The real story of the Menendez brothers is dramatized in the new show “Monsters,” which was released on Sept. 19, 2024. Following the overwhelmingly successful first season of Monsters: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, the producers released the story on Lyle and Erik Menendez. The brothers who killed their parents in cold blood, or so it seemed. Underneath the stories from the media were the secrets of the Menendez family that led up to the tragic events. The story produced by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan uncovers the truth about who the Menedez parents were, as well as how they presented themselves to the public. The show goes through the timeline of the events before and after the murders of parents Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez through the eyes of the brothers and their experiences.
The show’s very first scene is Lyle (21) and Erik (18) on their way to their parents’ funeral ceremony. They both give touching speeches about their parents and how great they were. At this time, no one is aware that the boys have killed Jose and Kitty, and everyone sheds a tear in grief with the two brothers. The mood is quickly changed for the worse as the scene switches to the gruesome murders of the Menendez parents. Through the next episodes, the brothers show almost zero sympathy as they go on a raging spending spree with their father’s large fortune. Through a confession from Erik to his therapist, the boys are finally caught and taken to prison. It is only then that the truths of the Menendez parents unfold. Both brothers admitted to having gone through extensive physical and sexual abuse from their father, Jose. Their mother, Kitty, had knowledge of all the abuse and did nothing to prevent it. The brothers’ lawyer, Leslie Abramson, played by Ari Gaynor, now has to fight to try and free the boys from prison and prove that they are not monsters.
The interpretation of the real Menedez story has been controversial, with the dramatic effect added to the show. Lyle is portrayed as an angry young man who has immature tendencies with little care for his actions. A “sociopath,” he is called. Erik, on the other hand, is depicted as an innocent boy who deeply cares for everything and wants to prove to the world he is not evil. The boys are presented as polar opposites and the true personalities of the brothers are not properly shown. In the trials aired live to the world, the boys are seen as compassionate and deeply caring for each other and their parents. This differs from how the boys are portrayed in the show, as they seem to have zero sympathy for their actions. Many are outraged with the portrayal of the boys, including Erik Menendez himself. Menedez had told his opinions about the show through his wife, Tammi Menendez, who posted his thoughts on her social media. He was quoted on X, through Today.com that the show contains “horrible and blatant lies.” He is particularly angry with the portrayal of his brother Lyle. Erik has claimed that the murders were done so in self-defense for the abuse they had endured for years. He says that the show has “taken the painful truths several steps backward.” All Erik’s quotes have been through X with a post made by Tammi.
More outrage about the show includes critics’ concern with the implied sexual relationship between the brothers. Lyle had testified to sexually assaulting his brother Erik when they were young, and the producers had taken that to the extreme when they had included scenes suggesting an incestual relationship. There is also a topic that people feel as though the show made the Menendez parents seem like better people than they were. The brothers were portrayed as spoiled and ungrateful rich kids when in reality, no one will ever know how the boys truly felt during that time as they were both still being abused.
Though the show itself is not completely accurate, the acting is phenomenal. Nicholas Chavez, who plays Lyle, and Cooper Koch, who plays Erik, had fully submerged themselves into the roles. Chavez played the “spoiled rich boy” so convincingly and was able to persuade the audience to believe that Lyle truly had no compassion for his dead parents. In episode five, “The Hurt Man,” Koch was able to film a 36-minute episode with no cuts as he talked about the trauma Erik had experienced as a child. Pulling the audience into the powerful emotions that Erik was feeling. Javier Bardem, who plays Jose Menendez, was the “perfect psychopath.” Bardem’s role was, arguably, the hardest role to play. To the public, he was seen as an influential and dominant man who carried himself with confidence, but at home, he was resentful and abusive towards his family. Bardem now had to play a role where the character’s personality consisted of two very different people. Each character was very static, and the actors did a great job of differentiating their individual personalities.
The music used in the backgrounds of each scene was obviously thought out and used in a very specific way. The producers were exceptionally good at picking the correct music to match the mood of each scene. They used many soundtracks that repeated throughout the episodes to tie the whole story together, as well as more upbeat songs over scenes like the murder of the Menendez parents to include irony into the situations on the screen.
With the many different jumps throughout the story’s timeline, the show eventually pulls the whole timeline together as the episodes continue. The actual story is not fully understood until later on in the season. This is done purposely in order to get all perspectives on what happened the night of the murders as well as the events before and afterward.
Many believe that the show was created in response to the recent topic of reopening the Menendez case. There are many mixed opinions on what the brothers’ fates should be. Some believe that the boys should be in jail for life as they did commit two unprovoked murders. The opposing believes that the murders were done so in self-defense of the continuous years filled with abuse. If the story was about two young girls, a prison sentence wouldn’t even be an option. The boys are now 55 and 53 and have spent over half their lives in jail. They each have their own families now and deserve another chance to live their lives normally. A post made by Kim Kardashian on October 4, 2024, through Instagram quotes, “I doubt anyone would claim to be the same person they were at 18.”
Even with the show’s controversy, it was number one trending on Netflix for over two weeks. The great acting and fascinating story drew all types of audiences in. “Monsters” left viewers angry, sad, and thrilled. A show that is able to accomplish that seems like a success. “Monsters” does exaggerate the boys and their personalities, but what happened to them is very real and should not be diminished.
