Victorian Psycho, the Gothic horror film featuring Maika Monroe, has just been shown to Cannes’ audience, and the reactions are rolling in.
Maika Monroe, hailed as the new queen of horror after her breakout in It Follows in 2014 and since solidified in titles like Greta, Tau, and the breakout hit Longlegs, returns to the genre she never abandoned with Victorian Psycho. In this fantastical thriller adapted from Virginia Freito’s novel (who also penned the screenplay), Monroe plays a kind of malevolent twin to Jane Eyre—a young governess who arrives at a Gothic manor, only for a string of mysterious disappearances to follow.
The trailer for this curious project, directed by Zachary Wigon (The Heart Machine, Submission) and featuring Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit, Last Night in Soho), Ruth Wilson (The Affair, His Dark Materials) and Jason Isaacs (The Patriot, The White Lotus), had us on the edge of our seats. Shown at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section a few days ago, Victorian Psycho was unveiled to the Croisette audience, who have now weighed in with their verdicts. So, does the result live up to the promise?
A Win for Victorian Psycho?
“Bloody with gore, murder tales and gothic charm, Victorian Psycho is as successful as it is because it doesn’t need to pose as auteurish or take itself too seriously to be good.”
Therese Lacson, Collider
“The third film by Zachary Wigon thrives on pushing the traditional motifs of Gothic psychodramas to a delirious height, while paying vibrant homage to the literary roots of the genre.”
Nikki Baughan, Screen Daily
“More than a well-crafted thriller, Victorian Psycho also proves to be a formidable comedy, anchored by a brilliant trio of performances that hit every line with perfectly stoic delivery.”
Savina Petkova, The Film Stage
“In a movie called Victorian Psycho, one naturally expects a torrent of blood and violence in every direction. But in his latest feature, Zachary Wigon chooses, instead, to tease the audience with a good scent of freshly butchered flesh to crush them under a massive layer of frustration.”
Rafael Sales Ross, The Playlist
“At times, the film veers toward parody, but never fully commits to it as something more than a poorly balanced hybrid, despite the power of its atmospheric visuals and set pieces.”
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
“The overall tone is simply abominable. It’s hard to imagine the source novel, here personally adapted by Virginia Feito, could have been so painfully devoid of interest.”
Tim Robey, The Telegraph
“In a film titled Victorian Psycho, one naturally anticipates a surge of splattered blood and violence in every direction. Yet in Zachary Wigon’s latest feature, he instead chooses to tantalize the audience with the scent of freshly butchered flesh to crush them beneath a heavy veil of frustration.”
Rafael Sales Ross, The Playlist
“Moment by moment, the film tilts toward parody, but never fully commits to becoming anything other than a lopsided hybrid, despite the strength of its atmospheric mood and set pieces.”
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
“The overall tone is simply appalling. It’s hard to imagine the source novel, here personally adapted by Virginia Feito, could have been so painfully devoid of interest.”
Tim Robey, The Telegraph
“Given that Victorian Psycho is built to be a horror piece, the tone of the piece is devastating. The mood is there, and the performances anchor it, but the overall effect is that it leans too often toward parody rather than genuine dread.”
The film’s Metacritic score sits at a modest 54/100, reflecting a cautiously mixed reception to Victorian Psycho thus far. Still, the substance of most reviews remains at least positive, or at the very least deeply intriguing. It’s the film’s tone—caught between a hyperbolic Gothic sensibility and a near self-aware wink—that seems to captivate some audiences while turning others away.
Some critics point to the gore as abundant, others notice its sparseness. Die-hard fans of Gothic lore should find at least some merit in the homage to the literary roots of the genre and in the film’s design aesthetics. All of this suggests one simple takeaway: as ever, audiences will need to form their own judgment, which should be possible this fall 2026.
