Spoilers for Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen ahead!
There’s a lot to unpack in Netflix’s new psychological thriller, Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen. Starring Camila Morrone, Adam DiMarco, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Karla Crome, the seven-episode series is a tense, unrelenting ride from start to finish.
Rather than relying on classic horror jump scares, the show trades in something far more unsettling: a slow, under-the-skin dread that builds and builds until both viewers — and protagonist Rachel — are left gasping under the pressure. That’s not to say it’s without its shock moments, though. One particular basement scene (you’ll know the one) delivers a shock that lingers long after the credits roll.
At the centre of it all is the enigmatic “Sorry Man,” a looming presence that haunts the characters’ thoughts and, increasingly, appears to exist within the house itself. It’s one of the series’s most chilling mysteries, and when the truth is finally revealed, it lands in a way few viewers will see coming.
Here’s what the Sorry Man really means, and why it’s so terrifying.
Starring The Night Manager's Camila Morrone.
What is the Sorry Man?
We’re first introduced to the “Sorry Man” in episode one of Something Very Bad is Going to Happen, when Portia (Gus Birney) recounts the story to Rachel (Camila Morrone) shortly after they meet, with a clear intention to unsettle her. Unfortunately, Nell (Karla Crome) and Jules’ (Jeff Wilbusch) young son, Jude (Sawyer Fraser), overhears the tale and quickly becomes fixated on it.
According to Portia, Jules ran away as a child following an argument with his mother and disappeared into the woods. When he returned, he was deeply shaken, describing a horrifying scene he claimed to have witnessed: a man capturing a woman in a wedding dress and cutting her open in a desperate attempt to find his wife inside her. All the while, the man repeatedly apologised — “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” — giving rise to the name “the Sorry Man.”
Jules was never the same after that experience, and the figure of the Sorry Man evolved into a kind of shared bogeyman among the siblings. Eventually, it became so distressing that they were forbidden from speaking about him altogether.
For Jude, however, the damage is already done. He’s visibly shaken by the story, particularly because Rachel is a bride-to-be. When Portia ominously tells him that only the blood of a bride can summon the Sorry Man, it does little to comfort him. After spotting blood from one of Rachel’s nosebleeds, he spirals into panic, convinced the threat is real. Jules attempts to reassure him, insisting the story is nothing more than fiction.
But the unease lingers. Later, Rachel discovers her wedding dress strung up on a mannequin in the woods. Nell soon realises that Jude is responsible, having staged the scene in a misguided attempt to lure the Sorry Man away from Rachel.
Who is the Sorry Man?
For a while, it’s easy to believe the Sorry Man is nothing more than a disturbing piece of folklore… until the series proves otherwise.
In episode 3, Jude spots a man in the basement while filming on his camcorder. Genuinely, who didn't jump at that moment? He keeps the discovery to himself, but the sense of unease escalates when Rachel is abducted in the middle of the night by a mysterious figure. Panicked, Jude wakes his father and finally shares what he saw, showing him the footage. Jules is visibly shaken.
The following episode shifts dramatically, pulling us out of the present timeline and into the past through a single, shaky camera recording. The effect is deeply unsettling — think Blair Witch-level filming. We meet a pregnant woman and her partner, who is usually behind the camera. They’re preparing to get married, but something feels off from the start.
When the woman reveals she wants to name their baby Rachel — against her partner’s wishes — the realisation dawns: this is Rachel’s mother.
The couple marry in a small chapel, but the moment is laced with unease. An unseen witness asks Alexandra, “Is he the one?” Yep, a chilling echo of the same question posed to Rachel by a stranger in episode one. As she walks down the aisle, it feels less like a beginning and more like a premonition.
Back at their cabin, the atmosphere shifts from tender to terrifying. As they begin to kiss, the bride suddenly develops a severe nosebleed. Within moments, blood begins pouring from her eyes. Jay panics, calling for an ambulance, but it quickly becomes clear she’s losing too much blood. Cradled in his arms, she manages to whisper, “You have to tell her…” before dying.
What happens next is horrifying. In a desperate attempt to save their unborn child, her husband cuts her open, all the while repeating, “I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry.”
Sound familiar?
Back in the present, the truth lands with devastating force. Rachel, having been forced to watch the tape by her abductor, aka her own father. She’s been lied to her entire life about how her mother died.
He insists he was trying to protect her, even revealing that he was the one who sent the ominous note warning her not to marry Nicky, fearing history would repeat itself.
Then, in a dramatic confrontation, Jules arrives with a gun and accuses Rachel’s father of being the Sorry Man. Wait, what?!
And in a way, he’s right.
Jules didn’t invent the story; he just misremembered it. As a child, he had run away and hidden under a bed in that cabin, before witnessing the horrific scene unfold: the blood, the panic, the repeated apologies. He remembers Alexandra saying, “Tell her… It's real.” Through the fragmented lens of childhood trauma, the truth became something else entirely — and the myth of the Sorry Man was born.
What a whirlwind.
We won’t spoil more of the Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen ending, but one thing’s for sure: the explanation behind the Sorry Man is every bit as chilling as the legend itself — if not more.
Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen is available to watch on Netflix.
