Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Episodes 1 – 3
NZ release: 20 September 2024
Domestic violence, graphic violence, sex scenes, sexual violence Rated on: 20 September 2024

What’s it about?
This series explores the sensational case of Lyle and Erik Menendez who were convicted of killing their parents in 1989.
The facts
- Created by Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story) and Ian Brennan (Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story)
- English language
- Based on true events
- Runtime: 9 episodes, ~60 minutes
- Stars Javier Bardem, Chloë Sevigny,
Why did it get this rating?
This series was self-rated by Netflix. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.
Family violence
There are scenes where a man and woman are yelling, throwing items and pulling at the clothes of their children.
A woman violently pulls a hairpiece off the head of a man, he is not physically injured, and it is clear this is to humiliate him.
Graphic violence
A man and woman are shot repeatedly with shotguns, the wounds are bloody and visceral with the following being the most impactful:
- Part of a hand and finger is shot off
- A man is shot in the head with the wound shown closeup
The aftermath of the shooting is shown in multiple scenes with close-up shots of the gunshot wounds for both the man and the woman.
Nudity
Frontal male nudity is shown for short amounts of time.
Sexual violence
A man talks about experiencing sexual abuse by a family member as a child, there is reference to cum.
Suicide themes
A man talks about feeling suicidal and there are scenes of him holding a shotgun under his chin.
There are brief scenes of a man snorting cocaine.
Offensive language
There is frequent use of offensive language including words such as “f*ck”, “f*ggot”, “motherf*cker”, “sh*t” and “goddamn”.
Helplines:
The scenes of domestic violence and discussions of abuse could be upsetting for some viewers. If you are struggling with what you have seen on-screen please reach out for help. If you or someone you know needs to talk:
Further information
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