Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Directors: Weronika Tofilska, Axelle Carolyn & Lisa Brühlmann
Running Time: 371 minutes
Rating: 3 🌟 1/2
Here’s a hypothetical scenario: something very bad is going to happen if you marry your partner and they’re not your soulmate. Are you still sure they’re the one?
Description
Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen (2026) is a miniseries created by Haley Z. Boston and showcased on Netflix. It follows Rachel, who is engaged to the love of her life, Nicky in the lead-up to their perfect wedding. At least it should be perfect but nothing’s ever simple where love’s concerned, is it?
On their way to Nicky’s family home for the wedding, Rachel meets a mysterious character in a dive bar. He warns her that her fiancé might not be who she thinks he is. She believes he’s just another creep and quickly escapes. Once they arrive though, strange things keep happening and she realises there might be more to the strange man’s warning than she initially thought.
How do you know if the person you love is your ‘soulmate’? Is it worth taking the risk for a marriage certificate? Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen explores these themes in a fun, unsettling way.
Review
At the beginning of this miniseries, I was glued to my screen. The suspense was strong, especially with the ‘abandoned’ baby in the car and the strange man in the bar. There was potential for any number of storylines to present themselves and I had fun trying to guess what was going to happen. However, as the show progressed, it became loose and lost its momentum. What was intriguing quickly became predictable and I believe that’s because of its length. It felt as though a solid screenplay had to have extras added to it because it needed to be longer. Largely filler and less killer and while I enjoyed the ending, I could see why many others didn’t.
Nicky’s family was extremely intense, creating some excellent, folkloric scenes. Gus Birney was particularly good as Portia and I know that because I wanted her to be quiet every time she was in a scene. The combination of overbearing and demanding makes you side with Rachel as soon as they arrive at the house and it only gets worse from there.
It is Portia who tells Rachel the story of the ‘Sorry Man’, a mysterious figure her older brother Jules saw when he was a child. According to Jules, he was exploring one day when he entered a house. When the owners of the house returned, he found himself trapped hiding under the bed. What follows was a bloodbath, one that he has never forgotten. The ‘Sorry Man’ becomes a haunting figure throughout the story with the sad explanation being revealed in one of the later episodes.
One of the strongest aspects of the series is the use of lighting and colours to explore theming. The neon lights and blue dingy tinge of the dive bar. The stark white of snow against concentrated blood red. Often in horror films and shows, everything is extremely dark and one-dimensional but the visuals of Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen are something different.
There were parts of the story that didn’t make any sense even to someone willing to suspend their disbelief. At one point, Rachel and Nell break into the records office to find marital information on Rachel’s ancestors. It seems unlikely they would manage to get in so easily, and unchallenged, whether it was a day off or not. Plus, it was far too convenient for me that all the records were simply there. I’ve personally had difficulty getting archived information about a relative one generation above.
Initially, I thought the show was going to take itself too seriously but it became the perfect mix of comedy and horror. Nell and Jules’ bizarre relationship dynamic added both tension and comic relief. Nell was certainly one of the best characters.
Recommendation or Regret?
Despite feeling overinflated in the middle and the existence of several plot holes and flaws, I would still recommend this series if you’re a horror fan. The atmosphere was spooky but simultaneously a little fun, never taking itself too seriously. Marriage is an institution that many people still put all their faith in and it was interesting to see the creators explore an alternative message.
If you’re in the mood to read more horror reviews, check out this Junji Ito double bill.