Movie Review: Villains (2019)
Synopsis: After committing what they hope will be their last armed robbery on their way to a new life in Florida, Mickey and his girlfriend, Jules, run out of gas and break into a nearby home in the hopes of either stealing the car in the garage or gas. While searching the house, they come across a young girl chained in the basement and soon after encounter the home's owners, George and Gloria. When an attempt to rescue the girl, Sweetiepie fails because of the girl's surprising reluctance to leave, Mickey and Jules are taken captive by the other couple with little hope for escape and their lives likely in danger.
Who's in it? The movie stars Bill Skarsgård, Maika Monroe, Jeffrey Donovan, Kyra Sedgwick and Blake Baumgartner.
Review: My wife and I had discussed going out tonight, but she has a potential modeling gig tomorrow (weather pending) and my bucket-list archaeology dig earlier today took a bit more out of me than expected. So, as usually happens, we found a movie to watch.
I came across Villains on Peacock earlier today and thought it looked interesting enough to give it a try. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the movie I was expecting.
Based on the description and preview, my wife and I thought this would fall squarely into the horror movie/thriller category. Instead, it turned out to be a movie that I can only describe as weird.
The characters, admittedly, were somewhat interesting. Mickey (Skarsgård) and Jules (Monroe) weren't the brightest bulbs (why did they search the basement for a gas can/car key versus checking the garage first?) but they did, at times, show some craftiness and I liked how they were very much in love and that didn't change even during the worst moments. George (Donovan) and Gloria (Sedgwick) meanwhile were mysterious and unpredictable, polite one moment and violent the next. It made it difficult to figure out what their next move would be.
My main problem is it was hard to tell if the movie was supposed to be a thriller or comedy. I suspect it was likely a hybrid of the two, but the jokes weren't that funny and only served to make the film less suspenseful and scary.
It also felt like there was supposed to be more of a backstory for George and Gloria. I honestly thought there was going to be some sort of supernatural twist because they seemed like they belonged in another decade and there were times when the film seemed to hint at something along those lines, especially with that ancient-looking television and some of the home decor. However, while some things were explained, there was a lot about their quirkiness that was left undiscussed.
The movie's ending left a little to be desired too. While it was somewhat unexpected, it was one of those endings you really can't spend too much time thinking about (something that is hard for me) because there are a lot of plot holes and loose ends. I guess I'll say it wasn't a necessarily a bad ending, just one that wasn't thought through as much as I thought it through.
Final Opinion: There are some interesting characters, but this movie would have been considerably better had it been scarier and more suspenseful and the antagonists gotten more of a backstory.
My Grade: C+
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 2019:
Movie Review: In the Tall Grass (2019)
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