The Duffer Bros’ First Netflix Show Since Stranger Things’ Ending Is an Instant Streaming Hit

The Duffer Bros, the main minds behind the hit Netflix series Stranger Things, are back with a new horror offering in the wake of the final season of their biggest project to date. And so far, their step into a new genre seems to be a success, with the show landing on the platform and immediately jumping to the #4 spot on the Top 10 Most Watched List—though that has less to do with the Duffer Bros as producers for the series and is more thanks to Haley Z. Boston, the genius writer, director, and showrunner of the series.

The series is titled Something Very Bad is Going to Happen, and with a title like that, there are certainly high expectations. So far, it’s lived up to them, despite some weird loose threads, and is scoring higher with critics than with viewers. The story centers around a young woman named Rachel (Camila Morrone), whose unease grows as her wedding approaches, reaching a fever pitch in the week before the ceremony. The main cast is rounded out by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Adam DiMarco, who deliver strong performances that heighten the tension and suspense, ratcheting up the slow-building horror.

Read Next

Netflix’s Scary New Show Has a Secret Cameo From Its Best Ever Horror Series (& It’s Genius)

It Boasts a Theme That Never Loses Relevance

Play video

Critics have so far enjoyed the series, giving it an 82% rating. And for a story that centers on a woman’s fears and intuition surrounding the idea of marriage and the man she’s chosen to spend her life with, that really is impressive. “It may not be the perfect execution, but it’s intriguing enough to keep you watching until the bloody end. Rachel knew something was off… and maybe that’s the real lesson: always trust your gut,” says critic Kristen Moldonado. And that lesson of trusting your gut is made all the more difficult by the claustrophobic camera angles and gothic-horror quality lent to the house itself, tricks employed to make the audience question not only what they see, but what they feel.

And while there certainly is too much happening at times that can make Something Very Bad is Going to Happen feel weighed down and confusing, the core theme of a woman’s suffering and forced obedience remains central to each episode, keeping the series grounded in its narrative. Joe Botten of Loud and Clear Reviews says, “If Carrie is horror’s version of a girl becoming a woman, and Rosemary’s Baby is the horrific vision of a woman becoming a mother, Something Very Bad is Going to Happen is the genre’s take on a woman becoming a wife.”

Do you have a favorite moment from Something Very Bad is Going to Happen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to check out the ComicBook forum to see what other horror fans are saying.