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Haley Z. Boston, creator and executive producer of Netflix’s new limited series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, admits she’s surprisingly easy to scare – an uncommon trait for a writer in the horror genre.
“I’m afraid of everything,” Boston, 31, shared in a recent interview. “I’m scared of horror movies, but that’s why I love them – because they really scare me.
Many horror creators become desensitized, always chasing the next big fright. I’m the opposite; I get scared easily.”
Her series, which debuted Thursday, is a chilling blend of David Lynch-style surrealism and Rosemary’s Baby-inspired paranoia. The story unfolds during the tense week leading up to the wedding of Rachel (Camila Morrone) and her fiancé Nicky (Adam DiMarco), with Nicky’s mother Victoria (Jennifer Jason Leigh) casting a shadow over the events. As Rachel uncovers unsettling truths about Nicky’s family-and even her own past-she becomes increasingly convinced that saying “I do” might be deadly.
Boston explained her inspiration: “I’ve heard people say in their wedding vows, ‘I never once had a doubt.’ I think, how could you not question everything? That doubt felt like a natural source of horror to explore.”
A lifelong horror enthusiast from Oregon, Boston sports a tattoo referencing her favorite film, Brian DePalma’s Carrie. She has built a reputation writing for eerie, atmospheric shows like Netflix’s Brand New Cherry Flavor and Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. Her episode “The Outside,” based on a comic, explored the alienation of a woman’s unsettling transformation-a theme Boston connected with personally.
Her passion for storytelling began early. After watching Kill Bill as a teenager, she became fascinated by filmmaking and storytelling. Though she briefly considered a medical career like her parents, a writing class at Northwestern University confirmed her true calling.
Moving to Los Angeles, Boston worked her way up from the William Morris Endeavor mailroom while writing scripts on the side. A college slasher script earned her an agent, and a pilot inspired by Killing Eve led to 22 pitch meetings, including one with cult horror director Sam Raimi. “I was 24, and that was the scariest thing I’d done professionally,” she recalled.
Despite no prior on-set experience, Boston took on the role of showrunner for her new series. Camila Morrone praised her leadership: “Haley was so confident and graceful, even if overwhelmed. This is her story, and she knows it inside and out.”
Boston drew from her own complicated feelings about marriage-her parents’ seemingly perfect 37-year union had always felt intimidating. The series’ concept came to her around her 27th birthday, as friends began marrying, and she developed the story over time. After writing the pilot in just two weeks, she impressed Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer, who signed on as executive producers.
Ross Duffer praised Boston’s unique voice: “Her script was unlike anything we’d seen. We knew we had to be part of it.”
Matt added, “Haley’s dark, dry humor feels real. Her characters speak like real people-a rare quality.”
Filmed in Toronto with directors Weronika Tofilska, Lisa Brühlmann, and Axelle Carolyn, the series draws on a range of cinematic influences to create its unsettling tone. Boston’s goal was to twist the familiar into something disorienting and new.
Looking ahead, Boston is writing a film she plans to direct, aiming to break further into the traditionally male-dominated horror scene. “Horror has always been about women surviving, which is powerful,” she said.
“But many of the iconic horror films about women were made by men. I want to bring my perspective to the genre.”
With Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, Boston is poised to establish herself as a fresh, compelling voice in horror-and she’s just getting started on her reign of terror.