In recent years, actors Bill Skarsgård and Maika Monroe have made names for themselves in the horror genre. And with films like It Follows for Monroe, and Barbarian and IT for Skarsgård, it’s easy to see how well they fit into the genre. So, put those two in a movie together, and you’re bound to make some serious horror magic. That’s exactly what the film Villains does, and it even adds some extra talent into the mix with Jeffrey Donovan and Kyra Sedgwick as the titular villains. What results is a unique blend of horror and comedy that frightens, delights, and makes for an all-around good time. Yet it’s not nearly as talked about as it should be.
Recently, both Monroe and Skarsgård have been taking the horror genre by storm. Monroe starred in the widely talked about and praised Longlegs, in which she plays the demure Agent Harker who is tasked with solving a tricky murder case and chasing the deranged titular serial killer played by Nicolas Cage. Meanwhile, Skarsgård is currently in the role of Eric Draven in the horror-adjacent remake of The Crow, a role famously originated by the late Brandon Lee. While both Monroe and Skarsgård float between genres and don’t dedicate their time solely to horror, they do shine within the genre and make for a dream pairing. So, it’s time Villains gets the love it deserves because it is an underrated gem within the horror genre.
‘Villains’ Is a Unique Take on the Horror Comedy
The horror genre is really just an umbrella term for several different types of movies to fit under. In reality, a lot of horror movies don’t fit the typical slasher bill or even the supernatural route. In recent years, the genre has expanded and there are so many subgenres to explore for every type of viewer. There are still classic haunted house movies and psychological horror flicks, but there are also splatter films and, in what has gained a lot more popularity in recent years, horror comedies. The horror comedy has always been a popular genre, with films like The Evil Dead and The Rocky Horror Picture Show bringing the subgenre mainstream. Later, other horror movies followed suit, realizing they could achieve both scares and humor, with Scream and the Chucky movies being some of the most iconic. Horror comedy is the label that Villains best fits under because while it certainly has its moments of intensity and scares, it also has hilariously absurd moments.
Villains opts for a dry sense of humor throughout. It’s not in your face and is very subtle in how it’s done, yet so many moments are laugh-out-loud-worthy. For example, when our main characters Mickey (Skarsgård) and Jules (Monroe) try and break into the house, they manage to pick the lock but are thwarted by a deadbolt on the inside, leading Mickey to quip “Who deadbolts their door? This is a great neighbourhood!” Meanwhile, he’s literally trying to break into the house. A lot of the movie’s jokes are like that, very tongue in cheek, but they never come across as cheesy. However, a lot of the jokes land due to the delivery, because Skarsgård and Monroe have impeccable comedic timing, especially in their shared scenes. Their chemistry is what makes Villains work so well. While everything else, from the script to the cinematography, is executed perfectly, Skarsgård and Monroe make up the very core of Villains and allow for the movie to pay off some emotional and weighted moments interspersed with the comedic ones. These scenes don’t feel out of place like you may think either, because you truly do believe Mickey and Jules are madly in love with one another, and the movie plays into that connection alongside the stress of the movie’s big predicament.
‘Villains’ Doesn’t Have a Clear Hero
When it’s already got a stellar cast, and some juicy characters and storylines to dig into, a movie doesn’t need to rely on head-spinning plot twists to keep audiences glued in. But it’s always a bonus if it does. Villains is chock-full of twists, and it’s hard to see any of them coming. When Mickey and Jules first break into the house, you’re expecting a game of cat and mouse; that the owners will come home, see the unwanted visitors, and chaos will ensue. But there’s nothing predictable about Villains, and it’s got some great moments of shock to kick things into action, even before the owners inevitably come home. So when the owners do arrive home, we’re all the more ready to see things go down. That isn’t where the twists begin and end. However, we want you to discover this shocking and unpredictable movie for yourself so we’ll keep this spoiler-free.
When Villains first begins, it’s a crime drama. Our main characters Mickey and Jules kick off the movie by robbing a gas station — their last heist before they plan to move to Florida. But as they’re driving they run out of gas — which is a staple trope in horror movies at this point. Already having pulled off one heist, the couple decides to break into a nearby house in search of a gas can, but they really couldn’t have picked a worse house. Mickey and Jules are on the run and not looking to be caught by the police, but given the events that await them inside the house, Villains begs the question, would jail almost be less of a hassle? Speaking of Mickey and Jules’ run from the law, they’re very clearly shown to be criminals, with theft being their main source of income, so it’s no surprise that they’re not exactly the moral center of the movie. But no one is. Villains stays true to its title.
There is no clear hero in the movie, nor is there a clear villain for that matter. Yes, you can look at Mickey and Jules and say that they’re the villains for their crimes, but as more is revealed about other characters, it becomes obvious that no one is innocent, and that none of these characters are much better than one another. It’s a fascinating power balance that isn’t often portrayed. That being said, despite there not being a clear hero or villain, the movie still allows you the room to sympathize with each character, no matter the things they do throughout the film — and things get pretty weird! Villains doesn’t dwell on backstories, but it does give you enough to understand who the characters are as well as how they’ve gotten to where they are. It doesn’t make their actions right, but it sheds light on them and paints them as real, flawed people who happen to make some very bad choices.
‘Villains’ Is Unlike Bill Skarsgård and Maika Monroe’s Other Roles
Villains is a step in a different direction for both Maika Monroe and Bill Skarsgård in terms of their other horror roles. Bill Skarsgård is often cast as the villain in horror projects, with his first major role seeing him play a vampire in the TV series Hemlock Grove. But it was in 2017 that he truly catapulted to stardom when he was cast as Pennywise in the two It movies. He’s also been cast as Count Orlok in Robert Eggers‘ upcoming remake of Nosferatu, showing again how seamlessly he can blend into the roles of horror’s most iconic monsters. His role in Villains is reminiscent in ways of his role in Barbarian, where you’re led to believe he’s going to be the bad guy, simply because he’s Bill Skarsgård and that’s sort of become his thing within the horror genre. It turns out he really is just an average guy, and isn’t evil at all — but we only learn that when it’s too late. The same is true for his role in Villains; here, he’s not as much of an average guy, but he’s not evil either. He’s simply a bumbling criminal who’s madly in love with his girlfriend.
On the flip side, Maika Monroe always tends to play a more meek and reserved character, her most famous being in It Follows, a character she’ll return to in the upcoming sequel They Follow. The same is true for her role in Longlegs, where she plays a detective. Her characters tend to be restrained and quiet; they’re never loud and tend to blend in rather than stand out, often to protect themselves. This is the typical bill that comes with being a Final Girl, which Monroe usually is in horror. However, her character in Villains is the complete opposite of her other roles. Jules is very headstrong and determined, saying things when she probably shouldn’t be, but refusing to back down. That’s not to say that Monroe’s other characters have been any less strong. They certainly are, and there’s a reason she’s often cast as a Final Girl, but Jules stands out for just how far she’s willing to go to save not only herself but Mickey as well.
Villains is truly the perfect movie for Monroe and Skarsgård to show off their acting skills and play against their usual type while still remaining in their realm of comfort. Maika Monroe and Bill Skarsgård rarely ever do comedies, and their respective filmographies are filled with a lot of serious and grounded works, with many coming from the horror genre. No one comes out of It Follows with a positive feeling, and you’re certainly not leaving It without some sense of dread in the pit of your stomach. So, Villains offered both actors a happy medium. The movie was a chance to work within their comfort zone of the horror genre while getting to flex their comedy muscles in a more casual and grounded space. Villains isn’t an outright comedy, so there isn’t a ton of pressure for it to be funny, but it has a lighter tone and it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which allowed Monroe and Skarsgård to have a bit more fun with the characters than they often get to do with their usual horror fare.
Villains
When their car breaks down, a couple on the run headed southbound for a fresh start in the Sunshine State break into a nearby house looking for a new set of wheels. What they find instead is a dark secret, and a sweet-as-pie pair of homeowners who will do anything to keep it from getting out.
- Language
- English
- Run Time
- 1h30m
- Director
- Dan Berk. Robert Olsen
- Release Date
- September 20, 2019
- Actors
- Maika Monroe, Bill Skarsgård, Kyra Sedgwick, Jeffrey Donovan, Blake Baumgartner
Villains is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
WATCH ON Amazon Prime
