Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Review: Netflix’s Bloody New Chapter Is Now Streaming
Reel Perspectives
September 18, 2026
Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story premiered on Thursday bringing the infamous 1892 Borden murders back into the spotlight with a bloody, stylish and deeply twisted new chapter of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s hit Monster anthology. This time, the series steps away from its previous male subjects and puts a woman at the center of its story — and Lizzie Borden is certainly no ordinary monster.
Starring Ella Beatty in her first leading television role, the eight-episode series takes viewers inside the suffocating Victorian household that shaped Lizzie’s world before two shocking murders changed everything. Trapped under the control of her wealthy father, Andrew Borden (Charlie Hunnam), and her cruel stepmother, Abby Borden (Rebecca Hall), Lizzie finds an unexpected connection with the Bordens’ rebellious new maid, Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan (Vicky Krieps).
What begins as an escape from an oppressive home quickly becomes something much darker. As Lizzie and Maggie grow closer, their relationship becomes tangled with rebellion, desire, revenge, and fantasies of freedom. Then comes the crime that would become one of the most notorious murder cases in American history: Andrew and Abby Borden are brutally killed with an axe, and Lizzie becomes the woman at the center of a national obsession.
But The Lizzie Borden Story isn't simply interested in asking whether Lizzie did it. The series digs into the circumstances surrounding her, imagining what may have pushed a seemingly trapped young woman toward an act of unimaginable violence. And Monster absolutely brings the blood.
Netflix describes this season as the anthology’s first female centered installment, giving Monster a new perspective after seasons focused on Jeffrey Dahmer, the Menendez brothers, and Ed Gein.
Critics have already noticed the performances and the show's striking artistic style. India Today praised Beatty's portrayal for giving the decades old mystery a haunting new face, while TheWrap singled out Krieps and Hall among the performers who make the heightened gothic world especially compelling.
The eight-episode season is now streaming in its entirety on Netflix, making this one of those shows that viewers can jump into without waiting week after week. Episodes include “Bloodbath,” “Strong Kitty,” “Whack Job!,” “R.I.P. (Rest in Pestilence) Abby Borden,” “41,” “Bed and Breakfast,” “The Trial of the Century,” and “Carnival.”
We know the murders. We know Lizzie was accused. We know she was acquitted. But the question that has kept the Borden case alive for more than a century remains: what really happened inside that house?
Monster isn't promising a straightforward history lesson. It's giving the Borden legend the full Ryan Murphy treatment — gothic visuals, complicated women, shocking violence, heightened drama, and plenty of questions about power, repression, and revenge.
For true crime fans, Monster devotees and anyone who enjoys a murder mystery wrapped in stylish period drama, The Lizzie Borden Story is a bloody new rabbit hole worth falling into.
Comments