By: Maria Cieslarczyk
Earlier this month, I attended the 62nd annual Chicago International Film Festival here in my city. It was an absolutely extraordinary experience that I’m grateful I got to have. I attended the early screening for the new horror-thriller film, Victorian Psycho (2026). The director, Zachary Wigon, was also in attendance and had a Q&A session after the screening. I have only ever attended one other movie premiere so this was a special experience that I got to share with my boyfriend as well.
The excitement was definitely swirling in the air as we made our way to our seats. Passion echoed in the Music Box Theatre as the 9:45 screening began with an introduction from the event’s organization.
Victorian Psycho then took the big screen and well, my mind was blown. We got to rate the movie and I gave it a 5 out of 5 stars… here’s why.
The movie stars Maika Monroe from Longlegs, who takes on the psychotic role of Winifred Notty, an eccentric governess who arrives at a countryside gothic manor to teach two young children. Little do they know, she is an undercover serial killer with a spooky agenda of her own! Although, in parallel, the wealthy family is not what they seem either… To avoid suspicion and detection, Winifred must do questionable things to keep her killing spree a secret and get closer to the real reason she came to the manor.
The film captivates the emotions of the audience with the opening line introducing Winifred as the “sanest person she’s ever met.” Not only do we discover that Winifred is insane and evil early on in the film, but we almost root for her not to get caught along the way as we delve into the madness behind her eerie nature. The film is full of dark humor which makes it a fun slasher film to watch, especially around Halloween time.
The editing and framing was delightful. It gave instant spooks and even jump scares as the graphic cuts took place. Even the camera panning to close-ups of our main character’s face was thrilling. Maika Monroe distorts her face in such creative and convincing ways that I felt goosebumps chasing down my neck every time she’d dead-pan the camera.
The story-line had fantastic plot twists you didn’t see coming too. Just when you think you know what’s going to happen, the movie does a complete 180 and introduces you to another issue you didn’t see around the corner. It is fast-paced and fun to keep up with, at an hour and 30-minute run time. The Victorian era costumes and set design were intriguing too, transporting you to the 1800s and what life was like, back then, especially for poor women.
Furthermore, it has similarities to another film I watched for the first time in October, the classic critically-acclaimed American Psycho (2000), starting Christian Bale as the insane and cruel Patrick Bateman. The two movies share the same psychological components of what drives a person to insanity and explores the evil that is already lurking beneath the otherwise calm surface.
Overall, Victorian Psycho was a fun movie to experience and I highly recommend for all you horror fans out there to check it out. It releases officially in theaters on November 13th… don’t forget to go and enjoy getting spooked!
Leave a Reply