Villains isn’t a terribly original film about two robbers on the lam who break into the house of two psychopaths while hiding out from Johnny Law. Tarantino built a whole act around this with his poorly aged and overrated Pulp Fiction.
So what makes Villains different? The robbers are young, they enjoy snorting coke to get inspiration and their crimes are funding their goal of getting to Florida. Once there, they will quit cold turkey (crime, not drugs) to start a business. However, the duo’s moral compass isn’t completely busted when they discover what’s in the psychopaths’ basement. Now the psychopaths. What’s up with them? Their house appears to be a living time capsule if this takes place in 2018 (when it was filmed): a tube-based TV, the patterns, the appliances, their clothes, etc.; state-of-the-art for the late Seventies. The wife is also very protective of a rather odd baby. It’s unclear what exactly the psychopaths want from the robbers yet from the basement but it seems there’s been past victims or visitors (this is made pretty clear in the trailer, thus, not a spoiler).
In the end, is Villains worth the time? I whole heartedly say “yes.” It has a good cast, Kyra Sedgwick (long, impressive resume), Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) and Bill Skarsgard (It) all do a great job. I wasn’t familiar with Maika Monroe; she holds her own with these vets. Odd twists and turns do happen, keeping Villains from being by-the-numbers. What I liked was how well the movie is made with its small budget. Nothing gratuitous. Nothing disgusting. Nothing pointless.
Currently Villains can be viewed on Hulu until further notice as of this posting.