Netflix’s true crime drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story — the second chapter in the anthology series that began with The Jeffrey Dahmer Story — is a fictionalised retelling of a double murder that took place in the US in 1989. The case involved two brothers who were convicted of killing their wealthy parents in their home in Los Angeles.

With a talented cast starring Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch as brothers Lyle and Erik, and Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny as their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez, the show created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan is an uneasy take on the nature of parental abuse and the quest for justice.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story opens with the grief-stricken brothers Lyle (Cooper Koch) and Erik (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) attending a mass for their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, which soon gives way to the revelation that they had in fact murdered their parents.

The nine-episode show gets into the details of the brothers’ struggle to cope with their past and the consequences of their crime. Once the boys get access to their inherited wealth — thanks to their parents’ life insurance policies — they spiral further into reckless behaviour, making the law enforcement agencies suspicious.

Erik buckles under the weight of his guilt and trauma, and confides in his psychologist Jerome Oziel (Dallas Roberts), giving a peek into the emotional, physical and sexual abuse that the brothers underwent at the hands of their father, Jose (Javier Bardem). Erik recounts the continuous humiliation that he and Lyle were subjected to, a theme that runs through the series, and what drove them to the extreme act of killing their parents.

Each episode swings from the brothers’ confessions to flashbacks of their childhood and the complicated dynamic between their parents. The Menendez brothers are shown not just as perpetrators but also as victims of a toxic family setup, and the exploration of abuse is central to the show. Erik and Lyle’s relationship is also poignantly depicted; the two brothers serve as each other's emotional anchor until their bond is tested by their actions and the media frenzy that follows.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story provides multiple perspectives on the events surrounding the murders, and presenting the story through the lenses of both the brothers and their parents allows for a more layered understanding of the family dynamic. On the one hand are Lyle and Erik as privileged, troubled youths; on the other are Jose and Kitty, who perpetuate the cycle of abuse.

The courtroom drama intensifies as the series inches towards the conclusion. Lyle and Erik’s plea for sympathy is met with scepticism from the prosecution who paint them as spoiled and ungrateful. Much of the tension arises from the sharp divide between public perception and the brothers’ desperation to save themselves.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story also highlights how sensational journalism colours public perception of the truth, and how the brothers’ wealth and privilege influenced their treatment in the courtroom and in the media. Nathan Lane as journalist Dominick Dunne is at the centre of this conflict, as he finds his way around what’s ethical in reporting on true crime.