After obsessing over season two of “Monster” depicting the Menendez brothers, I expected a similar story about the drama-filled, bratty Beverly Hills teens. But on a surprisingly good note, this season featured small-town Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein: not so flashy in comparison.
While the story of Gein was just as TV-show worthy as season two, it was different from the Menendez story. Due to the desolate country personality of Gein, and many complex plotlines including things like Gein’s obsession with the holocaust, and a portrayal of Hollywood stars recreating Gein in movies.
But the disturbing story of Gein’s peculiar life, particularly the long lasting effects of his extremist Catholic mother, kept me watching just as much as the previous season. Whilst also doing an amazing job with the casting, cinematography and storytelling overall.
The eight-episode series explored many complex themes of Gein’s life, one of the most interesting being his codependent and emotionally manipulative relationship with his mother.
After Gein lost his mother due to a stroke in the beginning of the series, he’s in denial about her death, and this is when his “insanity” starts — or as Gein would say, his “hobby.”
But his strange relationship with his mother doesn’t end when she dies. It in fact starts the descent into his obsession with grave robbing, murdering... and making raunchy decor out of his victims skin and organs.
The creators, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, did almost too good of a job showing Gein’s unsettling furniture made out of human parts, making me sick to my stomach at least twice an episode.
Besides successfully giving me nightmares, the series did a good job at keeping the viewer engaged by switching between many different perspectives. One of my favorites being the Alfred Hitchcock storyline.
When the episodes started to get a little repetitive because of Gein’s repeated grave-robbing sprees, they switched to about a decade later, when Hitchcock was making a movie inspired by Gein, called “Psycho.”
This plotline kept me interested because it introduced more layers to the story, and showed how much Gein made an impact on cinema, due to him also inspiring “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Not to mention, Charlie Hunnam, playing Gein, portrayed his character convincingly. His peculiar, soft-spoken voice and jarring stare made me jittery from watching, and if I ever see him in any other movies, I don't know if I’ll be able to unsee the serial killer in him.
Suzanna Son, playing Gein’s more or less “girlfriend,” Adeline, also made the story very believable. Her character’s elegance and partnership especially added to the show and drowned out a lot of the painfully vile scenes of Gein hyperfixating over new victims.
Overall, the third season was a success, and I would recommend it to anyone who isn’t squeamish over blood. I’m anxious to see what demented killer they choose for the next season, and I definitely will be watching.
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