Maika Monroe Spirals Into Madness in Energetic First Trailer for VICTORIAN PSYCHO
The first teaser trailer for Victorian Psycho has arrived, and it looks like Maika Monroe is about to drag audiences into a deeply unhinged gothic nightmare with a punk rock flair.
The upcoming psychological horror thriller comes from the producers of Longlegs and centers on Winifred Notty, an eccentric governess played by Monroe who takes a position at the isolated Ensor House.
Her job sounds simple enough. Teach the children etiquette, proper manners, and basic education. But judging from the trailer, Winifred has a few issues of her own simmering beneath the surface.
And by “issues,” we mean discovering severed ears under beds, dipping her hands in bowls of blood, and seemingly stalking members of the household like prey.
Yeah, this isn’t exactly Pride and Prejudice territory. The film is based on Virginia Feito’s novel of the same name and looks soaked in paranoia, violence, and psychological instability. The teaser leans heavily into the question of whether Winifred is simply unraveling mentally or if something much darker has attached itself to her inside the walls of the manor.
Visually, the movie has a grimy gothic energy that feels closer to Nosferatu than a traditional Victorian drama, and Monroe’s performance gives off the same kind of intense, hypnotic presence.
The project has actually been floating around for a while. Back in 2024, Victorian Psycho was originally set to star Margaret Qualley, but the actress later exited the production. Monroe eventually stepped into the lead role, joining director Zachary Wigon, whose previous film Sanctuary showed he knows exactly how to build tension between deeply unstable characters.
The supporting cast includes Thomasin McKenzie, Jason Isaacs, Amy De Bhrún, Ruth Wilson, Jacobi Jupe, and Evie Templeton.
Monroe recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about taking on the role, admitting the experience pushed her harder than anything she’s done before:
“It terrified me. I knew that it would be the hardest role that I have ever done—and so incredibly different from anything I’ve ever done. There’s always a little part of me in roles that I do, something that I can ground it with or connect it with within my own personal life—but this role was really a departure from that.
“It was working from the ground up, creating this character where I couldn’t rely on my own self. It really, in the most magical way, took a toll on me. I felt it every day.”
That intensity definitely comes through in the footage. Monroe already cemented herself as one of modern horror’s most reliable genre stars with films like It Follows and Longlegs, but Victorian Psycho looks like it’s giving her the chance to go fully feral in a way audiences haven’t seen before.
I can’t wait to watch the chaos unfold on the big screen.