Cannes Review: Victorian Psycho Exhibits Gothic Horror with Assurance and Enthusiasm

      In 1858, during a time before Freud, a castle in the Yorkshire moors of Northern England, named Ensor House, becomes the new residence for the young governess Winifred Notty (Maika Monroe, known for her horror role in Longlegs). She encounters a predictably awkward, wealthy family called the Pounds, which includes Mrs. Pounds (Ruth Willson), Mr. Pounds (Jason Isaacs), their heir Andrew (Jacobi Jupe), and teenage daughter Drusilla (Evie Templeton). However, the screenplay—adapted from Virginia Feito’s novel—holds numerous surprises. Following the erotic thriller Sanctuary with this period piece and a mysterious premise, director Zachary Wigon successfully embraces gothic horror, and the whimsically bizarre Victorian Psycho stands as a testament to his versatility and dedication to the genre.

      Upon arriving at the manor, Mrs. Notty (whose name humorously resembles “naughty”) is charged with teaching the children everything from table etiquette to family history while striving to impart her supposedly exemplary moral guidance, at least in theory. Concurrently, Winifred’s confessional voiceover infuses the film with sarcastic comments that hint at her psychopathic tendencies, playfully engaging the audience. “My name is Winifred Notty and I’m the sanest person I’ve ever met,” she proclaims in the opening scene, provoking laughter and empathy—not least because viewers are more aware of the challenges faced by Victorian women than the characters themselves. Unspoken yet inherent in Victorian Psycho is the psychoanalytical notion that hysteria and pathology might be among the only rational responses to an irrational world.

      Monroe’s face is often captured in close-ups and slightly tilted angles, enhancing her ever-present, unsettling smile, with Nico Aguilar’s camerawork literally reflecting the twisted thoughts of the main character. The film employs canted angles, inverted frames, and anxious, breathy camera movements to create an electrifying sense of thrill. Victorian Psycho acknowledges its influences from Brian De Palma and American Psycho, treating its female lead with a curiosity that steers clear of fetishization. It adeptly balances identification and critique, using humor to mitigate potential accusations of bias. Mrs. Notty's brutally candid confessions about her crimes and her lectures on evil maintain a humorously shocking tone. Even when she demonstrates cruelty by harming an innocent animal to make a point, her eccentricity, reminiscent of Bella Baxter from Poor Things, proves difficult to resist.

      Moreover, Victorian Psycho merits commendation for resisting the temptation to glamorize its central character: the screenplay (like the novel) promptly reveals her dark past to both the audience and the other characters. Nonetheless, she expresses a “tender” connection to her darkness, externalizing it with a sophistication rarely seen in recent female-led horror. Ariel Marx’s deviant score enhances Winifred’s descent into madness, incorporating haunted whispers and screams alongside strings and dramatic crescendos that highlight both her theatricality and the enjoyment she derives from her cruel actions.

      More than just a skillfully crafted thriller, Victorian Psycho emerges as an engaging comedy, with its trio of talented actors consistently delivering their lines in a stoic manner. Alongside Monroe, Wilson and Isaacs perfectly complement each other as they strive to outdo one another’s absurdity without ever hiding their characters' cold-heartedness. A special mention for Best Inanimate Object Cameo should go to the pineapple—a possible nod to a memorable line in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite—joyfully acquired by the young master Andrew, one of the film’s lighter jokes. Even if you typically don't gravitate towards the dark humor found in Victorian Psycho—which may be slightly misandrist, occasionally anti-natalist, but always anti-classist—Wigon and his team might just draw you into that darker realm, if only for the film’s runtime.

      Victorian Psycho premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival and is set to be released on September 25.