Villains Review

NR

Bron Studios

1 Hr and 28 Minutes

Screenwriters/Directors: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen

Cast: Bill Skarsgard, Maika Monroe, Kyra Sedgwick, Jeffrey Donovan

Mickey and Jules are lovers on the run, headed southbound for a fresh start in the Sunshine State. When their car dies after a gas station robbery, they 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.

Several years ago, Brooklyn-based screenwriters Dan Berk and Robert Olsen wrote a script titled Villains that ended up on the Blacklist in 2016. At long last, the duo got to direct their passion project and sophomore feature, which premiered at SXSW 2019.

From the very chaotic intro of a quasi-incompetent Bonnie and Clyde-like couple Mickey (Skarsgard) and Jules (Monroe) robbing a convenience store, you get a vibe of the distinct tone the directors attempt to set, and for the most part it’s successful given its genre. As their getaway car runs out of gas in front of a sketchy and boarded up house outside of town, the two break in and try to find a way to obtain a new car to leave, but they end up finding a little girl around the age of five chained up in the basement. Feeling immediately sympathetic and freaked out, the pair change their end goal to set her free, but they run into the homeowners (who are sweet on the outside but devious internally) and the real meat of the conflict occurs there.

Now that I explained the premise, mostly as a means for myself to remember the film, let me tell you that surely this is one of the funniest dark comedies I’ve seen in a long time and that’s all credit to the filmmakers, the cast and the production. The best way to describe Villains is like an animated adult comedy that implements humor from classic cartoons through its visuals. I’m serious. While watching this film, I kept thinking of classic animated shorts ranging from Looney Tunes to The Three Stooges and Popeye. There are stylistic choices Olsen and Berk apply to some of the sequences that feel too authentic to classic animated shorts that are connected to the situations their characters get into and it makes the comedy work 100%. For example, one of the few recurring jokes that cracked me up was how Mickey obtains superhuman abilities every time he snorts cocaine.

Sound familiar?

It’s so funny to see Bill Skarsgard go from menacing, murderous clown to vulnerable and insecure. It just proves how great of an actor he is as he’s able to adapt to any role and deliver nothing but his best. This is his first comedic role and he aces it. From his comic timing and his high-octane energy (especially when his character has to get high), to moments where his voice cracks expressing his fears while trying to maintain control of the situation at hand, he commands nearly every scene. Maika Monroe is great, for she displays her comedic chops as well. Jules has a wild passion and calming nature that gets Mickey on the right track when he gets frustrated. While Mickey and Jules aren’t the best people, you care for them enough because of how strong their dynamic is and how solid their individual personalities are. As I said, they’re like an incompetent Bonnie and Clyde, but that’s the primary charm. Mickey is somewhat of the brains who is vulnerable and insecure, and Jules is the heart who is sex-crazed and together they make for such a magnetic couple. That may sound problematic, but it’s executed well and is just adorable to watch. They have an undeniable love for each other and it maintains strong and passionate throughout.

An aspect of the film that I dug was how much the cinematography and lighting compliments the humor. Classifying as a midnighter that you can get the sense from by its visuals, there are sequences where the lighting shifts around as the narrative gets tonally darker. The bright and colorful art direction that goes into the sets underlining the grim cinematography delivers the perfect vibe of the film overall and not many movies do this correctly.

The film may have a dark and comedic tone, but its backbone lies in the single-set thriller that sets a similar scenario to Hansel and Gretel where this chaotic duo must escape this beautiful, retro-styled home in one piece against the devilish people who cause them hell. Kyra Sedgwick and Jeffrey Donovan deliver great performances as they add a level of intensity to the story, for characters feel as if they got injected with the DNA of Scooby-Doo/Cohen Brothers antagonists for how villainous they are. With how charismatic the two are and how they interact with each other, you find yourself enjoying them as much as you’re rooting for Mickey and Jules to escape their clutches.

As Villians progresses, the humor begins to dwindle away as it becomes mostly a thriller. It is a story that tests the morality of the central characters and how far they’re willing to fight. As an audience member you will find yourself shouting at the screen--

--whenever the opportunity opens for Mickey and Jules to escape. They’re not necessarily flaws, but I find it personally frustrating when you’re able to find that exact window for the leads to escape their life-threatening situation. It’s not much of a hard pill to swallow when you play around with the window of time it takes for people to escape, but there is a major significant thing that happens to Kyra Sedgwick's character and in that moment you know Mickey and Jules can get the hell out of the house and obtain the upper hand. But NOPE, DOESN’T HAPPEN.

Another nitpick at something that I wasn’t fond of is the ending, which is nicely foreshadowed through a well-executed usage of juxtaposition between the two opposing couples’ relationship, but UGH! I wish it all ended differently. ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A FLAW, JUST PERSONAL FEELINGS! You can ask my friend Martin Thomas of Double Toasted how frustrated I was by this film’s ending and how it delivered a sour taste in my mouth. Yet, for what it’s worth, Villains is such an enjoyable ride that I hope it finds life through distribution soon, whether theatrical or VOD, because if you see it through either form, you won’t be disappointed.

Stylish, hilarious and thrilling as hell, Villains is an enjoyable single-set thriller that has enough high-octane laughs and intense thrills to grip you throughout.

Rating: 3.5/5 | 74%