Netflix released a new television show called “Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen” on March 26. The show is about a couple, Rachel and Nicky, the week before their wedding. The week is marked by twists, turns, and tragedies.
Before watching, I expected a drama/thriller about a wedding going awry. Instead, Rachel and Nicky travel to upstate New York for their wedding at Nicky’s family cabin. Rachel is surprised by the large gathering. Unexpected events and family secrets disrupt the week, with a possible unimaginative, ritualistic heritage at play. The show surprised me with many twists, but this did not make up for its quality.
If I had to give this show a Rotten Tomatoes score, I would honestly and brutally give it 40 percent. While the show was directed by “Stranger Things’” The Duffer Brothers and consists of A-list actors such as Camila Morrone and Adam DiMarco, the show still managed to disappoint me.
Almost the entire cast’s characters were grating to watch, and the plot was utterly stupid. From the mother suddenly being sick with a brain tumor, a figure made of sticks and twigs with a wedding dress hanging in the forest, and a creepy 200-year-old man hanging out alone in a dive bar — it was hard for me not to check out of the show.
Compared to “Stranger Things,” “Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen” was less about otherworldly elements, alternate dimensions, and charming teenage friendships and more satanic, horror-centered, and dramatic.
I recognize that this show was a mini series and “Stranger Things” was not, there was still a lack of that Duffer Brother magic touch. The show’s characters in “Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen” were unrelatable, unredeemable, and unlikable.
Rachel, played by Morrone, was an orphaned pot-head who found her soul mate, Nicky, at an airport — an unexpected meet-cute. Nicky, played by DiMarco, is a rich, narcissistic playboy who somehow wins her over with his adventurous and spontaneous side.
Nicky’s sister, Portia, is frankly just obnoxious. Nicky’s brother, Jules, is a bizarre and poorly cast creep. The characters’ personalities change alongside the plot as it progresses in weird and confusing ways. During the first few episodes, the characters lean into the freaky, creepy element of the show.
After the first few episodes, the characters seem to lose their identities and start acting differently, and these personality changes do not align with the show’s constantly changing directions.
The first two episodes had me intrigued, but as the show progressed, I grew increasingly uninterested in the plot. I truly do not know how this show made it past the producers at Netflix, given the sheer stupidity of the plot. The execution of the show was poor, the plot was imperfectly thought out, and it was overall hard to follow.
One would never be able to connect the storyline of this show from the first to the last episode. There is absolutely no through-line, and the lack of a fun element to this show made it even more unbearable to watch. Sorry for the harsh review, but don’t waste your time with this show.