“The Nest,” which has been described as a ghost story without ghosts, is a work of fiction, but Durkin did draw some inspiration from his own life. He spent “a good portion” of his childhood in England and moved to New York at age 11.

“Nowadays the move between New York and London is a very seamless one, but at the time, in the late ‘80s, early ’90s, there was a very stark difference in atmosphere and feel,” Durkin said. “I wanted to capture that.”

The eerie tone he sets is juxtaposed with a vision of 1980s elegance rarely seen in period films.

“One of the first things I said to my costume and makeup and art teams is that when people make films about the ’80s, they have too much fun with it,” Durkin said. “If you look at the real references in family pictures and pictures from the street that aren’t the pop references, it doesn’t look very different from today.”

Law said the set and costume design kicked back memories from the time, like a particular pair of shoes he coveted as a young teen

“But I’m at the age where I still can’t believe how far away the ‘80s are,” Law laughed. “A piece in the ’80s is like a piece in the 1880s.”

Coon, who was a child in the mid-’80s, dyed her hair a honey blonde shade that was specific to the era and said that she got to wear “better clothes” than she remembered from the time. “I got the best of the ’80s palette,” she said, including a reproduction of a stunning black and white suit inspired by a Chloe advertisement.