Maika Monroe plays against type in Victorian Psycho, taking on the role of serial killer governess Winifred Notty rather than her usual position as horror protagonist. Director Zachary Wigon and screenwriter Virginia Feito, adapting her own novel, struggle to make the premise work despite Monroe's committed performance.
The film follows Notty as she arrives at the Ensor House to care for the children of Mr. and Mrs. Pounds, played by Jason Isaacs and Ruth Wilson. Monroe's character barely conceals her madness, telling the children "Fred is the name of the demon that lives inside me" after bludgeoning a wounded deer. The governess keeps severed ears hidden in her luggage while plotting her next moves.
Wigon's stylistic choices undercut the tension. Repeated close-up shots of Monroe's tilted neck and household props, along with chapter breaks, fragment the narrative and blunt the impact of the murders. Monroe switches between mannered oddness and half-lidded lunacy, but her telegraphed killings lack shock value. The film drowns itself in the golden beige aesthetic of a Victorian period drama, occasionally spattered with blood, which threatens to put audiences to sleep rather than unsettle them.
The screenplay gestures at deeper themes without developing them: whether demons inhabit these isolated women or whether their violence stems from their social position, and whether the parents harbor inappropriate desires for their nanny. These ideas remain whispers and off-screen suggestions. Monroe's novelty in villainy wears thin by the second paragraph of voiceover, leaving her stranded without material to elevate.
Victorian Psycho releases November 13, 2026.