Camila Morrone in Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen.Netflix
When you marry someone, you often marry into their family. In Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, writer Hailey Z. Boston mines the potential horror that can bring.
The eight-episode series, now streaming on Netflix, is unlike anything else in recent television. There’s eerie cinematography, a killer soundtrack and solid acting that keeps viewers on their toes. It opens with Rachel (Camila Morrone) and Nicky (Adam DiMarco) on a road trip to their wedding. In one week they’ll marry at his family cabin in the woods, but first she has to meet everyone.
Almost immediately creepy things begin happening, from a true-crime podcast about a murderous frozen-custard shop owner to an abandoned baby in a car. Then there’s the foreshadowing of dead foxes and a mysterious note to Rachel, warning her not to marry Nicky. By the time the couple arrives at the cabin it’s clear that Rachel’s overwhelming feeling that something very bad is going to happen isn’t just in her head, and that she should get the heck out of there.
Instead, she sticks around to meet Nicky’s privileged and out-of-touch family, including his sister Portia (Gus Birney), brother Jules (Jeff Wilbusch) and Jules’s wife, Nell (Karla Crome). Nicky’s parents, Boris (Ted Levine) and Victoria (Jennifer Jason Leigh) are also kicking around with mysterious vibes.
With no one in her corner, Rachel is the outsider with a unique perspective, but viewers shouldn’t forget there’s something strange about her not having anyone there to represent her on her big day.
The early episodes do an excellent job building tension within the family as Rachel gets to know everyone. Eventually she does what any sane person would do and flees. It’s then that new horrors emerge and the story twists on itself, blending different styles and tropes in an interesting commentary about soulmates, witchcraft and marriage.
From left to right: Karla Crome, Adam DiMarco, Ted Levine, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Camila Morrone, Jeff Wilbusch, and Gus Birney in Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen.Netflix
Content-wise, it’s not a completely original premise, but it still feels like the next evolutionary step in the horror genre that includes similarly themed series Harper’s Island and The Fall of the House of Usher. There is talk of family curses, the devil, paranoia and anxiety, and the pacing is built to make those themes tangible.
Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is not flawless, however, and that pacing falls flat toward the middle of the series as certain characters have their moments together, or side stories pull focus. Red herrings are often introduced without follow-up, while the foreshadowing and parallels can be overdone.
There are a couple of good jump scares and even more gore; anyone with an aversion to harmed animals should probably stay away.
Jennifer Jason Leigh and Ted Levine in Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen.Netflix
By the end things twist again, bringing the series full-circle with a controversial ending that warns against the dangers of settling. It has also sparked debate online. No spoilers here, but the finale is open-ended enough that if Boston and her executive producing partners – the Duffer Brothers of Stranger Things fame – wanted to, they could probably concoct a second chapter.
The world of horror does sequels a little too often, though, and in this instance the eight-episode offering is successful enough that to stretch it any further would ruin what makes it special. The biggest reason to watch isn’t the content itself; it’s the overall tension, emotional builds and stellar performances, particularly by Morrone.
In other words, if you like atmospheric horror that blends dark comedy and prefer shows that lead to further conversations about what the heck you just watched, this is the series to binge this weekend.