{"id":575827,"date":"2026-07-30T17:42:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T17:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/575827\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T17:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T17:42:11","slug":"first-look-at-ruth-wilson-in-fascinating-british-period-thriller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/575827\/","title":{"rendered":"First look at Ruth Wilson in “fascinating” British period thriller"},"content":{"rendered":"

A period thriller starring Maika Monroe<\/a> as a 19th-century governess with a lust for blood has released a first look at star Ruth Wilson in the role of Mrs Pounds. Premiered at Cannes Film Festival in May, Victorian Psycho is directed by Sanctuary’s Zachary Wigon from a script by Virginia Feito, who adapts her own 2025 novel.<\/p>\n

Also starring The White Lotus season 3’s Jason Isaacs, Last Night in Soho’s Thomasin McKenzie and Wednesday star Evie Templeton, the film follows Monroe’s Winifred Notty, who’s hired as a governess by the Pounds to educate their two children. As Winifred adjusts to her new environment at Ensor House, staff begin to disappear under mysterious circumstances.<\/p>\n

Now, the film has shared a first-look still of Wilson in character as Winifred’s boss, with her Mrs Pounds and Monroe’s protagonist having an awkward candlelit encounter in the corridors of the remote manor.<\/p>\n

\"maika<\/p>\n

True Brit Entertainment<\/p>\n

Related: Best streaming services UK 2026 \u2013 including Disney Plus, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV<\/a><\/p>\n

Victorian Psycho has garnered favourable reactions out of Cannes and currently holds a critic score of 77% from 26 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes<\/a>. <\/p>\n

“An enjoyably blood-soaked lark that thrives on Maika Monroe’s ferocious lead performance, Victorian Psycho delivers plenty of wicked fun and literary wit,” reads the Critics Consensus.<\/p>\n

Viewers can expect plenty of gore in this period horror thriller about a figure \u00e0 la Lizzie Borden, as B-Sides & Badlands<\/a> called Wigon’s film “a fascinating character study” that cleverly manipulates every genre trick. <\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Time Out<\/a> argued that Monroe takes “the [eccentric governess] trope into gory new terrain” though it branded the film “playful but punchless”. <\/p>\n

\"maika<\/p>\n

True Brit Entertainment<\/p>\n

Related: Brilliant, unmissable Ireland-set BBC detective thriller with Ruth Wilson gets new home at Netflix<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Dread Central<\/a> relished the film’s hyper-violence, calling it “a nasty, happy little surprise with grotesque kills and a staunch refusal to pull back on the promises of its title”.<\/p>\n

Variety<\/a> was less enthusiastic, noting that Victorian Psycho “isn’t just all dressed up with nowhere to go, but equally aimless when it loses its composure”.<\/p>\n

Victorian Psycho is expected to be released in cinemas in the autumn.<\/p>\n

Visit our Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n

The new edition of Living Legends, celebrating the global phenomenon of BTS, is here! Buy this ultimate fan guide in newsagents or online<\/a>.
<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Reporter, Digital Spy<\/p>\n

Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times<\/a> and Digital Spy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A period thriller starring Maika Monroe as a 19th-century governess with a lust for blood has released a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[131124,1105,242826,1107,93,61,60,184510,1135,270,242825,223989],"class_list":["post-575827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-2bc7ecc1-fb25-4278-a5b8-d674801db53c","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-movies","tag-shorttitle-first-look-at-ruth-wilson-in-fascinating-period-thriller","tag-sponsored-false"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}