The “Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”: Netflix series causes controversy

A new Netflix drama about two brothers who killed their parents has been criticized by one of the real-life men on whose lives it is based.

“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” was released last week and shot to the top of the Netflix streaming charts.

In the series, Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez play the two brothers and Javier Bardem and Chloe Sevigny play their parents.

The series is a sequel to the controversial first Monsters series about the US serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, which was criticized in some quarters as insensitive.

The show was created by Ryan Murphy, director, writer and producer of series such as Glee, Pose, The Watcher, Feud, American Horror Story, Hollywood and Ratched, and Ian Brennan, co-creator of Glee.

Lyle and Erik Menendez are two brothers who killed their parents on August 20, 1989. Jose and Kitty Menendez were shot multiple times at close range in their Beverly Hills mansion.

The brothers, who were 21 and 18 at the time, initially told police that they found their parents dead when they returned home.

The two were eventually tried for the murders, initially separately, with a jury for each brother. However, the two juries could not agree, resulting in a mistrial. The two were later tried together again.

The brothers claimed they committed the murders in self-defense after years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

They said they were afraid their father would kill them after they threatened to expose him. But prosecutors argued they wanted to kill their parents to inherit their money.

During their second joint trial, the judge did not allow evidence of abuse from their defense arguments.

A jury found them guilty and the couple were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in 1996.

They were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

The Netflix drama presents the murders from different perspectives and examines what might have led the siblings to kill their parents.

It follows the events surrounding the murders, including the brothers' allegations of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

However, the show also tries to present things from the parents' point of view, which the makers say is based on extensive research.

Monsters hit theaters on Thursday, September 19, and quickly climbed to the top of the Netflix streaming charts – as is often the case with shows in the hugely popular true crime genre.

But the show was not well received by critics. In a two-star review Jesse Hassenger of the Guardian described it as exhausting and repetitive” while Ben Travers of IndieWire said it was a “chaotic, slippery drudgery.”

Aramide Tinubu of Variety added: “Despite its gripping subject matter and outstanding performances, (the show) has no idea what it wants to be. As a result, it simply dissolves into a retelling of unspeakable abuses and gruesome crimes.”

There was a similar mood by Ed Power of the Telegraph, who said: “Under the withering gaze of the Netflix algorithm, no topic is too sensitive to remain taboo or to serve as an eye-catcher.

“And that's ultimately what 'Monsters' is all about. It's a skilfully put-together hocus-pocus that's in the worst taste imaginable.”

Erik and Lyle Menendez, now 53 and 56 years old respectively, are currently in prison in San Diego, California.

In a statement rreleased by his wife on X, Erik Menendez criticized the production the day after its release, calling the show a “disheartening slander.”

“I thought we had moved beyond the lies and the devastating character portrayal of Lyle and created a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrific and blatant lies that are rampant on the show,” he said.

“I can only believe that they were done this way on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I have to say that I don't think Ryan Murphy can be so naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives that he did this without malicious intent.”

He continued: “It saddens me to know that Netflix's disingenuous portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime pushes painful truths back several steps – back to an era when prosecutors built their narrative on a belief system that said men were not sexually assaulted and that men experienced rape trauma differently than women.

“These horrific lies have been refuted and exposed over the past two decades by countless courageous victims who have overcome their personal shame and courageously raised their voices.”

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Murphy said: “I find it interesting that he made a statement without seeing the show.

He admitted: “It's really hard to see your own life on screen.

“What I find interesting, and what he doesn't mention in his quote, is that if you watch the show, I think 60 to 65 percent of it is about the abuse and what allegedly happened to them.

“We are very careful and give them the opportunity to appear in court and they talk openly about it.”

However, Murphy added that it was important to him and his team to show things from the parents' perspective as well.

“In an age when people can talk about sexual abuse, talking and writing about all viewpoints can be controversial,” he said.

“Four people were involved in the incident, two people are dead. What about the parents? As storytellers, we had an obligation to also try to bring in their perspective based on our research, which is what we did.”