‘Victorian Psycho’ Director on the Challenge of Making a ‘Demented’ and ‘Funny’ Movie Where You Root for Maika Monroe’s Serial Killer

“Victorian Psycho” is a film that lives up to its brazen title.

Maika Monroe plays Winifred Notty, a young governess who arrives at the sweeping Ensor House in the 1850s, ready to work for the well-to-do Pounds family. But Winifred also harbors a violent past and dark impulses, and a series of brutal happenings soon overtake the mansion.

The film, which is set to bow in Un Certain Regard on May 21, tumbles through tones, swerving through pitch-black humor, empathy, fury and larger-than-life moments. Director Zachary Wigon suggests a term that cleanly sums up his vision.

“The word I kept using was ‘demented,’” he says. “It’s a big tent. Demented encompasses scary, but also funny and outrageous.”

“Psycho” is Wigon’s third feature, following his 2014 debut, “The Heart Machine,” and 2022’s genre-shifting two-hander “Sanctuary.” While open to a new project, the New York City-based director discovered the work of Spanish novelist Virginia Feito and reached out to her. They discussed some different ideas, and then she offered him a chance to read her then-unpublished manuscript for “Victorian Psycho.”