Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Review — A Blood-Soaked Mess 2026

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story review — Ryan Murphy's latest anthology entry is a blood-soaked, borderline-fetishistic fever dream that feels like it was written by adolescent boys. The eight-hour miniseries, starring Rebecca Hall, attempts to tackle the infamous 1892 axe murders but drowns in its own excess.

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Review — What Went Wrong?

From the moment the series opens in late 18th-century Massachusetts (yes, they got the century wrong), it's clear that historical accuracy is not the priority. Instead, Murphy and writer Ian Brennan deliver a tone-deaf exploration of female biology that plays like a PSHE lesson gone horribly wrong. The show seems less interested in Lizzie Borden the person and more in shocking its audience with menstrual imagery and gratuitous violence.

Rebecca Hall does her best with the material, but even her considerable talents can't elevate a script that reduces a complex historical figure to a caricature. The direction, split between Max Winkler and Sarah Adina Smith, lacks cohesion, resulting in a disjointed viewing experience that feels twice as long as its eight-hour runtime.

Key Takeaways from Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story

• Historical inaccuracies abound, from the timeline to the character motivations.
• Rebecca Hall is wasted in a role that demands more than the script provides.
• The tone is wildly inconsistent, veering from camp to horror without warning.
• Ryan Murphy's signature style is present but feels tired and repetitive.

How Does It Compare to Other Monster Seasons?

Murphy's Monster anthology has tackled Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer before, but Lizzie Borden presents a unique challenge: she was acquitted. The series struggles to build tension when the outcome is known, relying instead on shock value. Below is a comparison of the three seasons.

The Performances: Rebecca Hall Shines Amidst the Chaos

Rebecca Hall delivers a committed performance as Lizzie Borden, bringing a steely intensity to a role that could easily become a parody. However, she's let down by a script that gives her little to work with beyond reacting to the bizarre situations around her. The supporting cast, including a woefully underused Chloe Sevigny, fares even worse.

The series also suffers from Murphy's tendency to over-explain. Rather than trusting the audience to understand the subtext, it beats us over the head with its themes, making the eight-hour runtime feel like a punishment.

Is Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Worth Watching?

Only if you're a completist or a die-hard Ryan Murphy fan. For everyone else, this is a skip. The series adds nothing new to the Lizzie Borden story and instead revels in the worst impulses of true crime dramatization.

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