Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers.

“The Drama”, a 2026 dark romantic comedy film directed by Kristoffer Borgli, was nothing I was expecting, but not in a disappointing way. Going into the theater, I was thinking 

I would be watching a cute romantic comedy– clearly, I did not do my research.

I am personally not one for thrillers or movies with dark plots, but this is one worth writing about.

The movie started off with a couple planning their wedding details. However, everything changed for the couple after a discussion with their best man and maid of honor at the taste testing for their dinner reception. 

All the characters were drunk and asking each other, “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?” What Zendaya‘s character, Emma, says next transforms the entire movie. 

Spoiler alert: Emma confesses that she planned a mass shooting at her high school when she was 15. Obviously, everyone in the room was floored by this information, especially her fiancé and maid of honor. 

First, her maid of honor, who she met later in life, expressed that her cousin was injured in a school shooting which ultimately led her to using a wheelchair for mobility. 

Throughout the movie, Emma explained how she was obsessed with the aesthetic of school shooters. I didn’t even know that was an aesthetic, or even one worth chasing.

This movie kept Robert Pattinson’s character Charlie, Emma’s fiancé, on the fence of marrying her. He questioned everything he knew about Emma – rightfully so. 

Emma told Charlie that she was deaf in one ear. While she was practicing her shooting in a forest in high school, she held the gun so close to her face that it blew out her eardrum.

As they continued on with their wedding planning, they were both visibly uncomfortable with the information that was shared. Charlie kept asking his friends what they would do if their fiance confessed to have planned a school shooting. 

Many of Charlie’s friends tried to justify the fact that she has changed, yet in the back of Charlie’s mind, he was replaying what would happen if Emma tapped back into those dark thoughts. 

“The Drama” ended with a scene that left me not truly knowing how to feel. After everything they went through, and the disaster of their wedding night, both characters were still willing to start over. While this is considered a good ending, this topic is very serious.

This movie feels very timely considering the huge debate with gun violence in this country.

According to Education Week, “There have been 249 school shootings in which at least one person was killed or injured since 2018.”

School shootings have been a heavy subject in the United States and have caused many changes within school systems to protect children.

I can’t remember a time in grade school when we didn’t have a routine week to practice lockdown drills. In kindergarten, our teachers would tell us it was to keep bad guys out of the building. As I grew older, I realized one of my classmates could be that bad guy. 

Knowing the severity of this issue, what would you do if you found out your significant other had previously planned a mass school shooting?

Goethals can be reached at [email protected].