Like all art forms, cinema tends not just to revisit past trends but is always subject to the influence of what’s come before it. Within the world of horror, it’s hard for today’s filmmakers not to look back at the foundational movies of the past for inspiration. After all, how many horror directors nowadays still cite Halloween, The Shining, and A Nightmare on Elm Street among their influences. And for audience members savvy or interested enough to look, it’s often easy to see where some of the most beloved horror tales of all time left their bloody handprints on movies hitting theaters now.
Case in point, Victorian Psycho — the new horror film from director Zachary Wigon — might carry a sense of familiarity for horror fans. The film is not only riffing on horror tropes but also classic period pieces set around a similar setting of the mid-1800s. The story follows a young governess (played by Maika Monroe, herself already a horror icon thanks to films like It Follows and Longlegs) who may be engaging in a killing spree. The tale is clearly wielding a blade with a clear bit of a satirical edge. But Victorian Psycho is actually one case in which the biggest homage to horror films past is hidden in plain sight.
Based on Virginia Feito’s 2025 novel of the same name, Victorian Psycho bears a title that is purposefully reminiscent of another popular book-to-movie horror adaptation, 2000’s American Psycho. Feito — who also adapted her novel for the big screen — has long admitted the “wink” to American Psycho and discussed the title of Victorian Psycho again with THR earlier this year, ahead of the film’s release:
“[The title] came earlier on, and I didn’t really overthink it. I think I should have because I feel like I walked myself into a trap accidentally, and now I’m having to kind of explain how I wasn’t setting out to write a companion necessarily to American Psycho. I didn’t think of any connection beyond the fact that it’s narrated by a psychopath. It was basically a fun wink to my favorite literary psychopath and how that book just really affected me in the best way. That’s one of my favorite novels.”
To Feito’s point, the story of Victorian Psycho might not have been conceived as a companion piece to American Psycho. But given the connections between its protagonists and its approach to the story of a dangerous mind let loose, it’s fair for horror fanatics to connect those dots. Besides, Feito admits there’s a clear precedent for the two stories feeling intertwined.
Beyond just its killer title and its narration by its eponymous lead, Victorian Psycho does bear some narrative similarities to Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho and the film it inspired. That 2000 release — directed by Mary Harron — stars Christian Bale as investment banker Patrick Bateman, and set in the 1980s, it uses its main character’s increasingly fractured psyche as a social commentary on the consumer-driven era and the pressure it puts on anyone determined to keep up with it. As such, Bateman’s behavior is often interpreted as a rebellion against the world around him, as he grapples to regain some sense of relevance and control in his life.
Similarly, Victorian Psycho toys with the expectations placed on women in the 1850s. Classic literature has perhaps some of the most iconic depictions of that era, with stories like Little Women, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights all contending with such themes. However, Victorian Psycho presents itself as the twisted version of those stories’ heroines. Monroe’s Winifred Notty — much like Patrick Bateman — finds empowerment and freedom in the darkness growing inside of her and weaponizes it to strike back against a world that systemically underestimates her based on her gender and her class.
If the trailer for Victorian Psycho is any indication, then horror fans — especially those who loved American Psycho or are eager for a demented take on classic literature — could be in for a bloody good time.
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