Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Review
Director: Max Winkler
Date Created: 2026-09-18 02:35
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Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Review: Directed by Max Winkler and written by Ian Brennan, the Netflix series stars Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden, Vicky Krieps as Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan, Charlie Hunnam as Andrew Borden, and Rebecca Hall as Abby Borden, alongside Scarlett DeMeo, Chris O’Shea, Ember Ambrose, Sandra Kate Burck and others.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Review
Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story begins with Lizzie murdering her stepmother Abby, followed by her father Andrew, and then takes us back four months in time to discover the reasons why she took such drastic actions. Lizzie’s life of Lizzie is lived under oppression from her stepmother, who criticises her and controls her, while her father keeps himself distant and is visibly irritated with the females in his house. Things begin to change when Bridget joins their family as a maid and becomes a close friend of Lizzie. The relationship between the two gets romantic on one side but at the same time turns violent due to Lizzie’s conversations about murdering her parents.
What I liked best about the Netflix series Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story was that it doesn’t portray Lizzie as a simple notorious killer. The series dedicates much time to revealing the feeling of isolation Lizzie experiences before committing the murders. Lizzie’s sister, Abby, makes her feel inferior, especially due to her appearance and inability to fit into the lifestyle typical for the women of those times. Andrew, too, is hardly better. Even when Lizzie approaches him having witnessed the brutal killing of her pet birds by Abby, he doesn’t help and only complains about feeling tired of being surrounded by women. This scene is crucial since it clarifies Lizzie’s growing estrangement from both of her parents.
Lizzie’s connection of Lizzie with Bridget is without doubt the strongest point of the series for me. It all begins with something rather innocent, but the connection itself develops into something much more dangerous. Bridget shows Lizzie how to read novels, tells her about her body and gives her company, which she lacked. However, at the same time, this connection turns into something very dangerous since the young woman introduces her sister to the story of Elizabeth, a woman who commits crimes because of the abuse and betrayal, and then she becomes obsessed with the idea of committing murders and not getting punished for it. Bridget later suggests killing Bertha before dealing with the Bordens.
Moreover, I was glad to see that Bridget is not depicted as a passive follower of Lizzie. She has her own troubles, plans, and motives for being free. In particular, the connection of Bridget with Andrew is quite complex, as he makes use of the existing power imbalance while at the same time she tries to earn enough money in order to purchase her own house and land. Her pregnancy and her choice to cope with it alone make Bridget even more interesting and complex. In particular, Lizzie starts to doubt her loyalty after she freezes while murdering Bertha.
Another critical factor contributing to the success of the show is Ella Beatty’s performance. While Lizzie is bizarre and vulnerable, she is also scary, and Beatty brings out her fragility, even during her shocking actions. The change in Lizzie becomes especially apparent when she tries to kill Abby after their confrontation. In addition to making the murder a part of a shocking event, the series shows that this action is linked to several years of Lizzie’s hatred towards her stepmother. Also, the series features great performances by Vicky Krieps playing Bridget, since her character possesses traits such as confidence, love, fear, and calculation.
The supporting characters also aid in building the world, in particular, Abby and Andrew. The stepmother character portrayed by Rebecca Hall is not just an evil stepmother. She is mean, domineering, and unpleasant most of the time; however, she has her own problems in her relationship with her husband as well. Abby decides to divorce her husband after understanding that he has never been in love with her. As for Charlie Hunnam’s Andrew, he is intentionally made repulsive in many of his scenes. He treats Bridget badly; he is crazy about his axes, and he has some weird attitude towards death.
Nevertheless, there are some parts of the story where Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story series cannot be praised for its efficiency. The 1988 storyline about Aileen Wuornos is quite a bold attempt on the part of the creators of the series. It is clear why the series’ creators were trying to link one more violent woman to the case of Lizzie. However, Aileen’s obsession with Lizzie sometimes distracts the viewer’s attention from the Borden family conflict, which is quite intriguing to watch.
There are some moments where the series goes too far and relies only on its strangeness and provocation, so that the emotions of the viewers can become diluted because of it. Nevertheless, the strange images, violence, and weird sexual moments are the main features of the show and make it interesting to watch; however, not all of them are required. At times, the series wants to shock me more than just let the scene go further.
Netflix Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Review: Summing Up
Overall, 2026 Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story has excellent performances, an interesting spin on a well-known true crime story, and an intriguing dynamic at the centre of the plot. One major problem with the series is the fact that sometimes the style used in the story, as well as the Aileen story, distracts the viewer from the much more compelling Borden family tale. Even with that drawback, the show provides a rich backstory for Lizzie and Bridget.
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