Something Very Bad Will Happen: The Duffer Brothers’ horror series is extremely terrifying | television

WWhen I heard that the Duffer brothers, creators of Stranger Things, had a new series on Netflix, I knew I had to watch it — but I wasn’t excited. I think identical twins making motion pictures are inherently scary, even when these productions aren’t labeled Something Very Bad Will Happen. My nervous system doesn’t allow me to enjoy horror, and I don’t understand people who do. Is life not scary enough?

Episode 1 (Thursday, March 26) – Is this a working title or what? It’s like calling Mrs. Doubtfire “Heartwarming Drag Act,” or Free Willy “Marine predators don’t belong in captivity” — it places us four days before the wedding of Nikki (Adam DeMarco) and Rachel (Camila Morrone), the central event of the story.

They’re in the car, heading to Nicky’s parents’ vacation cabin in the woods, which is scheduled to be a snow-covered venue for their wedding. But things get weird. They find a child locked in a car next to an empty bar. Rachel goes to find the parents and uses the bathroom where a man watches her urinate. Paul Anka’s “You Are My Destiny” is played distorted. A higher-spec audio system would alleviate that dread, but I understand it can’t be a priority at rest stops.

I don’t know anyone who thinks having a family-only wedding at a vacation cabin is a logistically sound idea – but don’t worry. When they arrive, it is the size of the Overlook Hotel, with curving corridors and a central atrium containing a haunting family photo. Naturally, the photo shows an empty chair, waiting for Rachel to be painted on it, and a cleansed ex-wife. They are guarded by stuffed Irish wolfhounds, which Rachel has been warned not to look into.

Now, I don’t care if it’s Medusa, or Tom Cruise, or a stuffed dog: if someone tells me I’m not allowed to look something in the eye, I’ll leave that situation. Unfathomably, Rachel stays. These are the choices that frustrate me with horror. I’m the one screaming “Don’t go in there!” Or “He sure is a killer!” On screen, completely missing the point.

That night, Rachel wanders into the kitchen and finds her fiancé’s siblings – Jules and the baby-voiced Portia. Portia, for no reason at all, tells Rachel the story of Jules’ childhood trauma when she encountered the Sorry Man: a terrifying figure drawn to blood, searching for his missing wife in the bowels of other brides. Everything is completely normal. “Don’t let a sorry man see into you,” Portia says instead of goodnight.

I won’t say more. But as you’d expect, the series contains a fascinating collection of off-kilter images and limbo-like scenes filled with dread. It’s heightened by the presence of Jennifer Jason Leigh as a strange mother. When she showed up in the middle of the night, saying some strange things, I felt nervous. I had to turn down the volume. I started to feel uncomfortable, it was very scary.

Why is it so dark in their house? What bulbs do they use for 2 watt bulbs? How do they read cooking instructions or put on contact lenses? Are you telling me no one here needs corrective vision aids? No one goes on their phones. Don’t have emails to verify?

A bleak prospect seems to await Rachel, who finds an ominous note on the floor that says “Don’t marry him,” dripping with blood. Sex and death have always been associated with horror; Marriage and murder is a nice spin. The show revels in the trappings of weddings from hell: the fraught politics of the dress, the borrowed heirlooms and blues, the soulmates and the twiggy decor. (“This is supposed to be live rice, not The Blair Witch Project,” complains party organizer Portia.) Most of all, it gives a creepy new meaning to the feeling of being cold.

Maybe this is your street. Do I want this family to have access to good WiFi, with a signal booster, because their house is an odd shape? Do I think there’s something wrong with horror fans, perhaps sexually? Do I worry that I won’t sleep tonight? I do! A thousand times, I do!