Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
2024
Original language: English
- drama
- crime
The story
The story of the Menéndez brothers, who were convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menéndez.
What it’s like
Glossy, saturated period staging: sun-warmed Beverly Hills mansions in honeyed afternoon light, pastel-and-chrome 1980s interiors, and the cool fluorescent glare of courtrooms and holding rooms that cuts against them. Camera work leans on tight close-ups and slow push-ins, with long, uneasy holds on faces as much as on settings. Sound is a mix of period pop and needle drops over tense, sustained strings, with the quiet spaces doing much of the work. The pacing is deliberate and episodic, building dread across scenes rather than through action. Its vibe is opulent unease: privilege that looks perfect from the outside while something rots inside. It suits a focused late-night viewing, not background noise. Intensity is high. Domestic abuse, a fatal shooting, and disturbing scenes of sexual and emotional cruelty are shown directly, with blood and grief rendered on screen, and the atmosphere is heavy and oppressive throughout. Not gentle. It is for viewers who want a tense, slow-burn true-crime drama about family trauma, and who can sit with darkness behind a handsome surface.
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