Netflix’s “Monsters:” Reality vs. The Series

“Monsters” is the Netflix docuseries directed by Ryan Murphy, which has gripped viewers’ attention across the nation. But, just how accurate is the series? 

I was no stranger to the Menendez brothers’ case prior to the “Monsters” docuseries coming out; there were already YouTube documentaries, TikToks, and more content out there that dug deep into the case. I was always captivated by how the crimes played out and the unsettling dynamic between the boys, Erik and Lyle, and their parents, Jose and Kitty. I was excited for “Monsters” to stream because I feel that Netflix has done a somewhat adequate job in the past of depicting the events of criminal cases, such as the Ted Bundy film, “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil,” and not over-glamorizing or fabricating people’s characteristics and personalities.  

I believe that “Monsters” was a totally different case. It seems that there were several elements that were played up or just totally made up. One major one was that Erik and Lyle had a sexual relationship with one another. There were scenes in the series that suggested Erik and Lyle held this relationship, such as the scene of the two seductively looking into each other’s eyes for a moment. The promotional content shows the two actors shirtless with Erik’s arms around Lyle. It seems to me like Ryan Murphy wanted to create a sexy, scandalous element to allure viewers. However, the brothers have denied ever having a sexual or romantic incestuous relationship.

The Biography wrote a story detailing the discrepancies between the series and real life. Robert Rand, a journalist who wrote The Menendez Murders, explained in the article that ‘it wasn’t a sexual relationship of any sort. It’s a response to trauma.” He said that according to the evidence and what was said in the trial, the only time the boys had physical contact in that way was when Lyle was eight and he did what his father had done to him to Erik. 

Another fabricated aspect of the docuseries was the alibi-seeking sequence following the killing of Jose and Kitty Menendez. In an interview the brothers did with ABC News, Erik said that they did not leave the house and they in fact waited around for someone to show up, being that 12 shots rang out in the middle of the night in Beverly Hills. Obviously, the scenes where Erik and Lyle are visiting the restaurant and the movie theater trying to make themselves known in order to get an alibi create a certain feeling around their crimes for viewers; it made it seem like they had no mercy or emotion. In reality, the murder of Jose and Kitty were fueled by years of abuse and manipulation and probably was not easy mentally on either of the boys.    

Tammi Menendez, Erik’s wife, released a statement on X that Erik made from prison on the docuseries.  

“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime has taken the painful truths several steps backward– back through time to an era where the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experience rape trauma differently than women” Erik said in his statement.  

Even though it is technically legal to create content about well-known cases and crimes, I feel like a fabrication of events to this extent can’t be right. It sensationalizes events, of course making the series more interesting and complex to viewers. Ryan Murphy has defended the series, saying, “It’s really, really hard- if it’s your life- to see your life up on screen. The thing that I find interesting, that he doesn’t mention in his quote, is if you watch the show, I would say 60-65 percent of our show, in the scripts and in the film form, center around the abuse and what they claim happened to them. And we do it very carefully, and we give them their day in court, and they talk openly about it.” 

Despite this statement, I think it would be incredibly difficult being either Erik or Lyle and knowing so much false information is being spread about you without being able to do a thing about it. The fabricated incestuous relationship between the two was something that really disturbed me. I feel that Murphy had to have known what he was doing when he created the script and chose the actors for this film. While it is not illegal to create such content, I believe directors and producers should be held accountable for what they exaggerate, fabricate, or play up- especially in stories and cases as sensitive as this one.

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