Who Were the Real Monsters?

Is the series “Monsters” Accurate to the Story of the Menendez Brothers?

Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash

Lyle and Erik Menendez became very popular in 1989 when headlines broke that the two brothers brutally murdered their parents. In court, the two admitted to killing their parents due to the amount of alleged sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their father. The trial lasted 20 weeks and Lyle and Erik were charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Over a decade later on Sept. 19, 2024, the Netflix series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” aired. The series became popular and most viewers enjoyed the series except for the Menendez brothers. Erik believes the show does not portray the two brothers’ character correctly and fabricates the sexual abuse they went through, calling the show a blatant lie. Although the show is entertaining to watch, it is inaccurate to the real story.

In a certain scene in the show, director Ryan Murphy portrays the relationship between the two brothers as incestuous. Erik, when talking to a reporter, claimed he felt it was repulsive that Murphy characterized them in this way. Although he and his brother were close due to the trauma they experienced, he denied there were any incestuous aspects of their relationship. This is one way the show puts a negative light on the brother’s lives and their relationship.

Erik says that, when watching the show, Murphy did not get any of the real abuse they had experienced. A big portion of the movie portrays their father yelling and some sexual abuse but does not fully show what the brothers had to deal with. He believes that the show does not focus on childhood trauma which was a large sum of what the brothers faced. He says that the trauma they faced did not need to be represented in that way or any way. There is a difference between showing what truly happened versus what a director can make up in his head.

The show also lies about Lyle and Erik. In the show, Lyle seems to be the mastermind behind the whole killing and is not at all remorseful. Erik in the show is seen as shy and very reserved, as if he had only a small part in the murder and once done was very remorseful. Erik in the interview criticizes this persona the brothers were given in the show. Although he did not go into detail about why Murphy was incorrect about their personality, he dislikes this new focus on them. The brothers’ misrepresented characters surely make the show entertaining for viewers, but they spread false information.

In Murphy's defense, he did research on the brothers, took what he knew about them and put a more entertaining style in his approach. He stated that he did not intend for the brothers to be seen in a negative light–he just wanted more people to be aware of their situation.

Although this could be true, Murphy relied on secondhand information on the internet, rather than the brothers’ truthful narratives, to present their story. Now that the show has aired and millions have watched it, there's no going back on what Murphy directed.

If a person is interested in learning about what happened to the Menendez brothers, they should watch “The Menendez Brothers” on Netflix. This documentary only gives facts about the case and does not depict the brothers in fabricated ways. “Monsters” is entertaining but mostly inaccurate in its representation of the brothers.