Spree – As the episode opens, Lyle Menendez (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Erik Menendez (Cooper Koch) arrive back at their parents’ house. To their surprise, it is quiet and Kitty Menendez (Chloe Sevigny) and Jose Menendez (Javier Bardem) are as they left them, dead. Lyle leans over to get a closer look at Jose’s bloody body. Pretending to be distraught, he calls 911. Erik can be heard screaming in the background. They continue the charade when the police arrive. An officer orders them to get down on the ground and they comply. Erik says they notified them. Detective Les Zoeller (Jason Butler Harner) introduces himself and Detective Tom Linehan (Drew Powell). Lyle tells him that Jose has been dealing with shady people for years. Kyle blames the mafia. Perry Berman (Tanner Stine) arrives as Officer Mo Angel (Artie O’Daly) prepares to transport Lyle and Erik to the police station. Lyle tells him what happened. Perry is shocked. In the police cruiser, Eric lowers his voice and asks Lyle if he wants to give his statement first. Lyle says no. Angel watches them through the rearview mirror.

The coroner (Gregory Gast) takes photos of the murder victims. What sounds like an action film with lots of gunfire is playing on the TV. Confirming the audio has been recorded, Zoeller turns the TV off. Linehan utilizes a flashlight to illuminate the den, so he and Zoeller can get a better look at Jose’s body. At the police station, Erik explains what led up to finding a deceased Kitty and Jose in the den. He says while Lyle notified the police, he called his tennis coach. At the crime scene, the coroner estimates the time of death to be between 9:30 and 10pm. Lineham says 911 was notified about two hours later at 11:47pm. At the police station, Lyle is waiting while Detective Edmonds (Gareth Williams) questions Erik. He looks up to see Officer Czarnocki (Walter Belenky) watching him through the window. Erik claims Jose thought the mafia was after him. At the crime scene, Zoeller finds it suspicious that the spent shells are missing and it will make it impossible to determine what order the shots were fired. Lineham suggests the mafia isn’t responsible because the crime scene is sloppy and Kitty isn’t still alive. At the police station, Erik pretends to be distraught by Kitty and Jose’s deaths. Lyle embraces him before entering the interrogation room. He says if there isn’t anything missing from the house, Jose is the blame. He describes Jose as a “great father” but he was in contact with a seedy group. A short time later, Edmonds allows them to leave.

Seeing a broken window, Zoeller questions Erik’s claim of the den being filled with smoke two hours after the murders took place. En route to the Menendez house, Angel watches Erik and Lyle through the rearview mirror. Upon arrival, they see a crime scene investigator taking photos of the red car that they utilized to transport the guns. A cop (Jason Jia) refuses to let Erik get his tennis racket from the trunk. Zoeller asks them to check the house to make sure nothing is missing. A short time later, Erik confirms none of Kitty’s jewelry was taken. Looking out the window, Lyle sees a different cop standing by the red car. He tells Officer Butkus (Donovan Patton) that Zoeller approved his removing his tennis bag from the trunk. While Butkus isn’t looking, he stuffs an empty shotgun shell box into the bag and pulls the zipper shut. Before leaving, he retrieves a receipt, puts it in his pocket, and walks back into the house.

Peter Hoffman (Jeff Perry) informs Erik and Lyle that Kitty and Jose’s memorial will take place at the DGA Theater on Friday. Lyle insists he and Erik speak and music be played. Peter says they should expect to receive an inheritance. In a flashback, Jose and Kitty scold Peter and Lyle for robbing houses when they have everything. Jose vows to remove their names from his will. Back in the present, Lyle tells Peter that they are in mourning. Peter stresses the need for them to have security, in case, the mafia returns. When he offers them the use of RCA’s limousine, they insist on one for each of them and personal assistants. They ask if the police have contacted him. Peter tells them that a white hatchback believed to have been utilized in the murder of a porn producer was seen at the Menendez house on the night of the shooting. Lyle and Erik breathe deeply and sit back in their chairs. Lyle believes the case is closed but suggests they stay at Hotel Bel-Air. Later at Hotel Bel-Air, Lyle snorts drugs when he hears Erik ordering a grilled cheese sandwich. Taking the phone, he orders a case of Perrier and shrimp cocktail. Erik warns against spending too much money. Hyped, Lyle grabs Erik’s face, says they have their lives, he will never drink tap water again, they will find and destroy the will, and kisses him. Erik laughs.

In two separate limousines, Erik and Lyle go on a spending spree. They hire a weight coach (Emory Ogletree II) and a tennis coach, Mark Heffernan (Any Fitzgerald). They throw a bash with lots of drugs and women. Lyle purchases a Porsche. At the police station, Zoeller, Linehan, Edmonds, and Police Chief Iannone (Ron Bottitta) discuss the Menendez double-murder case. Zoeller tells Iannone that they do not have a suspect lined up. Iannone reminds them that the murders took place in Beverly Hills where violent crime is rare. He pressures them to make an arrest. Beverly Hills residents have lost faith in their local law enforcement. They are buying guns, hiring security guards, and installing home surveillance systems. Klara Wright (Clara York) loads her shotgun. The media is parked outside the police station. In a flashback, a motorcycle cop (Justin Cuomo) asks Zsa Zsa Gabor (Gisela Kovach) to get out of her car. Refusing to comply, she starts to drive away. He physically grabs her.

Peter asks Lyle and Erik where the money for the shopping spree came from. Lyle claims Kitty and Jose promised to leave them everything. Peter urges them to wait for their uncle, the executor of the will, to find the will. Lyle pretends to break down sobbing while talking about their parents’ murders. Peter agrees to make changes to accommodate their Rolexes and expensive clothes. At a dinner, Eric warns Lyle that Jose meant it when he said they would get nothing. Lyle claims to know where Jose put the will. Later, they cannot crack the safe. Lyle wants to cut it open but Erik sets up a meeting with a probate attorney, Mr. Wright (Rick Holmes). He refuses to let them open the safe with the executor present and confiscates the safe. Lyle forces Erik to stay with the safe. Klara Wright (Clara York) puts Erik in the guest room with the safe. The next day, Lyle brings Carlos Baralt (Enrique Murciano) and Uncle Brian Anderson (Larry Clarke) to the Wright house, so the locksmith (Anthony Elfonzia) can open the safe. Lyle demands to look in the safe first to make sure there are no dirty pictures of Jose’s girlfriends. He tells everyone that the will isn’t there.

Flor (Vanessa Lua) gives Lyle and Erik the will which she claims to have found in the closet. They inherit everything. Later, Carlos reads the will. In a flashback, Lyle reads a letter from Jose at the memorial service. Back in the present, Lyle asks Carlos for $300k from the estate to open a Mr. Buffalo. A real estate agent (Jamie Tompkins) shows them a property with a harbor view. Erik hires a photographer. Carlos approves Lyle’s Mr. Buffalo plan and says he is Jose’s son.

Two Months Later – Erik refuses to go through with their plan to kill Dr. Jerome Oziel (Dallas Roberts). Lyle argues he doesn’t want to either. There is a higher risk of getting caught with more people knowing what happened. Erik reminds Lyle he said getting rid of them and getting the money would make him feel better. Ever since the reading of the will, he’s felt worse. That’s why Erik went to see Dr. Jerome Oziel. He insists he can’t kill him. Lyle says it’s okay and they don’t have to kill him. They just need to keep him close to ensure he doesn’t rat them out. Lyle warns Erik he’ll have to kill him if there are more confessions. Then, he claims he’s kidding and will always protect him. Dr. Oziel tells Judalon Smyth (Leslie Grossman) that he’s going to put the notes of Erik’s confession into a safety deposit box and give her the key.

If anything happens to him, he wants her to go to the police. Judalon urges Oziel to speak to the police. She asks how long Laurel and the girls are going to be away. He stresses the need to beef up the security around the house. Judalon is scared and considers moving in with Jerome for a while. Jerome tries to convince her that’s not necessary. Judalon asks what happened to them spending their lives together. Jerome says he’ll talk to Laurel to see if Judalon can stay in the guest house. He claims he is going to tell Laurel all about them when the time is right. Detective Tom Linehan thinks they should pin the whole thing on Fidel Castro. Les, Edmonds, and Tom go through their current theories. First, they were killed by the mafia because of Jose’s possible dealing in the adult film world.

Second, they were killed by a cartel because Jose was running drugs from South America. Third, they were killed by a San Fernando gang Erik had some kind of beef with. Linehan explains why these theories don’t add up. They agree Jose and Kitty likely knew their attackers. Linehan says it was a complete screw-up not to check Erik and Lyle’s hands for gunshot residue on the night of the murder. Edmonds says they need proof and it’s not going to magically fall into their laps. Les learns he has a call from a close friend of Erik. Lyle complains about Erik writing a screenplay about killing their parents. In front of Dr. Oziel, he tells Erik to find every copy and burn it. Lyle hopes he didn’t tell Craig what they did. Dr. Oziel wants to know why they felt they had to kill their parents.

He tells them what he did with the notes. If something were to happen to him, it would not be good for them. Dr. Oziel suggests recording their sessions from here on out. Lyle says he has no more issues to resolve because both of those issues are dead. Linehan and Les speak to Craig Cignarelli (Charlie Hall) who says Erik admitted to killing his parents. Craig tells them about the screenplay they wrote together. In a flashback, Craig and Erik work on the screenplay together. Craig tells Les and Linehan that he couldn’t stay silent. He doesn’t think Erik and Lyle need to go to jail but they need mental help. Les says there’s something he can do to help. Next, Craig meets Erik who tells him he’s been seeing a girl. The police listen to their conversation from a van outside.

Erik says he doesn’t think his dad would want him to mope around. Craig begins talking to him about the screenplay. He says they don’t have to make it exactly like what he and Lyle did. Erik tells him not to mess with that. Craig reminds him he already told him he did it. Erik gets upset and tells him not to mess with that anymore. He says there’s no way they could’ve done that with the way it happened. Craig asks if Lyle might have. Erik says no. He asks if the cops talked to him. Craig admits they did, but he claims he didn’t tell them anything. Erik insists they didn’t kill their parents. Les and Linehan get nothing useful. Dr. Oziel talks to the brothers about killing their mother too. Lyle believes they felt the same on the issue. Erik agrees they have to kill her because she was so dependent on Jose. Lyle says money never played a part in their decision.

Erik says it was never about money and it was about doing their mom kindness. Lyle decides to end the session. He says it was the perfect crime and the police don’t know anything. They are the only ones who know what happened and it better stay that way. Dr. Oziel gives them a card for AutoMax which he helped start. He thinks it’d be a great investment opportunity for them. Oziel says they should be business partners. The brothers leave his card on the ground outside. Judalon brings Oziel’s daughter (Isabella Rose Landau) a snack. She talks about being her mommy and letting her have treats whenever she likes. Jerome Oziel gets upset and decides to kick her out. He admits he’s not leaving his wife. Judalon warns him he’s going to regret this because she knows things.

Before she leaves, Oziel warns her not to discuss the Menendez case or the tapes with anyone. Les Zoeller gets a visit from Judalon who has information about the Menendez case.

 

 

Monsters The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Review

The pilot is far from impressive but episode two is 100 times worse. The story is clunky, poorly written, and embellished which is only made worse by the poor directing. The soundtrack is horrendous. The volume constantly needs adjusting. About 95% of the cast is futile.

The story alludes to a romantic, possibly sexual, relationship between Erik and Lyle. Nowhere in Robert Rand’s “The Menendez Murders” is there any mention of the brothers being sexually involved. This alone ruins any credibility the Netflix series may have had.

Ryan Murphy took a gruesome double murder and turned it into a lavish affair. Murphy obviously had trouble separating himself from American Horror Story while working on Monsters.

Are the dozens of placement ads necessary? According to Varity, Netflix stands to profit big from its millions in California tax credits once they become refundable. The episode deserves a 3.5 out 10.

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