Maika Monroe shows how much more than 'Scream Queen' she is in 'Victorian Psycho'

After years spent fleeing serial killers and worse, Maika Monroe goes on the offensive in the gothic triller “Victorian Psycho.”On the surface, the movie appears to extend Monroe’s reputation as the preeminent “Scream Queen” of her generation. Horror films like “It Follows,” “Watcher” and “Longlegs” have made the 33-year-old Monroe synonymous with the genre. Bodies get bloody in “Victorian Psycho,” too. But in the film, written by Virginia Feito and based on her 2025 novel, Monroe’s deranged protagonist is archly hilarious. As much as Monroe may be associated with horror, she might be even better at comedy.“I didn’t know if I could pull it off. I decided to take the leap,” Monroe says. “Man, it was just so much fun. There’s so much freedom in this role. It will definitely be the character I’ll miss the most.”In the film directed by Zachary Wigon, which Bleecker Street releases Friday in theaters, Monroe plays Winifred Notty. In the 1850s, she arrives at the Ensor House, the grand manor