An unambitious horror comedy that executes well

Villains is a fun little horror comedy that executes well even if it’s not terribly ambitious.

Mickey (Bill Skarsgård) and Jules (Maika Monroe) are a young couple on the run from a gas station heist when they run out of gas and are taken captive by an older couple in a nearby house settled in the woods, miles away from anyone else.

When they break into the house for gas, they discover a disheveled young girl chained up in the basement. Jules convinces Mickey they need to rescue this girl, but the owners George (Jeffrey Donovan) and Gloria (Kyra Sedgwick) discover the fugitives in the act and tie them up in the basement. The rest of the movie follows Mickey and Jules in their escape while they learn the truth about their deceivingly polite kidnappers.

The plot’s third act begins when the police arrive, looking for Mickey and Jules. While George and Gloria are distracted, Mickey and Jules attempt their escape. George kills Mickey as they’re about to leave, but not before getting run over and injured. George then attempts to kill Jules, but the basement girl shoots a 007 hole through George’s eye, allowing them to escape to their new life in Florida.

Director Robert Olsen does a fantastic job with pacing, telling the entire story in under 90 minutes and giving us enough plot development to stay engaged with an otherwise vanilla storyline. And that’s the beauty of Villains: it’s a simple horror flick that doesn’t take itself too seriously, has fun, and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

George and Gloria force our protagonists to play by their rules, characterized by southern hospitality. It’s a complete juxtaposition to the kidnapping, manipulation and murder they employ along the way. It’s also unbelievable in the best way, laying the foundation for a storyline so crazy you don’t have to guess if the movie is serious or not (it’s not).

Throughout the film we learn Gloria’s baby is actually just a porcelain doll named Ethan. Stranger yet, she treats Ethan like a real child, which we see when Jules watches her while hiding in a closet during an escape attempt. The following scene was the most powerful in the entire film.

Mickey convinces George to let him out, but just as he’s about to be freed, Jules mistakenly reveals herself holding Ethan, then dropping it by accident causing it/him to shatter on the ground. Gloria loses her mind because Ethan was the last gift she received from her dying mother when she was young. The backstory was still touching, even if completely bizarre.

We don’t get much backstory or motivation for George and Gloria, but there’s a strong case to be made that Gloria is actually psycho, and George has enabled her crazy whims her entire life. It’s later revealed that the basement girl was originally kidnapped because Gloria couldn’t bear children, but was later exiled to the basement after Gloria changed her mind. Before the climax, Gloria even told George she was ready to “restart” life - a decision George fully endorsed and they were preparing for before the final encounter.

Villains’ simple plot is buoyed by a talented cast of actors.

Skarsgård is lights out, communicating more with his eyes in this role than his words - something he mastered in his role as Pennywise. Maika Monroe continues to impress, leveraging her smoky, innocent voice to bring depth to otherwise fairly basic characters. The lovely Kyra Sedgwick plays an extremely convincing southern bell caught up in a web of delusion and darkness. But the real highlight was Jeffrey Donovan, owning every scene as the polite-but-sinister antagonist you almost cheer for if not for his commitment to the macabre.

If you’re a fan of well-acted horror comedies that don’t take themselves seriously, Villains is worth adding to your streaming lineup.