In 1858, an eccentric young governess, Winifred Notty (Monroe), arrives at the remote gothic manor Ensor House. As Winifred assimilates, staff begin to inexplicably disappear, and the owners wonder if something is amiss about this new governess.
Director: Zachary Wigon
Cast: Maika Monroe, Thomasin McKenzie, Ruth Wilson, Jason Isaacs
Release Date: November 13, 2026
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rated R for strong bloody violence and brief sexual material.
Runtime: 1h 42m
Review:
Victorian Psycho brings an over-the-top satirical darkness that provides a fascinating mix of dark humor and gore propelled by a deliciously unhinged performance from its star, Maika Monroe. Zachary Wigon directs the film with a noticeable sense of confidence as he aggressively moves the camera at various points to keep the audience off kilter. He creates a claustrophobic atmosphere within the mansion with some winks and nods to The Shining thrown in for good measure. He crafts some wonderfully constructed shots that leave an impression as it creates an environment that’s colorfully bleak. The collection of characters thrown onscreen are all over the top caricatures with each performer clearly relishing the opportunity to go all out with their turns. Maika Monroe is the lynch pin that makes the entire thing run as she delivers one of the most interesting turns of her career thus far. Her Winifred Notty is a barely contained vessel of madness that struggles to keep her darkness under control. She gives the character a certain emptiness behind the eyes paired with a series of subtle and not so subtle facial tics. She manages to make her character terrifyingly unhinged but strangely sympathetic especially once the full breath of her motivation for showing up on the family doorstep to be their new governess. It’s a fascinating turn that carries the film through some of the moments where the story doesn’t quite land the way it should. It helps that her supporting cast is filled with incredibly talent performers who are all on the same wavelength as the director and Monroe. Ruth Wilson, who’s no stranger to playing a serial killer, is excellent across the board as the matriarch who’s intrigued but distrustful of Winifred while having a rather vicious streak on her own especially when it comes to her servants. Monroe and Wilson make for the most interesting relationship onscreen, so much so that you are left wishing the film had focused more on them than Thomasin McKenzie’s Miss Lamb. McKenzie is fine in the role, serving as Winifred’s rather naïve confidant, but their relationship isn’t nearly as interesting as the one with Wilson’s Mrs. Pounds. Jason Isaacs’ Mr. Pounds also could have done with a bit more fleshing out to dig into the lecherous but aloof patriarch. Isaacs is much more understated than his castmates, but his turn brings a measured level of nuance that makes the character appear harmless initially until the layers start to fade away. Rounding out the cast are the children played by Jacobi Jupe and Evie Templeton who deserve plenty of praise for their ability to match their older costars every time they share the screen giving each child a very distinctive personality, especially Templeton’s Drusilla. Once Victorian Psycho reaches its bloody end, it's hard to not be impressed with film as a whole but especially by Maika Monroe who continues to morph into different characters with each new film.
B+
