Monsters

" ▪️FINAL ANALYSIS of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story (2024):   I think I’m starting to “get" Ryan Murphy now and his approach to creating TV dramas. He seems to enjoy taking real-life stories that were once heavily publicized and adding a fictionalized, intriguing spin to make them more compelling for television. He did something similar with THE WATCHER, where he reimagined a #truestory into a gripping drama. — If you haven’t seen #TheWatcher on #Netflix, it’s worth checking out (especially during #Spooky Halloween season). It’s based on a real family’s nightmare with their dream home, but Murphy turned it into something #captivating and #engaging for viewers. All of that leads me to say that after hearing back from others after my initial reaction & comments on this show, I decided to carry on with this series, picking up from the beginning of Episode 3, and I’M GLAD I DID‼️— MONSTERS S2 turned out to be much more compelling, showcasing some EXCELLENT acting! There was definitely a noticeable shift in tone after its rough start, which made the series more engaging. I’m hoping to see more from these two young actors! ￭ (I moved my initial review to the COMMENTS section)"

"3.5⭐️ This is one wackadoodle of a show .. and yes I watched every episode. I never followed the Menendez brothers story over the years, like ever, but really who could escape it? All I knew though were these 3 things: 1. They did kill their parents 2. They came across as entitled yuppy (80s term!) pr**ks 3. Parents were possibly just as bad if not worse, maybe abusive on some level So I saw Ryan Murphy’s name attached along with Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny and thought well.. now’s the time. I should finally see just what the story is. I was not prepared. I won’t say much more on content because everyone else either already knows or doesn’t care or is planning a watch. I will say the execution (yikes word choice? 😬) is all over the place. At first it comes off as a really bad, super cheesy Lifetime movie, with a tongue in cheek inappropriately (to me, given the true crime reality) comedic tone and acting that seemed in bad taste. All of which surprised me given the above names. I came SO close to shutting it off. But… Tonally a big shift occurs around eps 3/4. The show begins to take itself more seriously, the acting starts to improve, the initial narrative tantalizingly blurs. This show does a near masterful job switching it up and swinging viewers sympathies all over the place, making us question everything we thought we already knew, then back again and over again. Honestly, I am actually blown away by the two leads. Every way they WANT you to think about these brothers you do. You’re constantly left wondering just who the “Monsters” actually are and maybe it’s everyone. I won’t say this is a masterpiece by any means. It IS salacious, super manipulative and over the top. There are questionable choices, no definitive answers and very likely a good deal of embellishment and speculation. Everyone will come away with their own feelings and opinions. I may now know more than those three things but yet… so much more conflicted. "

"My wife and I binge watched the entire second season of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Melendez Story in one night. Once we get past the initial setup of the crime itself, each episode gives the viewer a different perspective into this horrific crime... From the lies and motives, to the alleged sexual abuse and family history, and a look into the manipulation of public perception during the court case. Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch do a phenomenal job portraying the titular characters and really draw the viewer into their twisted and flawed reasoning as to why they killed their parents. The only conclusion I can come up with is that Hurt people hurt people. All the different perspectives explored during this series had me change my opinion multiple times during viewing this and never really settling on a strong final assessment. Some people are skeptical about the sexual abuse allegations and all the intricacies of their family dynamics, but unfortunately, we will never really know the truth. Although all the major players did a great job acting in their respective roles, I have to give props to Nathan Lane who delivered a standout performance in my opinion. My wife and I are fans of true crime shows so this series was a great watch for us as it was really well done across the board so I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of this genre. 8.5/10 "

"The acting is top tier. The kid playing Erik Menendez is acting his butt off and that's a sub for sure because there's loads of nudity. I was alive and conscious when this happened and I don't remember so much of the super sexual parts of their story that this series is portraying...so i hope for the brothers sake i pray all of this is true and not sensationslized or exaggerated to be extra salacious because it is. So far it's very good and I'm at Episode 4."

"I thought this was a good documentary "

"interesting that just 2 days ago that prosecutors now have an update around the validity of whether the alleged abuse actually happened which had it been present at that time if may have swayed the jury’s sentencing. I’m now intrigued. I don’t know whether the brothers in this series were a true reflection of the real Menendez brothers in terms of temperament and psychopathic tendencies, but if it does, truly they are portrayed as absolute monsters. Putting aside the fact of whether they were sexually abused or not, if true, it may explain why they turned out the way they did, but their lies, story changes, deception, bouts of massive anger, gross portrayal of entitlement did not help their case or why some see them as such. And and one more thing Mini Vanilli just got ruined for me. "

"It was good. But not great. The story as usual is ****** up…"

"4.5 stars for the acting and writing. I remember this case from my childhood. At that time everyone was talking about this case, OJ, and I think Tanya Harding was around this time too. I watched this in two evenings. Great watch that went by quickly. Good casting too."

"I really liked this one. I watched the documentary right after and the series is pretty accurate (m not sure about the accuracy of all the mentioned sexual abuse because most were not talked about in the documentary). The casting is on point and the acting is really good. "

"Interesting, graphic and painful. The abuse these brothers faced was horrific. I thought the dramatization of this case was…odd. Although the acting was fantastic, I don’t think sensationalizing this case was a good choice. Huge trigger warnings for child sexual abuse, rape, sex scenes, nudity, intense dialogue, and gore to anyone looking to watch this. "