The Menendez Brothers (2024) ‘Netflix’ Documentary Explained: How Is The Documentary Different From Ryan Murphy’s ‘Monsters’?

Netflix recently released another Ryan Murphy collaboration that earned them a predictable amount of traction. Released as the second season of their ‘Monsters’ series, it offered a fictionalized account of the infamous 1989 case involving the Menendez brothers convicted of murdering their parents. The show presented varied stories about the tragic event of their parents’ death. Although it failed to provide a definitive conclusion, it sided with the deceased parents and portrayed the brothers as spoiled, greedy monsters. So it got a backlash from viewers and some celebrities.

These people criticized the second season of ‘Monsters’ for its one-sided account of events. While some true crime fans loved the series, critics criticized it for its utter pointlessness. The show added nothing to the discussion and only regurgitated known details with overt dramatization. It milked drama from stomach-churning details of their lives. In short, it’s impressively executed torture porn with impressive performances that will certainly receive love and recognition in the upcoming awards season.

Anyway, after the growing backlash, Netflix announced a documentary to share an account of these events from the brothers’ side. ‘The Menendez Brothers’ offers it through a collection of documented images and testimonies.

How is ‘The Menendez Brothers’ different from Ryan Murphy’s ‘Monsters’?

Unlike Ryan Murphy’s “Monsters,” “The Menendez Brothers” offers a sympathetic look at the brothers because of the torture they faced. The film features excerpts from more than twenty hours of exclusive interviews with the Menendez brothers as they serve life sentences without parole. It follows what we’ve already seen in Murphy’s series, but with the brothers’ voiceover. In addition to the brothers, we see the events through the eyes of prosecutor Pamela Bozanic, Kitty’s sister Joan Vander Molen, the police officers, the jurors and the author who wrote a book about the case.

In the late 1980s, Eric was in his late teens, while Lyle was in his early twenties. They had lived all their lives in Beverly Hills, one of the exclusive places in the country reserved for the elites. One evening in 1989, they returned home to find their parents – Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, lying in their own pool of blood. Traumatized and shocked, they called the police to report the murder. Police went to the home to investigate the incident. The brothers shared details about when they found their parents. Initially, the police did not consider the brothers as suspects in this crime.

The aftermath of the murder

After the murders of Jose and Kitty, Lyle gave a heartfelt speech at the service, speaking highly of Jose. With Jose’s enormous influence, it might not have seemed strange or excessive. The police sympathized with the brothers, as with others around them. The police also did not consider the possibility of parricide in an affluent neighborhood like theirs. At that time, they believed that such crimes would not happen in a privileged, good-looking family. Thus, during the initial investigation, the murders were considered mafia hits.

Later, Lyle and Eric were seen wasting their inheritance money. So the police began looking into their past shortly before Jose and Kitty’s deaths. The officers discovered shotguns linked to a friend of the brothers. They then connected the dots and arrested the brothers for the murder of their parents. Through an audio recording, Lyle notes how the police sensationalized their staged arrest. Subsequently, the media was not sympathetic to the brothers. Many celebrity voices mocked the brothers for killing their parents for money. The documentary shows footage of celebrities in TV shows.

The dark past of the Menendez family

Jose was a successful businessman who was revered in their inner circles. He came from a privileged family in Cuba that lost its privilege after the revolution. He eventually met Kitty, married her and started a family in the United States. He had a strong influence on his sons, who respected him. However, he has also traumatized and abused them since they were children. Jose forced himself on his sons and used his dominant personality to hide his ugly side from outsiders. Some of their close relatives saw and heard signs of this abuse. However, Kitty lied to them on Jose’s behalf to protect the illusion of their happy family.

While Jose continued to harm Eric and Lyle, Kitty kept quiet about their torture. The sons also continued to respect Jose, which caused a problem in the case against them. The defense council led by Leslie Abramson was initially unable to determine a motive for their actions. Why would they kill their parents? Eventually, the brothers began to open up about their past and shared some stomach-churning details. So Leslie built a case around these incidents and called the murder an act of self-defense. Later, Lyle’s testimony helped them build the case, while Eric’s testimony weakened it. This ultimately led to a mistrial. While the brothers were sent back to prison, neither side won the case.

The impact of the OJ Simpson case

Shortly after the mistrial in the Menendez brothers’ case in the mid-1990s, OJ Simpson was arrested on charges of murdering his wife. OJ was placed in the celebrity side of the prison near Eric, while Lyle was placed elsewhere. OJ’s case was widely televised, including the final verdict that found him not guilty of the crime. It received backlash from people who believed he had bought his way to innocence. His release had a negative impact on the Menendez brothers, as people began to trust them less. Still, after this incident, the brothers petitioned to stand up for themselves.

During this time, Eric spoke in the courtroom while Lyle remained silent. No one who previously defended the brothers against parental abuse was present at this trial. The defense council side thus became considerably weaker, leaving the brothers in prison with no chance of parole. More than twenty years later, the story started making the rounds on TikTok. Several users began defending the brothers against parental abuse. They felt sorry for these brothers who were trying to escape their parents’ torture.

Despite this online movement, prosecutor Pamela Bozanic remains steadfast in her position that the brothers made up the stories about their abuse. She believes the brothers did everything for money.

Read more: Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (2024) ‘Netflix’ Review, Summary and Ending Explained: What Is the Fate of the Menendez Brothers?

Trailer for The Menendez Brothers (2024):

The Menendez Brothers (2024) ‘Netflix’ documentary links: IMDB, Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes

Where can you watch The Menendez Brother?