Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen

The show will leave you writhing in discomfort at every moment, whether it's because you're cringing at all-too-relatable interactions or are lost in the dizzying kaleidoscope of too-wide smiles and palpable fear.

She [showrunner/executive producer Haley Z. Boston] makes the anxiety-ridden upcoming nuptials of the doubting Rachel (Camila Morrone) and the devoted Nicky (Adam DiMarco) one of the most malevolent and surreal events of the streaming season.

There is a difference between suspense and dread. “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen” is a superb case study in its very specific implications.

For those who can stomach it (and, mind you, horror enthusiasts will be feasting), “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen” proves a rewarding, otherworldly treat.

The claustrophobia and hysteria build, but Morrone’s winning performance grounds everything in some sort of reality. The conversations between Rachel and Nicky ring true when they’re joking about their relationship.

I can’t say I was ever once bored. The show excels at casting a spell through odd details, nasty red herrings, disturbing clues. And underlying them all is an unexpectedly sincere exploration of what true love can or should feel like, pitched right on the knife’s edge between sentimentality and cynicism.

While those in the market for jump-scares galore may be disappointed by the relative restraint here, the show is a masterclass in slowly building a sense of tension and anxiety while not being afraid to bring in the blood and gore when required.

The women’s obsession with the wedding dress, the atmosphere, the hints of unspeakable activities in the past rising up to greet us in the future have got me good. .... Morrone has an irreducible strength and spirit to her that lends the whole affair its needed credibility.

From start to finish, the series stays true to Boston’s dark vision…sometimes to a fault but always in ways that crackle with originality.

Morrone’s performance is the best thing about the show. Yes, she makes stupid decisions, nearly constantly. But she is never less than compelling, making “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen” a long, uneven but ultimately interesting journey worth taking.

There’s plenty of dread-inducing fun to be had in the early episodes, despite their reliance on well-worn genre tropes. But Boston unveils the “very bad” something of the title surprisingly early, and the twist is altogether much sillier—and a bit more contrived—than what the show’s eerie opening stretch suggests.

While it doesn't quite reach the heights it could have, this new addition to Netflix's horror roster should still earn a place in your weekend viewing.

Ultimately, I quite liked the show “Something Very Bad” becomes once Boston and her team put their cards on the table. But that show is different enough from the initial presentation, and takes long enough to reveal itself, that I’m not convinced “Something Very Bad” is best served by its chosen format.

Too often, the answers it provides are as underwhelming as its action is woefully underlit.

The big challenge for this horror series involves stretching out the “Why don’t you run away now?” vibe over eight episodes.

An all-timer of a movie lurks inside Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, and the spookiest thing is that it exists in this bloated form.

What begins as a promising slow-burn psychological horror gradually collapses under the weight of its own mystery.

The back half of the season is better overall. The ending isn’t revelatory, in the sense that it doesn’t quite complete Something’s thoughts on matrimony or family or inherited attitudes toward either, but it’s clever and kind of exhilarating. Characters like Nell and Jules gain some depth. There are a few well-executed twists among the many that are easy to anticipate. But those developments create new problems.

It’s hard to shake the feeling that this would have worked better as a feature film: the pacing drags, and some of the tortuous plotting feels as if it is simply stalling for time. More annoying still is the series’ aesthetic, which is frequently so dark and colour-washed that it’s hard to tell what you’re even looking at.

Camila Morrone’s compelling performance in Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen isn’t enough for us to get past the cartoonish supporting characters, the foreboding with little payoff, and a plot that just seems to consist of little more than tense moments.