Ryan Murphy's latest Netflix series, 'Monster: The Ed Gein Story', has been criticised as lurid exploitation dressed up as serious drama. The show, which focuses on the grave-robbing murderer Ed Gein, is accused of failing to balance its grim subject matter with the sensitivity shown in previous seasons.
Unlike the first season about Jeffrey Dahmer, which attempted to focus on victims, and the second season on the Menendez Brothers, which handled its subject with care, the Ed Gein series is described as a 'freak show'. Early episodes dwell on Gein's bizarre behaviour and his mother's harsh treatment, offering little beyond predictable tropes seen in earlier works like 'Bates Motel' and 'Carrie'.
The series introduces the term 'gynophilia' to explain Gein's obsession with female bodies, and notes his schizophrenia, suggesting diminished responsibility. However, these insights come late in the season, leaving much of the earlier content feeling reckless. Critics also point to a troubling conflation of gender queerness with deviance, though the show later attempts to dispel this through the character of trans icon Christine Jorgensen.
Ryan Murphy, who produced the series, is said to leave his 'authorial stamp' through garish performances and a tendency to link queer identity with psychosexual torment. This pattern, seen in other Murphy projects, raises concerns about the portrayal of gay men in his work.
