10/06/2026
MONSTER: Lizzie Borden
Being a woman of a certain age I am a fan of true crime drama. Hearing Ryan Murphy’s latest Monster series would be Lizzie Borden was exciting. The facts surrounding the infamous murders of Borden’s father and stepmother are few so the story is ripe for interpretation. We know the two were killed with an axe, we know Lizzie was put on trial and acquitted; that’s about it.
I have just finished the eight episode series and confidently say this is not a documentary, not a docudrama and barely believable.
Any information you may know about the Borden family, their employees and the murders should be disregarded, Murphy has created his own fantasy to the event so we are on his ride.
The circumstances of a 19th century immature woman are compared to those of a 20th century serial killer as each are masked in feminism and fighting back. Both Borden and Aileen Wuornos were symbols of a woman expressing herself through violence, but neither were feminist icons.
It is a fairly entertaining, albeit very gory, fantasy which doesn’t hold up. The sub plot of a historical countess who slaughters virgins to bathe in their blood is filler. I might have accepted it all as simply a bad horror story but for the final, unnecessary, bu****it episode which forgives butchery for the dead women.
Respected actors seem uninterested, lesser known actors seem lost; the only standout is Sarah Paulson as Wuornos who seems to be having a blast in her fiendish frenzy.
On a positive note, it is a cinematic feast for the eyes, too bad that doesn’t save a nonsensical script.
Addendum: if you do watch, turn it off after episode 7, it is a more satisfying ending
