Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan brought us the first installment of their “Monster” series in 2022 with “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” starring Evan Peters. This September, they brought us their follow-up with “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” starring Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Erik and Lyle Menendez.
Given the popularity of the first edition of “Monster,” it’s no surprise that the series’ second installment debuted at the No. 1 spot on Netflix, garnering 12.3 million views within just four days of release.
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead | Trigger Warning: For Sexual Assault & Murder)
“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” Review | Netflix 2024
The Story of Erik and Lyle
For those unfamiliar with the story of Erik and Lyle Menendez, let me give you the rundown:
On the evening of Aug. 20, 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez brutally murdered their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, by way of 12-gauge shotguns. Afterward, they remained in their house waiting for police to respond to the noise of gunfire, but this never occurred. Erik and Lyle then disposed of their weapons and clothes while beginning to craft their alibi.
Upon returning, Lyle called 911 and acted shocked and upset, which was so convincing that the brothers were not considered suspects. Initially, it was suspected that it was a business partner of Jose or a mob execution.
However as the investigation progressed, the police started to hone in on the brother. They ultimately got one of their friends, Craig Cignarelli, to wear a wire in an attempt to get a confession out of Erik. Ultimately, though, even though he lied to his friend about his involvement, his guilt began to overwhelm him, and he ended up confessing to his psychologist, Jerome Oziel. He had been recording these sessions and ultimately told his mistress, Judalon Smyth, about the confessions.
Once this affair crumbled, however, Smyth ended up informing the police about the confession and tapes, ultimately leading to the arrest of the brothers.
The Series: The Good & the Bad
The nine-episode series focuses heavily on the brothers as they deal with everything from evading police, to the trial that ultimately leads to their conviction. “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” also heavily focuses on the sexual assault claims made by the brothers, with this being used as their reason for the murders. Much like “Dahmer,” the series features many time jumps which can be confusing to viewers if you’re not constantly attentive to the story (or weren’t familiar before viewing).
The series has been panned by critics and viewers alike for many reasons, such as the excessive drawing out of the story, or manipulation of timelines and facts (which many critics also criticized in “Dahmer”). Additionally, Erik Menendez, courtesy of his wife’s Twitter/X account, was extremely critical of the show. He stated that he had “believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayal of Lyle” and stated that showrunner Ryan Murphy “cannot be this naïve and inaccurate” when referring to the story and the facts.
Most notable is the heavy implication in the story that there was something of an incestuous relationship between Erik and Lyle, which has been panned as having no basis in fact. Obviously, when telling a story such as this, liberties are always going to be taken by the production crew, but we cannot simply ignore this, no matter how much we enjoy watching the series.
Now for some of the good of the series. The acting throughout is suburb, with multiple reviews praising various actors for their performances. Cooper Koch and Javier Bardem, who portray Erik and Jose respectively, are consistently praised for their portrayal of the characters. Both actors have been quoted as stating they were unfamiliar with the story to an extent, and very heavily dove into researching this case and the brothers’ story.
Additionally, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more harrowing scene than during Episode 5, “The Hurt Man.” During this episode, Erik (Koch) meets with his lawyer, Leslie Abramson (portrayed by Ari Graynor), and discusses the extent to which he was abused by his father. He discusses how the only time he ever felt loved by his father was during this time and talks about how he has since been a completely broken man.
I struggled through this scene because Koch’s performance is so strong that you almost forget that he is acting and truly can feel the pain that is being expressed during this scene. While the series certainly goes downhill after this point, this scene is so strong that I personally would not be surprised to see it nominated for various awards.
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The Trial
Much like in real life, the series turns the trial into a spectacle, even attempting to tie in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake by using the shaking caused by the earthquake in lockstep with the tension created during the trial.
As in real life, the prosecution attempts to portray the brothers as seekers of financial gain, while the defense argued that the brothers’ actions were an attempt to end the abuse that they had endured. Through a mistrial ruling and the subsequent follow-up trial to a media hell-storm, I actually think the series has done a great job at showing how chaotic this trial truly was.
While the second trial was much less publicized due to Judge Stanley Weisberg not allowing cameras in the courtroom, it seems to be portrayed well, including the heart attack suffered by a juror, which caused an alternate to be used. While the episodes of the trial are certainly not my favorite, they do seem to portray exactly what the brothers’ story is: pure chaos.
The Verdict
Ultimately, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” falls just shy of must-watch territory for me unless you’re a super fan of true crime stories. The acting is the standout star of this series, while the plot and filming style can leave much to be desired.
Regardless of where you stand on the case of the Menendez brothers and whether you think they did it or not, this series is not the greatest representation of the case. If nothing else has come from this series, the brothers have one thing to be thankful for. It seems that the release of this series has brought a newfound spotlight on the case and story told, which has caused Los Angeles County prosecutors to begin looking into new evidence presented by the brothers. On Nov. 29, a hearing is in place to discuss potential resentencing of the brothers.
Murphy and Brennan have certainly found their niche in this realm of media, given the success of this series and the announcement of a third installment titled “The Original Monster,” starring Charlie Hunnam as Ed Gein. While this series may fall short of critic and fan expectations, given its 51% Tomatometer score and 68% Popcornmeter scores, it will continue to be successful on Netflix, and I can’t see it stopping anytime soon.
Thanks for reading my “Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story” review. Make sure you follow me on Twitter/X @Parry_FF for all things entertainment, video games, fantasy sports and dog pics!
