Maika Monroe Becomes a Smiling Killer in 'Victorian Psycho' First Teaser
The reigning queen of indie horror just dropped her next nightmare, and it's a corseted bloodbath. Bleecker Street unleashed the first teaser trailer for Victorian Psycho today, hours after the film world-premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival. Maika Monroe — the face of Longlegs and It Follows — trades demonic FBI files for petticoats and porcelain dolls as Winifred Notty, a governess with an extremely dark secret hiding behind a polite Victorian smile.
The film hits theaters nationwide on September 25.
A Governess With a Body Count
Set in 1858, Victorian Psycho follows Winifred Notty (Monroe), a peculiar young governess who takes a post at the remote gothic estate of Ensor House to teach the wealthy owners' children. She arrives with impeccable manners, a charming wit, and the sort of unsettling stare that should have been a red flag from day one. Soon enough, members of the household staff begin disappearing under mysterious circumstances, and the suspicion that something is very wrong with the new governess becomes impossible to ignore.
The synopsis teases that "as strange, unsettling incidents become harder to ignore, Winifred descends into madness, and her increasingly brutal acts shatter the calm of the estate." Translation: this is a slow-burn slasher in a ballgown, and Monroe is the one swinging the candlestick.
The teaser plays out like a Gothic fever dream — fog-shrouded grounds, oil-lit hallways, the rustle of crinoline, and Monroe's voice intoning over the imagery: "What is the most important thing in life? Knowing good from evil. But what is evil? Can you touch it? Can you smell it?" It's giving The Innocents by way of American Psycho, and the seven-minute standing ovation the film reportedly received at its Cannes premiere suggests the full film delivers on that promise.
The Filmmakers Behind the Madness
Victorian Psycho is directed by Zachary Wigon, whose previous feature Sanctuary (2022) was a tightly wound two-hander that announced him as a director with a real instinct for psychological tension. Here, he scales up dramatically — period production design, a full ensemble cast, and a lead actress operating at the height of her powers.
The screenplay comes from author Virginia Feito, adapting her own 2025 novel of the same name. Feito's book became a buzzy literary thriller on release, drawing comparisons to Shirley Jackson, Bret Easton Ellis, and the British gothic tradition. Adapting your own debut novel for the screen is no small feat, but having the author in the writer's chair generally means the source's voice survives the transition intact.
The supporting cast is stacked. Thomasin McKenzie (Last Night in Soho, Old) and Ruth Wilson (The Affair, Luther) play key roles inside Ensor House, with Jason Isaacs (The White Lotus, the Harry Potter franchise) bringing his trademark menace to the estate's patriarch. Rounding out the ensemble are Amy De Bhrun, Jacobi Jupe, and Evie Templeton.
The film is produced by Dan Kagan's Traffic banner alongside Sebastien Raybaud's Anton, with Anonymous Content in association. Bleecker Street holds U.S. distribution rights
