Review: Dark comedy ‘Villains’ pits two demented couples against each other

Jules (Maika Monroe) and Mickey (Bill Skarsgård) are a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde in this twisted and twisty home invasion film from filmmaking team Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (“Body,” “The Stakelander”). “Villains” meets the oh-so-in-love criminal couple in the midst of a coke-fueled convenience story robbery, but the rest of the demented dark comedy takes place at the isolated house of George (Jeffrey Donovan) and Gloria (Kyra Sedgwick).

The robbers head to the quiet place in search of new wheels after their getaway car breaks down, but what they discover there means that they aren’t the only ones with something to hide from the cops. Wholesome-seeming George and Gloria might look and behave like extras from an episode of “Ozzie and Harriet,” but their retro-deco aesthetic obscures sins straight out of a modern-day premium cable show.

Through all its violence, the blackly comic “Villains” celebrates the sheer joy of finding that special someone who shares your outlook on the world, no matter how messed up it is. Berk and Olsen’s script only skims the surface of what is really going on here, and yet “Villains” remains a delightfully slick dip in the shallow end of the pool. You may leave wanting a longer swim, but enjoy the sick fun while it lasts.