Monster: The Ed Gein Story slammed by Anthony Perkins’s son as he calls out “Netflix-isation of real pain”

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Osgood Perkins, whose father Anthony Perkins famously starred in Psycho, has voiced criticism of the most recent season of Ryan Murphy’s true crime show, Monster.

The director of Longlegs and The Monkey told TMZ he’s never seen Monster: The Ed Gein Story and has no intention of ever watching it.

He criticized streaming services for turning true crime into something seemingly glamorous and important, and expressed concern that our culture is being changed by powerful, unseen forces right now.

A secondary storyline in the show focuses on Osgood’s father, Anthony (played by Joey Pollari), and reveals that the actor once portrayed Norman Bates – the character inspired by Ed Gein – in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film, Psycho.

After it was released, season 3 of Monster faced criticism for suggesting a connection between the characters of Perkins and Gein, fueled by the actor’s choice to not publicly discuss his sexuality while he was alive.

Perkins also pointed out that the genre is losing its meaningful background and that turning real-life suffering into entertainment, like many Netflix shows do, is misguided.

Though many in Hollywood knew the actor was gay, he stayed married to Berry Berenson, Osgood’s mother, until he passed away from AIDS at age 60 in 1992.

Viewers haven’t just criticized the show’s depiction of Anthony Perkins. The way Monster season 3 handled the connections between Ed Gein and Ted Bundy, Gein’s relationship with Adeline Watkins, and the story of Evelyn Hartley’s disappearance have also drawn criticism.

Charlie Hunnam, the star of ‘Gein,’ previously spoke to The Hollywood Reporter to explain why he believes the show doesn’t unnecessarily dramatize the crimes of the serial killer it portrays. He disagreed with criticisms that the series sensationalizes the killer’s actions.

He explained that everything filmed was done to tell the story truthfully, and they never included anything unnecessary or just to shock the audience.

He also wondered if Ed Gein was truly the terrifying figure in the show, or if the viewers themselves were the problem for being drawn to such a dark story.

He questioned whether Ed Gein was a product of his own troubled upbringing – enduring abuse, isolation, and undiagnosed mental illness that led to terrible acts – or if the real monsters were the filmmakers who exploited his life story for sensational entertainment, ultimately contributing to a darker view of the American mind.

Is Ed Gein the real villain in this story, or is it Alfred Hitchcock, the director? Or are we, the viewers, the ones who are truly monstrous for being captivated by it?

You can now watch “Monster: The Ed Gein Story” on Netflix. Netflix subscriptions start at just £5.99 per month, and it’s also available through Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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2025-10-24 18:34