Monster: The Ed Gein Story - A Disturbing Portrait Done (Mostly) Right

Going into Monster: The Ed Gein Story, I had zero idea who this guy was.

I knew the Ryan Murphy true crime formula from the Dahmer series, but Ed Gein’s name meant nothing to me beyond seeing it pop up in horror movie trivia.

By the end of this limited series, I understood why his crimes still haunt American culture decades later. This show is creepy in exactly the way it should be, and I mean that as the highest compliment for something tackling such dark subject matter.

TMJ Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿/5

What’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story About?

Ed Gein was a Wisconsin man whose horrific crimes in the 1950s inspired Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Without spoiling too much for those who don’t know the case, Gein’s actions were so disturbing that they fundamentally changed how we think about serial killers in American culture.

The Netflix series follows his life from childhood through his arrest, exploring how his isolated upbringing and relationship with his domineering mother shaped the monster he became.

It’s not easy viewing, but it handles the subject matter with more care than you might expect from a true crime drama.

The Acting Elevates Everything

Charlie Hunnam completely disappears into Ed Gein. This performance is worlds away from anything I’ve seen him do before.

He captures this awkward, childlike quality that makes Gein simultaneously pathetic and terrifying. The physical transformation through makeup and mannerisms is remarkable.

Laurie Metcalf as Gein’s mother Augusta is phenomenal. She brings this cold religious fervor that makes you understand exactly how this woman warped her son’s entire worldview. The scenes between Hunnam and Metcalf are some of the most uncomfortable I’ve watched on TV, and that discomfort is completely intentional.

The supporting cast fills out the world beautifully. Everyone feels like real people from 1950s rural Wisconsin rather than modern actors playing dress-up.

The Direction Knows What It’s Doing

The direction throughout this series is phenomenal. Ryan Murphy and his team understand how to build dread without resorting to cheap shock tactics. The way they frame scenes, use lighting, and pace revelations shows real craft.

What impressed me most was how the show handles the truly disturbing elements. It never feels exploitative or gratuitous. The horror comes from understanding what happened rather than showing graphic details for shock value. That restraint makes everything hit harder.

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The period detail is meticulous.

The 1950s setting feels lived-in and authentic, which grounds the horror in reality. This actually happened in a place that looks normal and mundane, which somehow makes it worse.

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Creepy in All the Right Ways

Coming in blind made this experience particularly unsettling.

I had no frame of reference for what was coming, so every revelation landed with full impact. The show builds this sense of wrongness from the first episode that only intensifies as you learn more.

The way Gein’s crimes influenced horror cinema is fascinating and disturbing in equal measure. Watching the show draw connections between his actual crimes and movies I’ve seen dozens of times creates this weird meta layer that enhances the creepiness.

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What works is how the series doesn’t try to explain away or rationalize what Gein did. It presents the facts, explores the psychology, but never excuses the horror. He remains a deeply disturbed individual whose actions were inexcusable.

Where It Stumbles Slightly

The series occasionally gets sidetracked with tangential storylines that feel like padding. Some episodes focus heavily on the Hollywood connections and how Gein’s crimes inspired movies, which is interesting but sometimes pulls focus from the main narrative.

The final episode takes some creative liberties that feel unnecessary given how compelling the actual story is.

Without spoiling anything, there are scenes that veer into sensationalism when the real events were horrifying enough.

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Should You Watch This Dark Chapter?

This is difficult subject matter handled with skill and respect for the real victims. If you’re interested in true crime and can handle genuinely disturbing content, the series is worth watching for the performances and direction alone.

⚠️ Fair warning: this gets dark. Really dark.

The horror isn’t gratuitous, but it’s there, and it lingers. If you’re sensitive to true crime content involving real victims, this might not be for you.

For those who can handle it, Monster: The Ed Gein Story offers a well-crafted look at a case that shaped horror culture forever. It’s creepy, unsettling, and exactly what it needs to be without crossing into exploitation.

Have you watched this series? How do you feel about true crime shows tackling cases this disturbing? Let me know your thoughts.