Reel Talk: ‘Villains’ Is A Quirky, Weird And Hilarious Horror Movie With A Surprising Amount Of Heart – Greeneville Sun

I really love horror movies. Theyre my favorite genre of film by far, and Ive seen way too many of them to count. Theres something about the genre of horror Ive always been drawn to the scares, the tension, the twist endings, the drama of it all. I can basically find a way to watch any horror movie good or bad and more or less enjoy it. I even like the bad slashers from the 80s.

All this to say, when I discovered Villains is now available to stream on Hulu, I got immensely excited. This horror movie received a lot of critical acclaim last year, and its been growing into a cult favorite ever since. However, like with any film, I wanted to see for myself just how good (or not good) Villains is.

Spoiler alert its pretty darn good.

Villains is written and directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen and stars Bill Skarsgrd, Maika Monroe, Jeffrey Donovan and Kyra Sedgwick. If youre at all familiar with horror movies, then you probably know that Skarsgrd and Monroe are no strangers to horror. For those of you who arent as familiar, though, Skarsgrd played Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the recent It movie franchise, and Monroe starred in 2014s critically acclaimed It Follows. Its safe to say they know a thing or two about scares.

The plot of Villains follows Skarsgrd and Monroes characters Mickey and Jules as they break into a suburban home after just having robbed a gas station. Theres only one problem with their plan, however: this suburban home belongs to eccentric and sadistic couple George and Gloria (Donovan and Sedgwicks characters), who are hiding a disturbing secret in their basement. Needless to say, Mickey and Jules picked the wrong house to break into, and George and Gloria dont plan on letting their secret get out any time soon.

This movie is seriously ridiculous, but it worked for me every step of the way. Its one of those ludicrous films that knows its ludicrous, and so the directors are able to get away with a lot of absurd things.

I really have to praise Donovan (who you may know from FXs Fargo season 2) and the brilliant Sedgwick for their performances as the kooky suburban basket cases with southern drawls. They totally stole the show for me, and even though some of their actions are terrible, I couldnt help finding them to be charming and compelling characters.

Skarsgrd and Monroe are great as well. Mickey and Jules are a truly charming couple with good intentions despite their criminal activities. Deep down, theyre doing what theyre doing for each other, and for that, I was on their side. Plus, no one wants to be stuck with a pair of psychopaths, so you cant help but root for them.

The humor of this movie and its innate weirdness may take a few minutes to get used to. But if youre willing to dedicate some time (only an hour and a half!) to this strange little horror comedy, I promise its ending will reward you. I think Villains ultimately has a lot of heart, and I actually came away from it feeling happy. Bad things may happen over the course of the film, but the ending itself is surprisingly sweet.

As I mentioned earlier, Villains is available to stream on Hulu, but you can also rent it on Amazon Prime. I highly recommend you try it out if you like horror movies at all.

Mickey and Jules may have robbed a gas station and broke into a strangers home, but the real crime here would be you dismissing Villains without ever giving it a shot.

Allison Chudina is a junior Creative Writing major and Cinema Studies minor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. When she is not writing for Accent, she enjoys watching movies, reading books, and playing with her two cats.

Read the rest here:
Reel Talk: 'Villains' Is A Quirky, Weird And Hilarious Horror Movie With A Surprising Amount Of Heart - Greeneville Sun