Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, the fourth instalment in Netflix's Monster anthology, revisits one of America's most enduring true-crime cases. Ella Beatty stars as Lizzie Borden, who was accused and later acquitted of murdering her father, Andrew Borden, and stepmother, Abby Borden, in 1892.
Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the eight-episode series moves beyond the courtroom and examines the family environment surrounding Lizzie. The story explores her restrictive Victorian upbringing, relationship with maid Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan and the circumstances that precede the murders.
The season also expands its timeline beyond the original case. Sarah Paulson appears as Aileen Wuornos, creating a connection between Borden's story and another notorious female killer from a later period. Netflix describes this season as the anthology's first centred on a female subject.
The series has attracted differing responses to its approach. The supplied review argues that its attempt to connect women who committed violent crimes can reduce their individual stories into a broader framework of female violence. Other accounts have highlighted the show's effort to examine the social restrictions placed on women during the period.
Beatty's performance remains central to the series, portraying Lizzie as a character shaped by family tensions, social expectations and an increasingly violent situation. The real Borden case itself remains disputed, and the Netflix series uses significant dramatic interpretation rather than presenting a definitive reconstruction of events.
