Dan Berk ("The Stakelander") and Robert Olsen ("Body"), the writers and directors of "Villains," could have made a standard horror movie with creatures that go bump in the night. It does follow two young people being terrorized by a strange older couple in an isolated location. They also could have taken the supernatural path, as there is a strange vibe to the characters that gives them an untimely and unworldly quality. If all else had failed, it could have been a simple tale of bad vs. good.
Instead, the writing and directing team blended elements from all three genres to make "Villains" stand out. Not sticking with one does water down all three in some spots, but four solid acting jobs and a story that dances closely enough to reality to be truly scary make the low-budget offering work.
Bill Skarsgård ("It") and Maika Monroe ("It Follows") play Mickey and Jules, in-love criminals looking to move to the honest life in Florida sunshine. Their plan gets stalled when Mickey forgets to fill up the gas tank of the getaway car and they get stranded on a highway. Their solution is to steal a car from the only house within miles.
It's a decision they soon regret as the couple who own the home – the seemingly upper class George (Jeffrey Donovan) and Gloria (Kyra Sedgwick) – have a villainous streak that comes out when they capture the crooks. All that's left is to decide their fate.
Berk and Olsen go from that starting point to keep changing the film's direction. There are big horror elements as the prim and proper George and Gloria seem to dance close to the line between sanity and insanity. George's approach to horror is a gentlemanly philosophy regarding life and death, while Gloria is coping with all-consuming demons that have to do with her need for a child. Her struggle is played out with great darkness by Sedgwick.
The way the couple emotionally and physically torture Mickey and Jules follows standard horror lines. But just when the movie seems to want to nestle into the genre, the writers/directors toss in bits and pieces that create an uncertainty about George's and Gloria's origins. There are no definitive elements, just flashes, such as the couple seeming to be locked in a distant past.
All this happens while asking the audience to determine who is good and who is bad. Mickey and Jules are ready to go straight but so far have lived a larcenous life. George and Gloria are the victims of a home invasion, but they have a dark secret in the basement.
This all works because Berk and Olsen were smart enough to know if the actors are talented enough, they will keep the characters from becoming one-dimensional.
The directors/writers don't try to muddle the story with a lot of big horror scenes or action moments. Most of the film takes place with the four actors within the set of one house. The tendency to let scenes play long coupled with the minimal settings and players makes "Villains" come across more like a stage production than a standard feature film. It's just another way the team opted for a more original approach to their story.