Villains (2019) Review

"Now, I can hide a body like the Easter Bunny hides an egg..."
-George



Small-time crooks, Mickey (Bill Skarsgård) and Jules (Maika Monroe), break into a house only to find the owners have a very dark secret.  Before they can escape, the owners return home...


What Works:

Villains works because of the performances of the four leads.  All of them do a great job.  Skarsgård and Monroe are extremely likable, even if they are thieves.  They have a sweet relationship and are both a lot of fun.  It's crazy that this is the same guy who plays Pennywise the Dancing Clown in IT.  Skarsgård has range, that's for sure.

The owners, Jeffrey Donovan and Kyra Sedgewick, are also excellent.  They are surprisingly similar to Mickey and Jules, just two-steps crazier.  They also have a sweet relationship, even if it's on the twisted side.  I wasn't expecting these two to be so in love, but I like it.  Donovan is very good at playing strange characters, like in season 2 of Fargo, and his performance is my favorite part of the movie.

The characters these actors play are also great.  They are all extremely competent and make very smart decisions.  Once the conflict between the two couples begins, every move they make is the move the audience would make.  It's really refreshing to have such intelligent characters across the board.

Finally, this movie is really funny.  I thought it was going to be much darker than it was and while there are a few dark moments, the comedy far outweighs the darkness.  The entire cast is hilarious, especially Skarsgård.  At one point he swears a bunch at a little girl, and it's pretty hysterical.


What Sucks:

This home-invasion story has been done before and I felt like the majority of the movie is a retread.  The characters are interesting enough where it's not a big deal, but I don't think the plot does enough to make the movie stand apart from similar movies.  They needed to get more extreme in areas.

Finally, the resolution isn't all that satisfying.  It's fine, but there are definitely far better endings out there.  The movie spends most of the time roaring, but ends on a loud whimper.


Verdict:

Villains is a solid home-invasion/comedy with excellent performances and entertaining and competent characters.  I wish it had pushed the envelope a bit more and that the ending had been stronger, but it has definitely got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good 

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