Victorian Psycho
/Directed by Zachary Wigon and distributed by Bleecker Street, Victorian Psycho originally had some different talent and distribution attachments, intended to be a film starring Margaret Qualley and distributed by A24. Instead, Maika Monroe stars—known as a “scream queen” (a woman prominently featured in horror films), in the vein of Jamie Lee Curtis or Jenna Ortega.
The teaser is straightforward, communicating its horror-comedy dynamic through the audiovisual counterpoint of pairing Victorian characters and settings to the tune of metal track “Throw Yourself to the Sword” by Die Spitz, a 2025 track from their debut on Third Man Records (Jack White’s label). With lyrics like “what’s it like knowing none of you bitches can compete?”, this is not your great-great-grandparents’ Victorian era.
We start, however, with a ticking clock—a diegetic one, this time—a favourite aural ploy for modern trailer editors to instil low key anticipation and tension. Creaking sounds accompany the classroom monologue about morality. Notice the additional reverb on the speaker’s voice at 0:12 as the camera defocuses, audio and video blurring in sync.
We get the first electric guitar chugs at 0:17 with the first title card and the reveal of a severed ear. The imagery of blood on hands, a skull, and later licking said blood fit the soundtrack to a tee, in addition to being humorously anachronistic. The vocals enter as we reach an action montage, with key points synched to the beat—a knife in a painting; the brandishing of an axe. After a brief reprieve (a doctor suggesting “you have an organ of lust”), the music roars back as our protagonist shatters a teacup by hand.
A monologue by a student at the end further—again in a schoolroom setting—emphasizes the disconnect between music and the world of the film—“kill them; kill them all”, she states faintly, in a meagre British accent.
More than anything else, the pairing of audio and visual suggests fun, with an emphasis on spectacle and a thorough lampooning of the Victorian era.
Victorian Psycho hits theatres September 25th.
— Curtis Perry
