Monster: The Ed Gein Story Has Nothing But Contempt for Its Audience

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This article discusses the full season of Monster: The Ed Gein Story.

About halfway through the movie *Monster: The Ed Gein Story*, the title character breaks the fourth wall, looking directly at the audience and warning, “You shouldn’t be watching this.” While he’s speaking to the characters within the film, the direct address makes it clear he’s also talking to us, the viewers. Moments later, he chases some intruders with a chainsaw. Despite the warning, we can’t look away. Soon after, Ed shows his girlfriend, Adeline Watkins, a gruesome scene: the body of a woman, completely exposed and brutally dismembered, hanging like meat in a slaughterhouse.

This season of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s *Monster* anthology could easily be overlooked amidst all the violence, disturbing content, and social messaging that defines the show. Like previous seasons focusing on Jeffrey Dahmer and the Menendez brothers, this installment—about Ed Gein—retells the story of a famous murderer, but with a twist. It aims to explore *why* we’re so fascinated with these dark tales and what that says about us as a society. By tackling the story of Ed Gein, considered America’s first serial killer and a source of inspiration for many disturbing works, *Monster* seems to be criticizing the viewers who make shows like this so popular. The result is a season filled with irony and self-righteousness, adding to the bleak and depressing tone that made the *Dahmer* season so difficult to watch.

From the start, *Monster* seems to deliberately push viewers’ buttons. The first few episodes of each season replay the crimes in graphic detail, far exceeding the sensationalism of most true crime shows. Then, the series takes a turn, aiming to explore the human cost of these crimes and challenge our morbid fascination with them. With *Dahmer*, the focus shifts from the killer to the marginalized people he victimized—particularly queer men and people of color—highlighting how their vulnerability allowed him to act. *Menendez* begins by closely following brothers Lyle and Erik as they commit murder, then seemingly celebrate with lavish spending. However, the show quickly pivots, dedicating several episodes to the brothers’ deeply disturbing accounts of abuse by their parents. It’s almost as if the series is confronting the audience: *You wanted the gruesome details? Here they are. Now face the reality of what you’re watching.*

Okay, let me tell you about this season. It’s a really interesting shift from what came before. We’re seeing everything through Ed Gein’s eyes, and honestly, it’s unsettling. He’s a diagnosed schizophrenic, so the line between what *actually* happened and what’s going on inside his head is constantly blurred – even something as basic as the number of victims is up for debate. The season jumps around in time and place, mixing real events with what feels like pure hallucination. We meet Ed in the 1940s, and he’s… complicated. He’s both deeply disturbed – there’s a pretty shocking scene early on – and strangely devoted to his incredibly strict, religious mother, Augusta. She’s terrified of sex and basically anything pleasurable, and she’s already lost a son she favored. After a brother dies – possibly accidentally, but Ed feels responsible for disrupting the family – and then his mother passes away, Ed spirals. He starts keeping her body, and then… well, let’s just say he develops a macabre hobby involving grave robbing and… crafting. The writer adds layers of potential victims, but the brilliance is that we’re never quite sure what’s real and what’s just a product of Ed’s fractured mind. It’s a disturbing, fascinating, and ultimately ambiguous season.

The common understanding of Ed Gein’s descent into madness focuses on his loneliness, mental illness, devotion to his mother, and fascination with Nazi crimes. However, the film introduces Adeline (Suzanna Son) as a key influence, portraying her as his kindred spirit and the primary instigator of his violent acts – a depiction largely based on conjecture. She’s presented as a beautiful, alluring, and deeply disturbed woman, everything his mother feared. According to the film, almost all of Gein’s horrific actions stem from her influence. The film opens with him becoming aroused while spying on her, leading to his first violent act. She fuels his dark interests by showing him photos of concentration camps and comics about Ilse Koch, a notorious Nazi sadist, inspiring his macabre creations. (Adeline’s fascination with crime scene photography eventually leads her to New York, where she becomes a killer herself.) In a particularly disturbing scene, she even encourages him to commit necrophilia.

She tells Ed that nothing people do can shock or repulse her—she finds even the most disturbing actions captivating. This reveals her role as the show’s stand-in for the viewer, embodying the typical true crime enthusiast. Adeline immerses herself in the darkest details of human behavior, and she’s strangely drawn to being connected to a killer. However, her relationship with Ed is purely about self-promotion. After he’s arrested, she focuses on her public image, downplaying their connection and highlighting her own perceived talents. Much like a passionate fan at a true crime convention, she gets a thrill from other people’s suffering but lacks genuine sympathy for either the victims or the killer himself.

Adeline foreshadows the intense public interest Ed receives after becoming famous – the crowds who visit his house and buy his possessions, unaware that the auctioneer is connected to one of his victims. She also represents the audience for the sensational “sex horror” films of the era, and even serves as a twisted inspiration for serial killers in the 70s and 80s who copied his methods. Artists are shown to be influenced by Ed’s story as well, with Brennan drawing parallels to iconic films like *Psycho*, *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre*, and *The Silence of the Lambs*. However, the filmmakers are portrayed as having good intentions. Alfred Hitchcock, for example, claims he wants to create realistic cinema that reflects truth, not fantasy, and delves into theories about repressed desires. Later, Tobe Hooper, director of *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre*, uses a character inspired by Ed Gein to comment on the Vietnam War, explaining his goal is simply to shock people and make them think.

Ed Gein has a point – great art often comes from exploring true crime (though whether *Chain Saw* qualifies is up for debate). However, the show *Monster*’s claim that viewers are the real problem, not the creators profiting from their interest in these crimes, feels like a convenient excuse for its creators, Brennan and Murphy, who have a history of sensationalizing real events. *Monster* has faced criticism from the Menendez brothers and the families of Dahmer’s victims, who feel their pain has been exploited for entertainment rather than turned into something meaningful. It’s possible Brennan identifies more with the villains he portrays than with the artists who create responsibly, suggesting *Ed Gein* might be a self-critical work.

Ultimately, the most unsettling character isn’t the one exploiting others, or even the killer himself. Ed Gein, depicted as a simple, misguided man who isn’t intentionally evil and becomes manageable with medication, finds a degree of redemption. While in an institution, he surprisingly assists the FBI in capturing Ted Bundy – a fictionalized event. As he nears death, he manages to escape the disturbing followers who worship him, finding peace in a vision of reuniting with his mother, whose acceptance he always desired. She tells him, “You really made a name for us Geins,” and expresses her pride.

In the final scene, we see Adeline visit Ed after many years of not speaking. He confronts her about why she never reached out and was dishonest about their past. He sadly admits he just wanted someone to care for him, instead of being surrounded by dangerous people. Adeline hints that she struggles with bipolar disorder but refuses treatment, choosing to accept her darker side. She also reveals she has a list of people she intends to harm, which horrifies Ed. Despite still loving her, he ultimately leaves. While the show *Monster* suggests anyone might be capable of change, it seems redemption isn’t possible for certain characters.

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2025-10-07 00:06