The new series produced by the Duffer brothers for Netflix strictly complies with the commandments of platform fiction: a first chapter that engages more than the ‘Golden’ of ‘The K-pop Warriors’, a twist in the fourth that leaves you with your jaw on the floor, a lot of filler episode in between, a chapter with a long sequence shot whose sole objective is to be cool, a final mascletá as effective as it is enjoyable, an epilogue that leaves a plot thread hanging in case you have to use it in the future and a playlist full of great songs from yesterday (Johnny Cash, Paul Anka, Gloria Gaynor) and today (Animal Collective, Alexandra Savior, Geese).
What distinguishes ‘Something Terrible is About to Happen’ from other similar series, cut from the same cloth? Its team of directors and screenwriters, who are among the most suggestive of current genre cinema: Haley Z. Boston (‘New Cherry Flavor’, ‘The Cabinet of Curiosities’), Lisa Brühlmann (‘Servant’, ‘Killing Eve’), Axelle Carolyn (‘Them’, ‘The Midnight Club’) and, my favorite, Weronika Tofilska (‘My Stuffed Reindeer’, ‘Blood on the Lips’).
Despite the packaging that these Netflix products usually come with, these creators manage to print a touch of distinction: slight and expressive deviations in the staging (the circular shot inside the car in the first episode is a good example), a particular atmosphere (mysterious and Lynchian at the beginning; crazy and gore, very much in line with Coralie Fargeat or ‘Wedding Night’, at the end), characters that slightly go out of the mold (it is not common to see a protagonist drinking bleach throughout the series) and a certain willingness to create his own speech, in this case about the institution of marriage and romantic love.
Like the sign ‘Something terrible is about to happen’, which bursts by surprise in each chapter, the series seeks to shock and shock with every step the protagonist takes through the poorly lit corridors of her in-laws’ disturbing country house. Both for the mix of genres – from romantic comedy to supernatural horror, including family drama and gore – and for its audiovisual style, very striking and attractive (the author of the soundtrack is Colin Stetson, known for ‘Hereditary’ and ‘Color Out of Space’).
‘Something Terrible is About to Happen’ is a “I do”, a series that unapologetically embraces the codes of the algorithm but introduces enough oddities so that the trip becomes more than just a formality: irregular, at times repetitive, but suggestive enough so that one does not regret putting on the engagement ring.
