To watch or not to watch?
Netflix’s Top 10 is always changing, but landing near the top doesn’t necessarily mean a show is winning everyone over. Case in point: the streamer’s current number two series, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, is getting some seriously mixed reactions, with critics and viewers alike less than impressed.
The fourth season of Netflix’s Monster anthology series follows Lizzie Borden (Ella Beatty), who was tried and acquitted for the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. The cast also includes Vicky Krieps, Charlie Hunnam, Rebecca Hall, Jessica Barden, Joey Pollari, Billie Lourd and Sarah Paulson.
Despite having a pretty stacked cast and all the ingredients for a juicy true-crime drama, the series doesn’t seem to be landing with audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently has a 42 percent critics score and a 35 percent audience score, and some of the reviews are, well, not exactly glowing.
“This was so awful,” one viewer wrote. “I only rated it more than one star because the acting was slightly better than the story.”
“It’s just terrible. Weirdly over the top and sexual,” another lamented. “Please stop making this series. It’s bad.”
A third viewer kept things short and sweet, writing, “Very boring and forgettable.”
Still, there is one thing viewers seem to agree on: Sarah Paulson is absolutely bringing it. Paulson plays Aileen Wuornos in the season, and even viewers who weren’t impressed with the series had plenty of praise for her performance.
“The only decent thing about this show is Sarah Paulson as Aileen Wuornos, who, as usual, makes every scene she’s in better,” one user on X shared.
Another added, “Just finished the new Monsters season and Sarah Paulson genuinely blew me away. I already knew she was an incredible actress but fucking hell. Might be the best actress of our generation.”
A third simply stated, “Sarah Paulson, the sublime actress you are!”
So, if you’re curious enough to see what all the fuss is about or you’re simply here for Sarah Paulson, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is streaming now on Netflix.
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