Saying “I do” and committing to someone used to largely be seen as a joyful endgame for fictional characters — there’s a reason every Shakespeare comedy ends with a wedding. However, over the years, the idea of being with a person forever has slowly become a source of terror. What arguably started with the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones has now become a genre trope in its own right. And Netflix’s recent horror series from Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers absolutely nails that terrifying feeling, making its eight-episode debut the perfect way to spend a weekend at home.
In Something Very Bad is Going To Happen from showrunner Haley Z. Boston, our newlyweds are the troubled, but generous, bride-to-be Rachel (Camila Morrone) and her puppy-dog-eyed fiancé, rich boy Nicky (Adam DiMarco). The two met a handful of years ago and are so in love that Rachel has managed to set aside her aversion to marriage to let Nicky put a ring on it. As a result, the lovebirds are off to get married at Nicky’s family home, which is also the first time that Rachel will meet the rest of the Cunningham family.
At first glance, Something Very Bad is Going To Happen feels very married to other horrors like it, such as the sensational 2019 film Ready or Not or 2022’s Dracula-inspired The Invitation. There’s the rich and imposing family that acts in such a bizarre way that you’re unsure whether there’s something sinister going on, or if that’s just rich people’s behavior. Next is the isolated location, whether it be a sprawling mansion or an idyllic lodge surrounded by nothing but open road and snow. Last but not least is the couple: are the forces that seek to upend their marital bliss coming from outside, or something far more disturbing from within?
However, as proven by her previous work with Brand New Cherry Flavor (Boston’s witchy body-horror Netflix miniseries), the showrunner isn’t content with delivering a series that relies solely on recognizable-if-enjoyable tropes. The threads woven through the first few episodes build a picture that makes you feel as though you know and understand what sort of tale Boston wants to tell (one of a demonic family torturing its newest member). But just as you’re about to get comfortable, Something Very Bad is Going To Happen rips the carpet out from under, reminding you that the gap between what you know and what you don’t is far larger than you realized.
Yet what is most charming about Boston’s disturbing horror-drama is its focus on developing its cast into more than paper‑thin caricatures. A lazier showrunner would have made someone like Nell Cunningham (Karla Crome) into a jilted ex who might catalyze the deterioration of Rachel and Nicky’s relationship. Instead, Crome gives a steady, grounding performance as another woman who married into the family, which not only reassures Rachel but also the audience. The same can be said for Nicky’s older brother Jules (Jeff Wilsbusch), who starts off as a foreboding, uncomfortable presence, but whose softer layers are gradually revealed as the series speeds toward its heart-racing finale. Even Nicky’s mother, Victoria (Jennifer Jason Leigh), is revealed to be more than her sharp demeanor suggests. By spending time getting to know them beyond the superficial, we see the good, the bad, and the ugly of each one of the Cunninghams.
However, it is Morrone who steals the show completely. From the moment we meet Rachel, a weary heaviness comes through in every interaction. From her obscure and tragic past that made her swear off marriage in the first place to her strained relationship with the Cunninghams, Morrone’s portrayal of Rachel is that of a woman who is carrying the world and desperately pretending she isn’t. It isn’t a matter of if it comes crashing down for Rachel, it’s a matter of when.
It’s that tension that makes each episode feel like there’s a knife to your throat — and keeps pushing you to click Next Episode. Even during moments where the dread ebbs to give way to the far-and-few stabs of joy, Boston never lets you get completely comfortable. After all, something very bad is going to happen.
Something Very Bad is Going To Happen is available to stream on Netflix.
