‘Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen’ Review
An entertaining watch that doesn’t lose itself in pop culture references or cheesy bits but stays grounded in the reality of the complexity of relationships.
Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is a surrealistic dark highway, connecting pre-wedding optimistic expectations with the reality of being with someone until death do you part. But what if that death comes sooner rather than later?
Showrunner/Creator/Executive Producer Haley Z. Boston says that some of her biggest influences for the upcoming 8-episode limited series are Rosemary’s Baby, Carrie, The Celebration, and M. Night Shyamalan’s series Servant. However, from the first quixotic, moody episode “Don’t Get on One Knee,” one can’t help but detect a Twin Peaks aura mixed with the underlying anxiety about finding a soulmate and trepidations about marriage that were the underpinnings of The Graduate (1967).
Boston is no stranger to crafting tales of horror and the supernatural. She earned her stripes writing for Brand New Cherry Flavor and Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. With Something Very Bad is Going to Happen, she presents a traditional wedding and couches it in superstitions and inescapable family lineage. The series doesn’t rely on jumpscares but leans into disquiet.
It’s five days until Rachel (Camila Morrone) and Nicky’s (Adam DiMarco) wedding and strange things are happening, which tracks since the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things) are executive producers. From finding a baby abandoned in a car at a gas station to hearing the tale of the “Sorry Man,” in episode one, Rachel is introduced to tangible creepiness. Morrone, who looks a bit like Dua Lipa, is convincing as the conflicted fiancee. Her face is emotionally lucid, absorbing the shrapnel of her absurd encounters. DiMarco’s portrayal of Nicky leaves room for the character’s positive attributes and flaws. Nicky’s the quintessential boyfriend but is he husband material? Rachel meets Nicky’s family, the eccentric Cunninghams, for the first time and she doesn’t quite know what to make of them except that they epitomize the sentiment behind the saying “eat the rich”.
Nicky’s sister Portia (Gus Birney) has a babylike voice that cuts like a knife. In her eyes, her wealth gives her permission to say whatever she wants whenever she wants. She is the wildcard, self-proclaimed spiritual savant who has sociopathic tendencies. She often adds levity to scenes.
Jennifer Jason Leigh is family matriarch Victoria. She looks like someone who’s had one or two facelifts too many, giving her a catlady appearance. Her masklike face and hushed demeanor are unsettling. Leigh, who plays quietly deranged characters well, gives her a vulnerability that humanizes her. Ted Levine plays her husband Boris. He follows her lead. He’s thoughtful with undercurrents of a violent past. Levine gives him an eerily sanguine quality. Victoria and Boris seem to have the perfect marriage, which Nicky idealizes and idolizes.
Jules (Jeff Wilbusch) is the oldest sibling who is unpredictable in nature and is a man who hasn’t fully overcome past trauma. He’s sometimes a bulwark for Rachel as she faces obstacles. He’s married to Nell (Karla Crome) whose no-nonsense personality can border on off-putting. Jules’s son from a prior marriage, Jude (Sawyer Fraser), gets looped into a situation similar to what traumatized Jules when he was a kid.
Episode two (“Bride-Shaped Hole”), episode three (“I Will Light You on Fire”) and episode four (“The Witness”) elucidate the Cunninghams and delve more into why Rachel feels that something bad is going to happen at the wedding. The second half of the series - episode five (“I Think You Just Saved My Life”), episode six (“Last Night of Freedom”), episode seven (“Something Living, Something Dead, Something Stolen, Something Red”), episode eight (“I Do”) - has bride-to-be Rachel using pugilistic tactics to survive what she has determined is going to happen. Ultimately, the series questions what a soulmate is and if they actually exist. It also extols the virtues of marriage and examines the seriousness of matrimony.
Colin Stetson’s (Hereditary, The Menu) soundtrack imbues the series with the necessary darkly cinematic notes, while the playlist of songs, including Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Carlos Zach, and Paul Anka, paint each episode in a retro Americana, shadowy prism. Cinematographers Bobby Shore and Krzysztof Trojnar give the series a haunting, edgy slickness, with a color harmony that’s reminiscent of 80s horror films like The Lost Boys and Dead of Winter. The bold red lettering of the title sequence and episode titles definitely riffsThe Shining.
In the vein of movies Ready or Not and You’re Next, the violence is graphic and bloody. While it gets the point across and snugly fits the plot, it’s a contemporary element that could be toned down without losing the power of the message of the film. The first half of the series keeps you guessing. The second half takes you on Rachel’s journey of discovery. Overall, it’s an entertaining watch that doesn’t lose itself in pop culture references or cheesy bits but stays grounded in the reality of the complexity of relationships.
Something Very Bad is Going to Happen premieres on Netflix on March 26, 2026.
Sonya Alexander started off her career training to be a talent agent. She eventually realized she was meant to be on the creative end and has been writing ever since. As a freelance writer she’s written screenplays, covered film, television, music and video games and done academic writing. She’s also been a script reader for over twenty years. She's a member of the African American Film Critics Association and currently resides in Los Angeles.
