VICTORIAN PSYCHO movie poster | ©2026 Bleecker Street

Rating: R
Stars: Maika Monroe, Thomasin McKenzie, Evie Templeton, Jacobi Jupe, Ruth Wilson, Jason Isaacs, Barry O’Connor
Writer: Virginia Feito, based on the novel by Virginia Feito
Director: Zachary Wigon
Distributor: Bleecker Street
Release Date: November 13, 2026

VICTORIAN PSYCHO feels like a dark adult fractured fairytale, or maybe a really fleshed-out Edward Gorey artwork. Directed by Zachary Wigon and scripted by Virginia Feito from her novel, we see the world from the off-kilter point of view of our narrator, Winifred Notty (Maika Monroe), who introduces herself by saying she’s the sanest person she’s ever met.

As it turns out, Winifred is quite bonkers but, based on the other people she encounters as VICTORIAN PSYCHO proceeds, we may wind up agreeing with her self-assessment.

VICTORIAN PSYCHO is broken up into six chapters. In the first, the comely Winifred arrives at the vast estate of Windsor House. She’s looking forward to being the governess for the two children of the Pounds family, after several “failed” previous jobs with “lesser” families in nearby Yorkshire.

We may wonder, with her background (which we’ll learn more about), how Winifred secured this new position. She has a letter of recommendation that bears the Pounds heraldic crest, which opens the doors for her, although she is still sternly directed to the servants’ entrance when she dares knock at the front.

We learn that Winifred is from a village where there was a scandal with murdered babies, and yes, that turns out to be what we suspect. This is not because Winifred is malicious but because she has a very skewed way of viewing things – supported by shots that employ fish-eye lenses and tilting angles – and frequently hallucinates.

Patriarch Mr. Pounds (Jason Isaacs) is very much the traditional entitled lord of the manor. Mrs. Pounds (Ruth Wilson) is jealous, petty and vindictive. Young heir Andrew (Jacobi Jupe), one of Winifred’s charges, shows signs of growing up to be as awful as his father. Only preteen Drusilla Pounds (Evie Templeton), Andrew’s sister, has promise as an artist and as an individual, though her parents see her value strictly in terms of marriageability.

Naïve fellow servant Miss Lamb (Thomasin McKenzie) idolizes Winifred, while other Pounds employees are less welcoming. They find out the hard way that it’s unwise to tangle with the tutor.

Wigon and Felto, with superb aid from Monroe’s performance, maintain a tone of horrifying whimsy, or whimsical horror. We laugh and gasp simultaneously much of the time. Plot twists are set up fairly without announcing themselves too far in advance.

McKenzie has fun with her character’s daffiness. Templeton, whose Drusilla is the most “normal” figure in the vicinity, handles nuance deftly.

There are resemblances to AMERICAN PSYCHO, but the feel here is folksier and friendlier. Despite her peculiarities and homicidal tendencies, there’s something nearly endearing about Winifred. We have a good idea of where all of this is going but, thanks to the just-right humor and punchy turns, we are engrossed throughout as to how it’s going to get there.

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