Maika Monroe is gleefully and gloriously unhinged in Victorian Psycho

With leading roles in It Follows and more recently Longlegs, it's fair to state at this point that Maika Monroe is a modern scream queen. In her latest role as governess Winifred Notty in Victorian Psycho, she's all kinds of unhinged and you can tell she had an absolute blast playing such an off-the-rails character.

Directed by Zachary Wigon, Victorian Psycho is based on the novel by Virginia Feito, who also penned the film's screenplay. Winifred lands a job at the gothic Ensor estate, run by the eccentric and perverted Mr. Pounds (Jason Isaacs) and Mrs. Pounds (Ruth Wilson), who keeps a sharp eye on everything that happens in her home. From the outset, it's clear that something is up with Winifred and that she's fleeing her past, even if she says in the opening that she's the sanest person she knows. There's an evil inside of her that she bottles up. For example, when the Pound children, Drusilla (Evie Templeton) and Andrew (Jacobi Jupe), ask about the last children she watched over, she mentions that two of them went missing and one drowned. Of course, viewers can guess what that really means, and in that same scene, Winifred unleashes awful violence against a poor deer they encounter in the woods.

While aspects of this movie are uneven and some of its themes deserved further development, specifically the fact that Winifred works within a system not every kind to women, it's the performances that really make this feature. The entire cast is great. Wilson and Isaacs are often hilarious, even when threatening, and a good counter to each other. Even the children are fun to watch, especially as Winifred starts taking them under her wing, Drusilla specifically. Make no mistake, though, this is Monroe's movie through and through. She's absolutely unhinged in this performance from the first moments she appears on screen. There's simply something wildly entertaining about watching her character slash throats and murder those who will never see her as anything but a glorified servant. She certainly delivers her revenge in bloody and outlandish style.

The movie's intensity and Monroe's noteworthy performance are highlighted by some of the camerawork. Frequently, Wigon includes uncomfortable close-ups and zooms in on Winifred's face, just as she's thinking horrible thoughts or has a tense encounter with the children or Mrs. Pounds. It succeeds in making the viewer fidget in the seat, while wondering who what the governess will do next.

Victorian Psycho doesn't skimp on the gore

For horror fans who love gore, Victorian Psycho is worth a watch. There are more than a few nasty kills in this movie. Though there's nothing on the level of say, a Terrifier movie, Winifred certainly racks up the kills by the time the credits roll. Gore hounds will likely dig the movie and how often Winifred paints the manor red.

While Victorian Psycho could have touched upon deeper themes, especially the challenges women like Winifred faced in Victorian culture, the movie is still a bloody romp. This is Monroe's most crazed performance yet, and for that alone, the film warrants a watch. She's utterly deranged, and it's a devilishly delightful time watching her enact revenge upon stuffy Victorians, even if she claims she's the sanest person that she knows.

Victorian Psycho is currently playing in theaters.