Credit: Melina Barris

Join WSPN’s Carolina Sdoia as she reviews the new series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez story.”

The Menendez brothers’ case has been notorious for its shock value. From the announcement of Kitty and Jose Menendez’s murders, people quickly became infatuated by the story. A married couple brutally killed in their own house sparked mystery and fear. Left behind were their two sons, Erik and Lyle Menendez. Police first assumed the mafia were involved in the murders due to gunshot wounds to their knees, but soon something much darker emerged. A confession from Erik to his therapist exposed the truth that the brothers themselves murdered their own parents. This story became highly covered in the press and soon turned into many different television adaptations. This fall, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan created their own nine-episode adaptation of the story. Titled “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” and it left viewers wondering who the real monsters actually were.

The show was released on Netflix on Sept.19. It portrays a dramatized version of multiple different versions of the story: the prosecution, defense and another mostly unrelated story from former vanity fair reporter Dominick Dunne. The brothers’ defense story was highly anticipated due to the support that they have received over the years. Though they originally pleaded not guilty, there was a shift in their case when they admitted to the murders and claimed it was self-defense. The brothers came forward accusing their father of sexual abuse and their mother of knowing about it all along. According to them, they lived in fear and felt that they were in danger, which is ultimately why they committed the murders.

The show performed a gory recap of the killings as well as the traumatic aftermath. You also see the events leading up to the brothers decision. More and more of the story comes out as the episodes go on. The engaging visuals and plot lead it to be an easy binge-worthy show. The soundtrack, most notably songs from Milli Vanilli, has certainly helped with the show’s popularity. “Blame it on the Rain,” “Girl You Know It’s True” and “I’m Gonna Miss You” immediately started trending on social media platforms such as Tik Tok.

Something that I appreciated was the acting performances from the whole cast. In particular, I really enjoyed watching Cooper Koch as Erik, Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle and Ari Graynor as Erik’s attorney, Leslie Abramson. They portrayed such raw emotion in such a successful way that it felt real. Lyle portrayed a lot of anger, while Erik showed more distress. In episode five, Cooper Koch acted out a 33-minute monologue with no cuts. It detailed the child abuse Erik endured from the hands of his father and eventually his brother. You begin to view the boys in a different light—something more than murderous children, but victims themselves.

Controversy hit when it seemed that the brothers were sexualized on screen. There were multiple moments that felt incestuous and just gross. The portrayal was completely shut down by the brothers and marked untrue. This point of view came from Dominick Dunne’s own thoughts on the situation. Dunne was a writer and journalist whose own daughter was killed. Her murderer was only sentenced to 6 years rather than receiving the death penalty. He felt that justice was not served and, in turn, felt that Jose and Kitty deserved their own justice.

The different versions of the storyline were sometimes confusing. I was left constantly questioning what to believe and what was real or fake. This sparked my interest in continuing to watch the show, but I was still left with unanswered questions once I finished the series. However, this show isn’t meant to bring answers but is meant to share the stories of what happened. I felt much more informed by the end of the series and held stronger opinions compared to when I went into it with.

Overall, I enjoyed how creative the directors were with the story telling. I didn’t appreciate some of the portrayals of the brothers, but the other factors, such as the visuals and music, kept me in suspense and left me not wanting to look away. The most impressive factor of the series was the great acting performances from the cast. I would give the series a 8/10 rating due to the compelling storytelling, yet there were still some uncomfortable scenes. If you get engrossed by true crime, then I would highly recommend tuning in to watch this show.