Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is Bad for Three Episodes, Then It Hooks You | Review

Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

4.5

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen dares you to stay patient, and for three episodes, it barely earns that patience.

The title does a lot of work. It promises dread, inevitability, and consequences. You go in expecting something slow, psychological, maybe even a little smart.

What you get for the first three episodes is… rough.

A Very Disorienting Start

Haley Z. Boston’s horror show tackles a question many people contemplate at some point in their lives. Did they make the right decision when choosing their life partner?

For some, that question comes later in life, but for Rachel (Camila Morrone), the central character in this saga, the stakes go beyond a life trapped in disappointment and doubt — they’re colossal.

She’s going to get married to her fiancé Nicky (Adam DiMarco, Overcompensating) in five days, and when she does, Rachel must be sure that he’s her soulmate, or something very bad is going to happen.

She has no cause to doubt their relationship — they complement each other well, and he seems to adore her.

Yet even people in great relationships are still individuals, and individuals deal with some things on their own. 

For Rachel, it’s a growing feeling of impending doom that makes her paranoid as she and Nicky go to his secluded family home, where they’re supposed to hold their nuptials.

The drive home is quite the experience as Rachel’s fears compound with every mile they cover.

A lot of weird and unexplainable things keep happening, and while she can’t explain why, she feels like it’s a message.

This “irrational” fear is what makes Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen feel like a slog for the first three episodes.

The show sells itself as psychological horror in the vein of Mike Flanagan — slow, deliberate, and character-driven. 

Instead, its opening episodes fall back on cheap tension: noise, jump scares, and scenes that feel disconnected rather than mysterious.

Loud bangs and haunting music are the absolute bottom of the barrel of the genre. 

Many movies and TV shows expect them to do the heavy lifting, and Something Very Bad is Going to Happen relies on these too much for the first several episodes.

Many viewers who sample new shows for a few episodes might never stick around long enough for the next five episodes, which makes the journey worth it.

The show’s team knows it might take a minute for things to make sense, so the logline aims to set expectations early.

“If Carrie is horror’s version of a girl becoming a woman, and Rosemary’s Baby is the horrific version of a woman becoming a mother, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is horror’s take on a woman becoming a wife,” part of it reads.

Of course, this only means anything if you’ve watched Carrie or Rosemary’s Baby.

Things take a turn in Episode 4 when Rachel digs for answers, and the nonsensical scenes from earlier suddenly find their place in the narrative.

This exposition could not have come at a better time, since the season is eight episodes long and no one wants to spend half the season feeling like their time is being wasted.

Where It Gets Good

Once the show’s lore and logic are established, it becomes a thrilling ride as Rachel gets vindicated, but that’s just the beginning.

What may have felt like pointless repetition turns out to be the show’s biggest charm, shining especially in Episode 5, “I Think You Just Saved My Life.”

The stakes become clear, and the performances speak for themselves.

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen might be a story about a couple, but it’s largely Rachel’s story.

She is a strong protagonist who would not be half as strong without Morrone’s performance.

The actress outshines everyone in every scene thanks to her ability to hit those emotional notes as Rachel’s entire worldview comes crashing down.

Morrone’s acting is balanced but intense, with many of her costars struggling to keep up. She is what people call a revelation.

DiMarco plays Rachel’s boyfriend Nicky. The role is not a far departure from what the actor is known for — sweet but slightly naive characters.

Nicky isn’t a bad character; he’s just underutilized. He feels more like part of the premise than a fully realized person, which makes him easy to lose in the background.

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is clearly Morrone’s show, but it also features several standout performances and characters who make it a joy to watch.

Gus Birney is excellent as Portia, who can make any situation funny. If they were to make Portia’s spinoff, her version of horror would be interacting with poor people.

The series shines in its ending, as Rachel’s fears come closer to being realized as the wedding day nears. It’s an ambitious ending that will have viewers revisiting past scenes and episodes to fully understand what just happened.

Something Very Bad works because it feels personal. The fears these characters go through, Rachel and her choice, or Nicky with idealized love, feel like something someone has gone through or thought about deeply.

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen isn’t just a horror show about death; it’s a meditation on marriage itself as a self-perpetuating curse.

Choices reverberate across generations, belief determines survival, and no one is ever fully free — a system that enforces itself endlessly, leaving psychological and literal casualties in its wake.

For the unmarried, it reinforces that decision as the correct one, using immediate and painful consequences that people in marriages take a lifetime to understand.

The Show Struggles With Identity

However, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen also happens to be very Netflix — for better and for worse.

It’s bingeable, polished, and high quality, but it doesn’t have its own identity. Nothing about the show stands out, whether it’s the location or the costumes.

Some creative decisions don’t feel fully realized, especially when they utilize a stylistic device that we’ve seen before.

For example, death is personified to a huge degree, but it feels like a cheap camera or editing trick that robs it of the power that comes with that dreaded thing.

And maybe it’s because I expect more after watching Final Destination or The Sandman’s personification of death.

Something Very Bad also feels and looks like every other Netflix show set in North America — a bit pale and cold. The fact that it takes place within a week in the same locality robs it of the variety that comes with changing seasons or locations.

The show has some traces of brilliance in cinematography and music, but nothing with the wow factor.

It has the potential to become a smash hit but is largely forgettable within a few months or years.

And while I’m not a fan of extending limited series, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen feels like a show that should get another season, because I see the potential for how far it could go.

That depends on how many people complete it, since it asks too much for this era: a little patience and attention.

Have you checked out the show yet? All episodes are now streaming on Netflix globally.

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