Following its premiere, Monster: The Ed Gein Story has drawn largely negative reviews from critics. It debuted with a rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. Netflix’s latest installment in Ryan Murphy’s true-crime anthology revisits the infamous Wisconsin killer through a stylized lens that has divided both audiences and reviewers.
Critics bash Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story in reviews
Top critics have largely panned Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story. Variety’s Aramide Tinubu wrote that the series “makes Ed Gein mythical again, and in turn strips away the texture and grit that was desperately needed to make the series work.”
The Times (UK) critic James Jackson called it “a dive into psychosexual murk almost drowning in its own ambitions and depravities,” while RogerEbert.com’s Brian Tallerico described it as “one of the most unfocused of Ryan Murphy’s productions.” The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan labeled it “nothing but a voyeuristic pandering to the basest instincts of viewers.”
Other reviews echoed similar criticisms. Screen Rant’s Greg MacArthur rated it 2/10, stating the season “elicits unpleasantries – boredom, frustration, confusion, disgust,” and Collider’s Therese Lacson described it as “pulpy and sloppy… a product of sensationalism, rage bait, and misinformation.”
Critics from But Why Tho? and Fish Jelly Films condemned the show for “humanizing the killer while trivializing his victims.” Despite scattered praise from outlets like Hindustan Times and Heaven of Horror for Charlie Hunnam’s performance and production design, the majority of professional reviews registered as “Rotten.”
Monster Season 3 Rotten Tomatoes score is worse than its predecessors
According to Rotten Tomatoes, Monster: The Ed Gein Story holds a 29% Tomatometer from 17 critic reviews and a 53% audience score from over 500 ratings. In comparison, Monster: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story received a 45% critic score and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story sits higher at 57%, making The Ed Gein Story the lowest-rated installment in Ryan Murphy’s anthology to date.
Rotten Tomatoes lists the series as “Rotten,” with critics accusing it of “sensationalism” and “lack of focus.” Audiences praised Hunnam’s performance but called the show “a jumbled mess.” With its lowest ratings yet, Monster experiences a sharp decline in critical momentum.
