A new era of horror is beginning, characterized by psychological fear and the use of sound and editing to create a tense atmosphere, and one of the most recent shows that utilize this form of horror is the new Netflix mini-series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen.

The mini-series follows the protagonist, Rachel, who travels with her fiancée to his family’s remote cabin for their small wedding. She is then haunted with unexplainable dread and suspicions about her new in-law’s strange behavior.

The show’s tone is built through the use of built up music throughout all scenes, scary and mundane, like in scenes where Rachel is being told a horror story, the sound slowly gets louder and louder, and when the music finally crescendos, there is a physical shock accompanying it. Through the use of music and volume, the show successfully creates a well-developed jump scare. Not to mention, the soundtrack and multiple needle drops picked for each episode deserve their own round of applause with classic songs such as We Will Not Be Lovers by The Waterboys and You Are My Destiny by Paul Anka being featured. 

The show also utilized editing and camera work to create an unsteady atmosphere and characterize death. Throughout the episodes, death is a lingering figure which haunts every character, and while death is not a physical being, you can tell when you are in the perspective of death by the camera work. The environment begins to become rounded and blurry, and the camera moves fast and comes to a strong halt when they arrive at a person which is then followed by their death. 

The show beautifully creates a horrifying atmosphere without having a visibly scary monster that comes out of the shadows, but through establishing unpredictability, they leave you aware that there could be a monster around any corner. 

The other characteristics of the show are also exceptional with full-fleshed characters going through their own complete arcs that keeps you hooked on the show, even if you are not a fan of horror. Characters you like in the beginning turn into characters that you may hate, while some characters you begin skeptical of become well-loved by the last episode. 

If you are looking for a quick binge-watch that will keep you engaged and wanting more, try Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen.