Monster: The Ed Gein Story is the Start of the Slasher Genre

Monster has released its third season on Netflix with 8 episodes telling the life story of Ed Gein, the notorious serial killer from Plainfield, Winconsin in 1950. 

Ryan Murphy created this anthology series with Ian Brennan and stars Charlie Hunnam, Suzanne Son, Laurie Metcalf and Tom Hollander.

Wait… most of it never really happened.

This third season explores the origin of the serial killer Ed Gein, who died as an old man in the mental hospital at the age of 79 years old. Played by Charlie Hunnam, the writers decide to take a different approach from the previous seasons and took some liberties to extend the story for 8 episodes.

Most of the season is not consistent because the real story is quite different from the version of TV and they try to humanize this character, but despite how great Charlie Hunnam is in the role, the script doesn‘t work. 

The Real Story

Ed Gein was born in Plainfield, Winconsin and started to kill around 1950 and he dismember bodies to create lamps, bowls and cups in his home. He hated his mother for the way he was raised and started to develop a distinction from society, that in the end, will create huge risks for his adult life. But, he has 3 confirmed deaths in his time as a killer, he mostly dig up bodies and make them into things around his house.

His mother died of a disease, but he raised his boy in a very harsh way. That explains why he couldn‘t date anyone in his lifetime. He even had a brother, but wasn‘t around as much.

The Positives

Charlie Hunnam‘s performance is outstanding, capable of delivering a transformative interpretation of the character, he was Ed Gein, in his mannerisms, voice and stance, while Charlie is not a method actor, he was really dedicate to portray this broken character.

Laurie Metcalf as Mother is one of the best aspects of the series, delivering a powerhouse performance that you can only hate her. While, there‘s some appearances by Alfred Hitchcock, Tom Hollander was very convicing as a take on the director.

The cast was phenomenal in this show, and that is why the MONSTER series is captivating, they even sneak a Mindhunter scene.

The production design in this show was amazing, crafting the real Plainview city into a small town in Chicago, and resemble some of the real life counterparts, the music as always, Ryan Murphy has a very good taste and it shows how well the songs and the music incorporate in the gimmick of the show.

The Bad Side

As good as the performances were, the series always come with some bad points, and it is how much of creative liberties they took in order to tell his story, even have appearances of Tobe Hooper, the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and all of sort of cameos that will kept you distracted.

It is like Ryan Murphy is trying to create the SERIAL KILLER CINEMATIC UNIVERSE and honestly it is not a bad idea. But, the scripts took a big swing in creating situations, removing elements and adding others into telling a cohesive story, but didn‘t work because we are showing a real life person with a real life, not something completely invented. As audience, we deserve to know the facts, not the lies, and this season took that risk and didn‘† work it out for them.

Conclusion 

In the end, this season ends to pay homage to the slasher genre and that without his legacy, maybe this genre could never existed or inspired so many films. Ed Gein was different, not a good person but has his own demons and the producers tried too hard to make it relatable, but I‘m looking forward whatever this anthology series bring us next.