MONSTERS: THE LYLE AND ERIK MENENDEZ STORY on Netflix is a new true crime series. This is the second installment of the Monster anthology. It isn’t as dark as the first, but still fascinating. Read our full Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story review here!
MONSTERS: THE LYLE AND ERIK MENENDEZ STORY is a new Netflix series. Or rather, it’s season two in the Monster true crime anthology. Season 1 was about Jeffrey Dahmer and starred Evan Peters. It was brutal and brilliant!
DO CHECK OUT MONSTER SEASON 1
The title change from Monster to Monsters is due to the focus now being on two killers instead of one. Of course, depending on how you see it, this title change could also be related to the victims, who the brothers saw as monsters.
Obviously, this case of parricide isn’t as dark as that of a serial killer who tortured and even ate his victims. However, it’s still worth watching this infamous true story play out.
Continue reading our Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story review below. Find all nine episodes on Netflix from September 19, 2024.
An infamous trial
The story of Lyle and Erik Menendez is especially tied to the trial, but in this series, we see everything. Well, as a dramatization of this true crime case, obviously.
The real-life brothers were convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents, José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez. The trial itself became a much talked about event due to the motive revealed.
While the prosecution argued the brothers committed “parricide” [killed their own parents] to inherit the family fortune, the brothers revealed a different motive.
They have stated – and maintain this reason – that they felt it was the only way to escape abuse. They have claimed that their parents inflicted a lifetime of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
It’s not difficult to understand why this was the true crime case chosen for season 2 of the anthology. After all, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story asks the question: Who are the real monsters?
Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez shine
While Evan Peters was breathtaking as Jeffrey Dahmer, Cooper Koch (Swallowed) and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (the upcoming Grotesquerie) are equally brilliant as Erik and Lyle Menendez respectively.
Of course, having such iconic actors as Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny as their parents doesn’t hurt. In fact, in the scenes with all four, you can feel the tension. I adore both and their performance in this shows why.
It’s absolutely terrifying to watch them in their roles as José and Kitty Menendez!
But getting back to the title characters, I was mesmerized by Cooper Kock and Nicholas Alexander Chavez.
The way Erik (Cooper Koch) and Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) have to be victims and perpetrators demands a lot of them. Both during the trial scenes, and as we see their lives before the murders.
Their anger and pain throughout is palpable.
Watch Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix
After the immense success of Dahmer (the first Monster anthology installment), Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan were bound to return with more true crime for this anthology series.
Also, we already know that season 3 will be about Ed Gein and star Charlie Hunnam in the title role. Read more about it on Netflix.com here >
The directors of the episodes in this second installment of the Monster true crime anthology: Paris Barclay (The Watcher), Carl Franklin (Mindhunter), Michael Uppendahl (Ratched), Max Winkler (School Spirits), and co-creator Ian Brennan.
Apart from the four actors portraying the Menendez family members, we also see a lot of other familiar faces.
Amazing actors delivering strong performances. These include Dallas Roberts, Jason Butler Harner, Jeff Perry, and Leslie Grossman to name just a few of the actors you’ll see already in episode 1. And yes, you will be hooked from the start!
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is on Netflix on September 19, 2024.
Details
Creators: Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan
Directors: Paris Barclay, Carl Franklin, Michael Uppendahl, Max Winkler, Ian Brennan
Stars: Cooper Koch, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Javier Bardem, Chloë Sevigny, Dallas Roberts, Jason Butler Harner, Jeff Perry, Leslie Grossman
Plot
This riveting true-crime drama probes the lives of the Menendez brothers, convicted of the brutal 1989 murders of their parents in Beverly Hills.
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