Dina Blanco-Ioannou

Ok, so have watched all the Monster series and have to say that this latest instalment in the series has, for me, missed the mark. If it weren’t for Charlie Hunam’s portrayal (seriously, the best aspect of this series. Give him 5 stars and the generous 3 stars is a reflection of his Oscar worthy performance), I’d not have bothered to watch it at all. This isn’t THE Ed Gein story but rather a story based on smidgens of the Ed Gein story, or Horror Movies inspired by the Ed Gein story. If they wanted to give the story any credibility then it should’ve been maximum 3 episodes long as some parts in later episodes were seriously unnecessary….kept having to stop and check is this fact or fiction? Seriously. No. I know that they had to add things for artistic purposes and possibly to drag it on the way they did BUT in doing so, lost its credibility as the story of Ed Gein it was just another ‘horror’ movie.

Wow! Pure artistry - grabs you in from the very first moment! The one-take filming method places you in the grip of everything from the very first moment. The viewer becomes a helpless overseer witnessing the tragic events as they unfold - like Scrooge following his life in Charles Dickens Christmas Carol. Weirdly, while you also know what the truth is - you also saw it, as did the father, found myself unexpectedly feeling shocked when the truth finally came out - but why? The acting made it so, so believable - an emotional rollercoaster which leaves you breathless! Drama at its absolute best - taking an honest raw look at the impact of knife crime on a family and the questions we as a society need to ask ourselves.

This series just takes me to such a warm and fuzzy place.