The chilling and outrageous story of siblings Lyle and Erik Menendez, who murdered their parents in 1989, are being brought to our screens courtesy of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Image via Netflix
Since finding success on Netflix, the streaming giant ordered two more seasons of Monsters following the popularity of DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. At the time, it reached 1 billion viewing hours within 60 days of premiering.
Image via Netflix
Brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez were both convicted of killing their parents in 1996 after shooting them in their Beverly Hills home back in 1989. The siblings claimed that their actions were driven by fear of their father, citing years of emotional, sexual, and physical abuse. The brutality of the crime led police to initially suspect a professional hit, given the 15 rounds fired from 12-gauge shotguns. Truly horrific. The brothers are currently serving their time together in prison for two counts of first-degree murder and were sentenced to life without parole, with each of them receiving two consecutive life terms.
The synopsis of the series reads:
“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story follows Lyle and Erik Menendez, two brothers who fatally shot their parents in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. During their trials, the brothers cited years of abuse as the reason for murdering their parents. However, prosecutors argued that their motive was to get their hands on the family fortune.”
The trailer kicks off with the seemingly picture-perfect Menendez clan posing for a family portrait interposed with Chloë Sevigny’s voiceover, as the mother–Kitty Menendez, questioning her husband Jose, played by film giant Javier Bardem, about the cloud looming over his relationship with their two sons. Jose then replies, “It’s over done. I’m going to fix this family,” as the camera click shutters in time to capture the perfect family photo. The video quickly cuts to the two brothers, topless and covered in blood, after a gunshot rings out, followed by one of them saying, “It’s just us now. We’re on our own.” Hollywood rookies Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch step into the roles of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez.
The trailer was short but it was still pretty unnerving. It seems the second installment of the popular franchise will be nothing short chilling and spin-tingling. Catch Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez series premieres on September 19 on Netflix.
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