, horror-oriented plot

Stranger Things season 2 premieres on Netflix on Halloween so it makes perfect sense that the cast is billing the upcoming season as being darker and more horror-oriented.

More clues and information is starting to leak out about the Halloween release of Stranger Things season 2. It’s still a long way away but fans of the show will be treated to this little nugget of information from some of the cast members that the upcoming season will be even darker and horror-oriented than the breakthrough first season.

The first season certainly had horror elements and was fairly dark in its own right, but actors Finn Wolfhard and Gaten Matarazzo hint in a new interview with PEOPLE that the second season will take some cues from the horror genre.

"“I think this season will be a lot darker. A lot more horror oriented,” said Wolfhard. “I think people are going to like it more than the first season.”"

Stranger Things season 2 has big shoes to fill and fan expectations are going to be sky-high after coming out of nowhere to be the biggest hit on Netflix last year. If he believes the second season will be better than the first, then viewers are in store for a whirlwind come Halloween.

Related: Little-known facts about Stranger Things

Not to be outdone, Matarazzo says the second season will provide an opportunity to focus the main characters and how they’re coming to terms and coping with the disappearance of Will and his subsequent rescue from the Upside Down, and all the lingering trauma that exists one year later.

"“The great thing about this season is you get to see insights into each character on their own. You’re going to see a lot more into the lives of how the characters are coping with what’s been going on,” said Matarazzo. “I think they’re all very emotionally scarred. They feel alone because their best friend [Will] is back and he’s not acting like their best friend anymore. He’s changed.”"

Will’s acclimation to the world is one of my biggest questions about season 2 after he spent a week in the toxic Upside Down before Hopper and his mom, Joyce rescued him. The season finale saw him coughing up a slug in the bathroom and the visual of him being back in the Upside Down, so I want to see what type of post-traumatic stress he’s experiencing and how his family and friends are adjusting to his return. From the sounds of it, it sounds like he’ll be a bit of an outsider after undergoing a significant life-changing event.

Next: 25 Burning Questions for Stranger Things season 2

Stranger Things season 2 will be released on Halloween.