Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Review – Ella Beatty is Sensational

Jeffrey Dahmer, Lyle and Erik Menendez, and Ed Gein were featured in the first three installments of Ryan Murphy’s Monster series. Murphy has returned with his fourth installment following Lizzie Borden in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story. Ella Beatty plays Lizzie Borden, who is known for being acquitted of murdering her father and stepmother with an axe. The latest in the Monster series boasts a star-studded cast featuring Charlie Hunnam, Billie Lourd, and Rebecca Hall.

What is Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story about?

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story follows the story of the daughter of a wealthy New England family, Lizzie Borden who refuses to to be trapped in a world of humalition and cruelty leading to the devastating murder of her father and stepmother in 1892. The season explores the murders, her life, and how the world has obsessed over her for well over a hundred years. 

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Review

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story. Billie Lourd as Emma Borden in episode 402 of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story. Cr. Suzanne Tenner/Netflix © 2026

The opening of the series witnesses Lizzie Borden murdering her father and stepmother. In this very Ryan Murphy-esque way with the rapturous musical backdrop, simultaneously watch Lizzie stab them over and over again with an axe. It swiftly moves to four months earlier, to where her mother explains how she will give herself to a gentleman. 

Borden was the “oddball” of the family and was treated as such. After failing to impress the man she was to marry, her stepmother took it upon herself to make her life even more of a living hell. No matter what she did, it was wrong. Enter Bridget Sullivan, the new maid hired after Abby Borden had fired many prior. This starts the foundation of a relationship that would change the trajectory of Lizzie’s life for good. 

At the root of the Monster series is a centralized focus of the real-life characters brought to life. First we saw it with Evan Peters and Dahmer, then with Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez as the Menendez brothers, and more recently with Charlie Hunnam as Ed Gein. Those casting choices have to work because if not, it takes you out of it. Casting hit another home run by casting Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden. 

Beatty is still fairly fresh in the industry, with her feature film debut coming in last year’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Her role as Lizzie Borden is only her second credited performance on TV. And this isn’t Beaty’s first rodeo with Murphy, as she played Kerry O’Shea in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. Beaty had the tall task of bringing this larger-than-life person that nearly everyone loves. 

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story. (L to R) Oliver Spenceman as Stephen, Charlie Hunnam as Andrew Borden in episode 401 of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story. Cr. Suzanne Tenner/Netflix © 2026

In my opinion, it will be difficult to top Peters as Dahmer, but Beaty comes really close with her performance of Borden. This murder was over 100 years ago, so Beatty had a tall task in bringing a character that did not have a lot of raw material or even people that were around to develop her portrayal. The submissive era that Borden grew up in wasn’t something she loved. That said, there was this subtle level of vulnerability in Beatty’s early work within the character that oozes this charm that makes audiences invest. It’s incredible to watch Beatty deliver in the many complicated layers that were Lizzie Borden in such a profound way. 

One of the most creative aspects of the series was the music. Typically Murphy and company have rather good scores in their series, and this was no different. But it was within the music that stands out as its own character here that I loved. The needle drops mixed in within the haunting world are brilliantly put together. I’m always impressed with the shifting and balancing of the technical aspects of Murphy’s creations. 

Is Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story worth watching?

I am a massive fan of the Monster series, and dare I say that Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is the best yet? The ensemble cast from top to bottom delivers the goods, but it’s Ella Beatty’s star-making turn that takes this series to another level. I knew next to nothing about this story going into this and walked away wanting to find out more. Even within Murphy’s ability to portray characters to his interpretation, I do find myself gravitating towards wanting more and more from this world. Again, if you are a fan of Murphy or the series, this is a must-watch. 

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is streaming on Netflix.

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Review – Ella Beatty is Sensational