Spooky Season Series Selection Part 3 - The Ed Gein Story
Austin Price, Editor in Chief
The third and final installment of my Spooky Season Series Selection is the recently released, season 3 of Monsters. Season 3, again created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, focuses on one of the most infamous and influential individuals in true crime history. Often dubbed as the “Ghoul of Plainfield”, the “Grandfather of Gore”, and the “Plainfield Butcher” is the one and only Ed Gein. Gein would later become the pinnacle of villainous actions and the inspiration for some of the most iconic horror films ever released. Today’s Spooky Season Series Selection is Monster: The Ed Gein Story.
Just a few weeks ago, to properly kick off the month of monsters, Netflix released a drama series that portrays the life and actions of Ed Gein. Despite being the third season in the Monster anthology series, it is the first season not helmed by Ryan Murphy, with Ian Brennan serving as the sole creator and writer. This style shift is blatantly obvious in the writing, editing, censorship (or lack thereof), and overall production of the show. Brennan is facing negative criticism and the season was deemed inferior to its predecessors. Critics declare the show’s meta commentary, subplots, runtime, excessive graphic violence, and factual inaccuracies as inappropriate and exploitative.
All 8 episodes were released on October 3rd, 2025. The season stars Charlie Hunnam as the titular character. He embodies the mentally disturbed, emotionally damaged, and completely unhinged creature Ed Gein becomes as a convicted murderer and body snatcher. In addition to telling the story of Gein’s life, the show also incorporates meta commentary on the cultural obsession with true crime. It includes an exploration of Gein's influence on Hollywood and pop culture, showing the filmmakers, directors and actors inspired by his work. This exploration is done through allusions to fictional cultural works inspired by his crimes, such as Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs.
Charlie Hunnam does a terrifying portrayal of the monster that Gein was. Hunnam had extensive creative freedom with the character, making the ghoulish nightmare he was portraying even more complex. One of these creative choices was the unique voice that Hunnam formed to accompany his portrayal of Gein. Hunnam developed a gentle, high-pitched voice based on his research into Gein's abusive relationship with his mother. This modified voice was an example of Gein's desire for his mother's approval. This is one of the many changes found in the series. While I understand the initial reason for this voice was to explain Gein's complicated relationship with his mother, I would argue that it also enhanced the level of sympathy and pity the audience has for Gein.
Hunnam wasn’t the only creative that made major changes to Gein’s story. The head of the production, Ian Brennan, makes a significant amount of changes in the character arcs, and details seen in the story. These changes include excessive graphic violence, an overly campy tone, overabundance of subplots, and extreme sexual content. The exaggerations caused unfocused execution, prioritizing grotesque shock value over substantive themes, and lacking depth in addressing the impact of violence committed by Gein.
Season 1 of Monster: The Jeffery Dahmer story had grotesque images and chilling details making Dahmer a real-life monster that is terrifying and believable. Season 2 of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez story contained emotional confessions and multilayered consequences, giving viewers a debate over the subjects being villains, or anti-heroes. Season 3 of Monster: The Ed Gein story has excessive sexual content, disturbingly graphic images of violence, commentary of society’s consumption of true crime, and the glamorized sins of Ed Gein. This makes him more of a mythical creature / ultimate horror movie antagonist, rather than a broken man struggling from severe mental illness. In turn, this makes a real human with morbid fascinations and deplorable actions into a cartoonish and devious miscreant that others feel pity for.
Despite the negative response to the season, audience viewership rates did not disappoint. The season debuted at number two on Netflix's global weekly chart, garnering 12.2 million views (or 90.6 million hours viewed) within three days of its release. While critics disapproved of Season 3, the series continues with Season 4. A fourth season based on murder suspect Lizzie Borden is currently in production.
While I rank this season as the worst in the Monster anthology series, it does serve as a good option for immersing yourself in the month of monsters, October. The accompanying score, homage to iconic horror films, and spooky setting of an isolated farm in Plainfield, Wisconsin, all make for the perfect spooky season selection, and is sure to induce some scares.
With this being the final installment of the Spooky Season Series Selection, I’d like to rank the three seasons of the Monster series. In first place, we have season 2, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. Season 2 tells a complicated tale of childhood abuse, gruesome greed, and family issues. It is complimented by powerful performances by Cooper Koch, who portrayed Erik, and Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who portrayed Lyle. Season 2 brought attention to a forgotten case and brought a new audience to witness the tragic story of the Menendez family.
In second place, we have season 1, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Season 1 gives voices to underrepresented victims of Dahmer’s malicious crimes and provides an unfiltered look into the disgraceful actions of his. All characters involved, led valiantly by Evan Peters in the titular role, commit fully to the story, bringing truth to the terrible atrocities committed by Dahmer.
Finally in third place we have season 3, Monster: The Ed Gein Story. The gaudy portrayals of both the criminal and victims make the devastating events hard to fully comprehend, and hard to respect. The overlapping of pop culture references and incongruous commentary on America’s obsession with true crime romanticizes the devastating true story. However, the focus on macabre media in a haunting environment makes for a spooky selection of the season.
Thank you for joining me on this exploration of creepy content and scary stories. I hope that the Spooky Season Series Selection has provided a variety of chilling collections to indulge in while you munch on Halloween candy and scare yourself silly. Happy Spooky Season to all you eerie enthusiasts!
Monster: The Ed Gein Story is available to stream on Netflix.
Read the full Spooky Season Series Selection on The Highlander