I, like many fans, was thrilled when I heard Charlie Hunnam would be starring in Monster: The Ed Gein Story. The subject matter—the notorious killer and grave robber—is morbidly intriguing. Still, frankly, I just wanted to see Hunnam in action again (I absolutely loved him in “Sons of Anarchy”).
After viewing the series, I can confirm Hunnam delivers an outstanding performance—a complex, haunting portrayal that deserves applause. Unfortunately, the series surrounding him proves a massive letdown, marred by an overreliance on sensationalism and a blatant disregard for the truth.
The Problem with “True Story Inspired”
This latest entry into the Ryan Murphy-produced “Monster” anthology is less “true story” and about 90% fabricated fiction. While the show hits most of the significant, known facts of Ed Gein’s crimes (grave robbing, two murders, and the grotesque use of human remains), the narrative consistently twists “the little things” to the point where they become outright lies.
The core issue is a pattern of unnecessary and disrespectful sensationalism. The series engages in gratuitous sexualization of Gein, showing him in graphic scenes of masturbation and autoerotic fixation. This addition is pure fiction; his crippling maternal obsession and celibacy defined Gein’s pathology. His mother made him promise to remain a virgin until death, a promise he never broke.
The show invents entire romantic subplots, turning the victim, Bernice Worden, into Gein’s girlfriend—a blatant lie—and misrepresenting his friendship with Adeline Watkins. This fictionalizing romanticizes the murderer and disrespects the victims by fundamentally altering the circumstances of their lives and deaths.
The show disrespectfully implies that Gein killed Evelyn Hartley, an abduction victim from real life. Gein was investigated for her case, passed two lie detector tests, and was never charged. Falsely connecting him to this unsolved case is an unforgivable fabrication.
A storyline where Gein inexplicably helps the FBI hunt other serial killers, like Ted Bundy, never happened. This inclusion feels like a cheap attempt to emulate the excellent series “Mindhunter”—a transparent grab to claim the genre space. Don’t be shocked if Murphy takes his own approach to “Mindhunter” and the true story that inspired the series.
A Pace Problem
The series has another issue. The pacing is all over the place, and often too slow. Jumping back and forth between the storylines of Gein, Nazi Germany scenes, and the movies keeps the viewer on the surface, not invested in the main story. There are too many distractions. We should have been exploring Gein’s inner workings and his life, not spending time on the other things that often felt like filler in many scenes.
The “Kink for Klicks” Problem
The most frustrating element is the apparent need to inject the series with over-sexualized “kink” to drive viewership—a recurring issue in Murphy’s work. Are we really meant to believe that Gein had an absolutely perfect body? Killers like Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer were not “hot.” They were deeply disturbed individuals. Gein was a diagnosed schizophrenic, a necrophile, and was crippled by a Madonna complex. By turning these brutal figures into thirst traps, the show glorifies killers and exploits severe mental illness for ratings.
Also distracting is a significant creative choice: the baffling voice given to Gein. At times, if you close your eyes, the killer sounds less like a monster and more like a Muppet, actively pulling the viewer out of any profound moment, serving as a distraction.
Where the Show Works
To its credit, the series does have one redeeming, fantastic idea: weaving in the making of Psycho and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Gein’s crimes directly inspired both iconic films, and these meta-elements provide the series’ most fascinating and historically accurate commentary. However, the show spends too much time on the film productions, wasting valuable runtime that could have been dedicated to Gein’s actual known history.
The cinematography, like with all of Murphy and Brennan’s projects, looks stunning. That aspect of their work is always something that you count on. It doesn’t matter if it’s a dirty barn, a broken-down home, or a haunted hotel; the two have a way of creating a backdrop that shapes your emotions.
The Final Verdict
“Monster: The Ed Gein Story” is a letdown, riddled with blatant lies and an obsession with making a brutal story unnecessarily sexy. I find the pervasive fictionalizing disrespectful and insulting to the victims and their families.
Is the series worth watching? Meh. Watch it only for Charlie Hunnam’s outstanding performance, but put absolutely no stock in anything you see. This is not history; it is sensationalized fiction dressed up as a true-crime deep dive. If you still want to watch it, it’s streaming on Netflix.
