by Alex Billington
May 22, 2026
“I’m the most sane person I know.” Well, time to find out if that’s true! Because even though she may indeed be insane, pretty much everyone else is even more insane than she is. There’s a new horror film premiering at the Cannes Film Festival this year and it’s an underrated little genre creation from the UK (produced by Anton based in the UK). Victorian Psycho is a dark comedy ensemble feature written by Spanish writer Virginia Feito, based on her own novel of the same name, inspired by 19th-century mysteries and gothic literature. This Victorian Era dark horror comedy is kind of a historic twist on the classic serial killer thriller American Psycho, hence the title being the similar Victorian Psycho. Maika Monroe plays a governess who shows up at a manor to start working a new job but suddenly people start turning up dead – and she might have something to do with it. The twisted film is a very creative, clever horror feature that wraps up within a brisk 90 minutes as it takes us on a whimsical, bloody romp through the depraved corridors of Ensor House.
Victorian Psycho is the third feature by American director Zachary Wigon, his follow-up to the intimate thriller Sanctuary. The film‘s concept comes directly from the mind of writer Virginia Feito, introducing us right away to the multiple personalities of the new governess Winifred Notty. Clearly there’s something off about her, but this whole film is also a nuanced tale of how everyone else in the world is totally, totally nuts and she’s simply just a smart woman who occasionally likes to kill off rotten idiots. Maika Monroe stars as Winifred, playing the role with all her usual twisted charm and seems nice-but-really-is-not-nice quirks. The other two standouts in the cast are Thomasin McKenzie as Ms. Lamb, another servant working at Ensor House, and Jason Isaacs as Mr. Pounds, the kooky & careless mustachioed asshole patriarch who runs the manor. Ruth Wilson also delivers a dastardly performance as the mean matriarch of the manor, joining with Isaacs’ to provide a very clear reason why Winifred is entirely just in her desires to clean house. All the characters in the manor are entertaining and even if they are cliche, that’s the point, watching them fall into Winifred’s whims. Hamnet child actor star Jacobi Jupe also has a fun role as one of their totally nuts kids.
Wigon’s genre creativity and filmmaking prowess is on full display in Victorian Psycho– this film proves he’s not just another generic genre director. It’s a horror delight! And it’s quite nice to see some dark, brutal, dastardly fun cinema in Cannes. There’s a handful of excellent, twisted shots (thanks to his collaboration with DP Nico Aguilar), along with inspired filmmaking flourishes that give this horror flick an edge. While it could get even weirder and even more twisted, I still enjoyed so much of this film anyway. Sure, it’s not as totally mad and totally crazy as it could’ve been if they let her go all out, but what we do get with Winifred is still mostly entertaining. Above all, it’s an entirely satisfying story of this psychotic governess taking on this wealthy family of idiotic schmucks. If we can call American Psycho a classic, then this is just as rewarding following an anti-hero killer as the main character. It also reminds me of last year’s 100 Nights of Hero in some ways with plenty of bloody twists & turns and Maika Monroe rocking another lead role. She’s always so entertaining to watch and this continues that trend. This killer Victorian psycho deserves all the acclaim.
Alex’s Cannes 2026 Rating: 8 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing
