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Tag: monster

  • ‘That man is a monster,’ California serial child molester granted parole. Victims are outraged

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    A Sacramento man once described by a judge as “the monster parents fear the most” seemed destined to spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation in 1999.

    Instead he is now set to go free after being granted elderly parole — much to the anger and horror of some of his victims, as well as the prosecutor who oversaw his case.

    “He shouldn’t be breathing the same air that we’re breathing at all,” one victim, who was kidnapped and assaulted when she was just 4 years old, told The Times in an interview. “I disagree with him getting paroled out because he’s a horrible person. That man is a monster.”

    David Allen Funston approached children playing outside their homes in the Sacramento suburbs and used candy and toys to lure them into his vehicle in 1995 and 1996, prosecutors said.

    Following his conviction, he was sentenced to 20 years and 8 months in prison, as well as three consecutive sentences of 25 years to life. Now 64, he is incarcerated at the California Institution for Men in Chino.

    Under California’s elderly parole program, inmates are generally eligible for a parole suitability hearing if they are over 50 years old and have been incarcerated for at least 20 continuous years. The individual can then be released if the parole board determines they do not pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.

    Funston was initially denied elderly parole in a May 2022 hearing, according to records from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. However, he was granted parole at a board hearing in September, and that decision was recently upheld in a review Wednesday by the full board, CDCR records show.

    CDCR did not respond to a request for comment Friday on Funston’s estimated release date or on the Board of Parole Hearings’ rationale for deeming him suitable for elderly parole.

    But those involved in Funston’s case struggle to understand how the program’s criteria could apply to him.

    “A lot of people get out of prison and I don’t scream about it, but this is one I’m screaming about,” said former Sacramento County Dist. Atty. Anne Marie Schubert, who prosecuted the case against Funston while serving as a deputy district attorney.

    Funston used a Barbie doll to lure the victim who spoke with The Times into his vehicle in Foothill Farms in 1995. He then took her to a house, bathed with her, put her on a bed, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her if she told her family, prosecutors said. He performed multiple sex acts on her, causing her to bleed.

    “He’s one sick individual,” the victim said. “What if he gets out and and tries to find his old victims and wants to kill us?”

    The Times generally does not name victims of sexual assault.

    Schubert used DNA evidence found on one of the victims to help prove that Funston had kidnapped and abused her. Schubert later rose to prominence for her role in the case against Joseph James DeAngelo — also known as the Golden State Killer — where she pioneered the use of DNA evidence in securing cold case convictions.

    Although the DeAngelo case attracted national attention, Funston’s always loomed large in her mind.

    “It was the worst child sexual predator [case] I’ve ever prosecuted, hands down,” she said.

    Eight children — seven girls and one boy, all of whom were under the age of 7 when they were victimized — testified in the case against Funston, according to reporting from the Sacramento Bee. Before these offenses, he had also been convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in Colorado.

    In one incident in 1995, prosecutors said Funston used candy to lure a 5-year-old girl into his car in Highland Hills, took her up into the hills and assaulted her.

    “He beat her. He took her underwear and shoved it down her throat because she was screaming. He then raped her to the point that she has vaginal trauma,” Schubert said.

    Afterward, Schubert said, he dumped the girl on the side of Highway 50, where she was found crying and walking barefoot.

    In November 1995, Funston took a 5-year-old boy into some bushes pulled down his pants, and orally copulated him, prosecutors said. Four days later, he kidnapped two sisters, ages 4 and 5, from outside their grandmother’s apartment by offering them candy and a ride home. A woman witnessed the girls getting in his car and called the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.

    “He dropped us off after driving us a few hundred feet and we got out of the car, went home and there was already a sheriff questioning my mom,” one of the sisters told The Times. “We were the lucky ones. There were other victims who were not so lucky.”

    That victim said she believes granting Funston elderly parole is “a huge disservice to all Californians,” saying that his sexual attraction to young children is “an illness that doesn’t go away.”

    Schubert sent a letter to CDCR on Friday asking that Funston be referred for screening as a sexually violent predator. Under California’s sexually violent predator program, offenders who are eligible to be released from state prison can be civilly committed to a state hospital and prevented from being released into the public.

    “The pattern of behavior demonstrates predatory intent, multiple victims, use of force, threats of lethal violence, and sexual offenses against prepubescent children,” she wrote, “precisely the category of offender for whom the SVP Act was enacted.”

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    Clara Harter

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  • How Your Company Can Reduce Revenge Quitting

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    The growing levels of stress and distrust in the workforce are starting to show up in the number of people who plan to vote with their feet and leave their jobs abruptly. New data shows a growing number of disgruntled employees now prefer to exact workplace payback sooner than later. A recent survey found large numbers of people saying they’d either abruptly quit their jobs to protest their own poor treatment, or that they approved of former colleagues they’d watched doing so.

    The revenge quitting phenomenon isn’t new, but survey data by job posting site Monster suggests it’s on the rise. Respondents noted an uptick in employees angered by one or more workplace factors unexpectedly resigning their positions and storming away, often loudly airing recriminations about their old jobs. Nearly half, or 47 percent, of the 3,600 people Monster polled this year said they’d up and quit in that way — intentionally leaving managers and colleagues both short-handed and flustered.

    That marked a considerable increase over the 17 percent of respondents to a January survey by tech advice platform Software Finder who admitted having walked off a job in that disgruntled fashion. Perhaps just as dangerous for business owners who value staff stability, even higher numbers of poll participants voiced support of revenge quitting.

    Fully 57 percent of Monster respondents said they’d observed at least one co-worker dramatically bolt from their job, with 34 percent saying they’d seen between two and six colleagues abruptly slam the door that way. Another 87 percent of participants said they considered the move justified in protesting poor workplace environments.

    Leading reasons cited for undertaking the resign, rant, and run approach were toxic work environments, poor management or leadership, feeling disrespected or undervalued, and unmet promises or expectations. Bad pay and benefits often intensified the other complaints.

    But Monster career expert Vicki Salemi tells Inc. that employers aren’t fated to suffer revenge quitting theatrics, or the disruptions that inflict on staff focus, unity, and productivity. In fact, she urges business leaders to take steps to defuse those situations before they explode.

    “There’s an opportunity for employers to get ahead of revenge quitting not only for the sake of reducing turnover, but in an effort to cultivate a workplace where workers feel highly satisfied, productive, valued, and engaged,” Salemi said in emailed comments about the survey. “If they wait until workers are beyond disgruntled and abruptly leave, it’s often too late.”

    The consequences of letting that happen, she added, make efforts to prevent those explosions and preserve workplace atmosphere, stability, and productivity far less costly by comparison.

    “Workers have already quit, morale is low, and existing workers have an instantly increased workload,” she says of post-revenge quitting effects. “Then, externally word of mouth travels fast, and this creates challenges for the recruiting team to position the employer as an employer that’s best in class.”

    So what can employers do to reduce the odds of workers quitting while creating scenes that reach the histrionic heights of high drama.

    Among the primary measures survey respondents cited as ways employers can avoid vindictive, high-octane resignations include making sure staff feel work environments are safe and respectful, and training managers to lead with empathy and clarity. Other suggestions were to regularly recognize and reward staffers’ contributions, and provide competitive pay and clear career paths.

    “Considering 63 percent of workers in Monster’s research from earlier this year said better workplace culture could have prevented (revenge quitting), this is a silver lining,” Salemi said, urging employers to regularly question whether employees are as happy at work as they may appear. “Just because workers haven’t resigned, especially to the extreme of revenge quitting, doesn’t mean it’s a healthy workplace.”

    There’s no exact date or event that’s been identified as the advent of revenge quitting. But Salemi said it’s a now post-pandemic phenomenon that’s unlikely to go away on its own, along with other big changes in workplace attitudes since 2020.

    “Employees have become more focused on their mental health,” she said. “If a job and/or boss are toxic, anecdotally they seem more likely to quit now than in pre-pandemic times. Plus, the stigma of job hopping isn’t much of an issue anymore.”

    But since revenge quitting and the motivations driving it are now professional realities, Salemi advises employers to take a wider view toward addressing complaints of departing workers. By admitting things in the workplace aren’t all perfect, she says, business’s leaders can start the process of improving the environment for remaining employees, and themselves.

    “Since it all depends on a variety of factors, there may be nuggets of truth behind (all) revenge quit situation(s),” Salemi noted. “For instance, if there’s a lack of respect and workers feel undervalued, leaders should make sure they immediately start recognizing employees… and it won’t cost the company a dime! Here are some examples: say thank you, praise workers during meetings (make sure you treat everyone equally) by recognizing a recent accomplishment, ask them if they need anything because you have their back.”

    Those may seem like small things, but if pursued and broadened they’re likely to avert most revenge quitting, Salemi said. And that, in turn, will spare employers and remaining workers alike the emotional and professional destabilization of the divisive, spite-driven departures.

    The final deadline for the 2026 Inc. Regionals Awards is Friday, December 12, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.

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    Bruce Crumley

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  • How New-Collar Jobs Are Shrinking the Value of Degrees in Hiring

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    Among the many workplace evolutions now in full swing is the trend among employers to place as much emphasis on the skills and experience of candidates without college degrees as they do the diplomas of university graduates. As that shift in recruitment criteria has continued, it has created new career pathways—many involving over $100,000 salaries—in so-called new-collar jobs that are enjoying increasing demand.

    The growing range of new-collar jobs is filling the gap between two traditional work categories: office workers, who were initially hired on the strength of their college degrees, and manual laborers without those diplomas. People now flourishing in ‘tweener positions, by contrast, use skills and experience they earned in technical training, certification programs, or simply by working to strengthen the knowledge and abilities that many companies are now clamoring for. That also permits new-collar hires to hit the ground running and immediately produce results for employers, who often previously needed to onboard and train recruits fresh out of universities.

    As with so many developments today, tech is driving the growth of many new-collar jobs, but it isn’t the only sector generating them. Manufacturing, engineering, and, especially, health care companies are also increasingly hiring people who may not have college degrees but do have the skills and experience to begin performing from day one.

    “These roles focus on bridging the skills gap in industries that rely on advanced technologies and specialized training,” said a recent post by Martina Mascali on job posting platform Monster. “For example, a software developer is considered a new-collar job and might acquire skills through coding bootcamps rather than a computer science degree. The key distinction is that new-collar jobs prioritize competence and capabilities over credentials.”

    Monster compiled a list of some of the booming new-collar positions, providing an idea of the varied sectors, specialties, and salaries increasingly open to people without degrees. While many of those positions sound highly technical, they are all open to self-taught candidates or people who attained required skills on the go and are ready to put them to use.

    These include cybersecurity analysts, now in high demand to protect companies from online criminals, who are fetching salaries of $85,000 to $141,000 as they do. Data analyst roles are also multiplying for people with experience with “Excel, SQL, and Tableau, as well as programming languages like Python or R… [and have] strong problem-solving abilities and an eye for spotting trends and anomalies in data,” Mascali writes, adding that those employees tend to make $64,000 to $114,000 in annual pay.

    Similarly, candidates with cloud computing experience are finding a rising number of work opportunities, most fetching between $95,000 and $160,000 annually. Even people who earned their HTML, CSS, and JavaScript chops developing websites for friends, family members, and neighbors can now export those skills to companies wanting to create state-of-the-art web platforms—and which are willing to pay $56,000 to $109,000 annually for help with that.

    But not all jobs Monster listed are based only on computing skills. Mascali notes that businesses needing in-house electricians now pay between $47,000 and $78,000 in annual salaries to those employees. People who both broaden and adapt that electrical know-how into other areas find ample work as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technicians (whose pay ranges from $36,000 to $61,000 per year), and wind turbine specialists (who earn from $49,000 to $61,000 in salary).

    And how many people currently slaving away over college textbooks and cramming for exams wouldn’t be at least a bit tempted by working as a video game tester instead? The growing number of those jobs becomes especially alluring, with Mascali noting they only require “attention to detail, patience, and a passion for gaming… [to] identify bugs and usability issues.” The pay for putting those skills to use in vetting games many college students spend hours playing for free? Between $72,000 and $124,000 annually.

    That sociology degree may start losing its luster compared to a career playing Minecraft or Pokémon Go for a living.

    Still, employers can face some challenges in hiring new-collar workers. For starters, many of those job seekers still assume companies continue favoring degree holders and therefore don’t bother applying to those roles open to them. Others may assume those positions are effectively blue-collar grunt jobs set within professional environments and look elsewhere for more promising prospects.

    To prevent this, Monster and other job posting platforms advise companies to stress the importance of skills and experience over degrees in their recruitment announcements. Businesses should also underline the critical contributions to the business those hires will provide and opportunities for advancement the positions offer.

    Another suggestion for human resource managers with new-collar jobs to fill is to visit the online networking and social-media platforms favored by people pursuing activities that hone the skills being sought—and use those platforms to initiate contact. Many hiring officials may be surprised at the receptiveness and enthusiasm they find there.

    “I love it. Modern education needs a serious overhaul,” said one contributor in response to a thread about the new-collar trend on social-media platform Reddit. “No reason for kids to go into a lifetime of debt for their sociology degree. A portfolio is way more valuable than a resume for a lot of tech jobs. Show me you can do it versus telling me where you learned how to do it.”

    The early-rate deadline for the 2026 Inc. Regionals Awards is Friday, November 14, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.

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    Bruce Crumley

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  • Job Hugging Replaced Quiet Quitting, but it Won’t Last. Here’s How to Retain Talent

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    As companies reduce recruiting to a bare minimum, employees have increasingly responded by holding tightly to the relatively secure jobs they already have, and forgetting about trying to jump to better professional or salary opportunities elsewhere. The upshot of that job hugging is that managers should benefit from increased staff stability, especially with a majority of those workers now saying they’re strapping themselves in for at least two more years — whether they want to or not.

    Remember the heady, indeed headache-y Great Resignation of 2021-2023, when the post-pandemic abundance of job openings and rising wages led workers to swap employers at dizzying paces? Job hugging is creating an opposite situation you might call the Grand Retention. That’s happening as employees hold tight to secure and comfortable positions, and banish any thoughts about facing today’s cold and inhospitable employment market. According to a new survey by work opportunity platform Monster, nearly 50 percent of the 1,004 U.S. workers it surveyed said they’d joined the current job hugging trend, with 63 percent predicting its spread across workplaces will accelerate in 2026.

    As a result, employers may finally be rid of cold-sweat flashbacks of Great Resignation era scrambling to fill jobs.

    According to Monster, nearly half of all workers it questioned said they’re not only holding tight to their existing jobs, but in doing so are sticking with them longer than they had planned to. That stay-put strategy looks set to be in place long–term, too. Fully 75 percent of respondents said they intend on sticking with their current employers for at least two more years, by which time today’s anemic hiring rates may have rebounded.

    In other words, the unofficial motto for the workforce facing today’s miserly job market is to move slow and break nothing — especially anything affecting employment security.

    “Workers are holding on tighter than ever, but not because they’re complacent but because they’re cautious,” said Monster career expert Vicki Salemi in comments on the findings. “Job security and stability have become emotional safety nets. The new loyalty is about survival, not necessarily satisfaction.” 

    It’s also not entirely about loyalty, but also about sticking solidly with stable work. That’s why the job hugging trend winds up being a two-way street for both employers and their clingy workers.

    On the one hand, companies can rely on rock solid staff stability, which may allow them to optimize their workforce through assignment changes or other potentially disruptive moves at minimal risk of affected employees quitting. At the same time, business owners Monster also surveyed said they appreciated the employee commitment, institutional knowledge, and lower turnover costs that job hugging affords.

    On the other hand, employees benefit from the comfort of safeguarding their pay and benefits, as well as their employment security — the reasons most cited for their job hugging decision. The fact that three-quarters of respondents said they plan to stay put for at least two more years is also in part due to that defensive clinginess being viewed either neutrally, or in a positive fashion by a combined 93 percent of survey participants. Who’d fault a colleague from refusing to jump ship in a raging typhoon?

    So what could go wrong with staffs putting headlocks on their jobs?

    On the employee side, 94 percent of respondents said defensively digging into their current roles increased the risk they’ll eventually regret missed chances of higher pay. Other potentially negative consequences participants cited included burning out from lack of change, or feeling their career advancement had become stuck.

    That last concern may also create problems for business owners. Minimal turnover may result in many employees feeling they’ve stagnated while waiting out the labor market freeze. That’s especially true of higher performers, who in a less dire employment scenario would likely look for better outside possibilities — or demand internal opportunities.

    According to a recent blog post by management consultancy Korn Ferry — which initially coined the term “job hugging” — those risks mean businesses should act now to minimize their consequences in the future. In doing so, the company advises companies to identify their most talented and productive workers, and offer them additional training and advancement opportunities.

    Doing that should keep more valued employees satisfied as long as national hiring rates remain flat, and give them additional reasons to stay put when the job market opens up again.

    “Show your employees that you care about them reaching their personal objectives,” said Alan Guarino, Korn Ferry’s vice chairman of board and CEO services practice, in comments on managing the job hugging craze. “(G)ive them a safe, fair, working environment, and you will win the long game.”

    Indeed, while Monster’s survey indicates respondents believe job hugging will likely accelerate into 2026, Salemi says employers should remain mindful that the trend will weaken once job markets pick up again. Preparing for that, businesses should start making moves now to retain people they’ll want to keep when the current labor market freeze starts thawing.

    “Staying put doesn’t mean standing still,” she said. “Workers can continue to explore new opportunities passively and evaluate them carefully. The bar for making a move may be higher right now, but it’s not closed.”

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    Bruce Crumley

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  • Research Shows That Political Talk Is Tanking Workplace Harmony. Here’s How Leaders Can Fix It

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    In a world where political disagreements have ripped friendships, and even families asunder, it isn’t surprising similarly acrimonious debate also arises in the workplace. In fact, those verbal dustups between coworkers have apparently broken out enough that a majority of employees now say they don’t want to hear any discussion of politics while on job.

    That was the main finding in the recently published “Navigating Politics in the Workplace” report by job posting site Monster. Its survey of 900 U.S. employees found 60 percent of respondents saying discussions about politics at work should be completely avoided. Another 68 percent said those exchanges left them feeling uncomfortable, despite 67 percent acknowledging they’d previously shared their political beliefs with coworkers. Yet 59 percent of participants said they thought having those exchanges while on the job risk negatively affecting their careers.

    What’s more, 14 percent of respondents said they dreaded workplace discussion about politics so much they’d rather get a tooth drilled than join them. What’s next — ducking out of an office discussion about religion to have an appendix removed, without anesthesia?

    In addition to the anger and accusations political exchanges can generate, there are other reasons why avoiding them at work may be wise. While 64 percent of respondents said they generally respect their coworkers’ political opinions, a third admitted they’ve formed negative views about colleagues after hearing them at the office.

    That can’t be good — and those reactions aren’t always reserved for workplace peers, either. Just over half of survey participants said they’d consider quitting their job if their employer staked out political positions they disagreed with.

    Inc.com columnist Alison Green has tracked the issue for years. She suggests people set conversational boundaries when political talk makes them uncomfortable, and taking the issue to management if it persists. It’s bad for company culture, whether it happens on the shop floor or the boardroom.

    But whether those political differences are with bosses or coworkers, the bad feelings that often arise from them frequently undermine staff harmony and stability.

    “These findings align with research from the Pew Research Center, which emphasizes that workplace culture significantly influences employee satisfaction and retention,” analysis of the Monster survey said. “Political discussions in the workplace can be sensitive and require careful handling to maintain a respectful and inclusive environment.”

    But workplace managers should also be aware and respectful of what the survey said was the desire of most survey participants to keep political talk entirely out of the workplace. But in addition to that not always being the case, 67 percent of respondents said they’d actually been pressured to join discussions about politics on the job.

    Of those that had, 40 percent of respondents said they’d felt that coercion during informal conversations with coworkers, 15 percent said it had occurred during meetings, and 11 percent reported it’d happened in discussion or reviews managers or supervisors. Sometimes the pressure came from outside the company, with 11 percent of survey participants saying they’d been dragged into political discussions with clients or vendors.

    The widespread aversion to talking politics in the workplace comes at a particularly confusing and fraught time for companies and their employees. Both rules and attitudes are shifting rapidly in the public and private sectors alike.

    For example, the Trump administration in July released guidelines ending longstanding federal practices intended to separate workplace affairs of church and state. Under those changes, public employees are now allowed to pray, display religious symbols, and even actively proselytize while at work, in sharp contrast to previous rules.

    In the opposite direction, numerous private sector companies recently moved to punish or fire workers who’d posted celebratory message in response to the September murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on their personal social media accounts. That sparked debate about undermining freedom of speech — and taught some workers a painful lesson about the First Amendment not absolutely protecting speech in the workplace.

    Those very high-profile developments over freedom of expression on the job may result in stronger efforts by people who’d rather avoid trouble or conflict by keeping politics out of the office altogether.

    “Political and religious talk is not permitted in the workplace,” said RustyBrassInstrument in a post on social media platform Reddit about limiting political discussion at work — apparently expressing a personal preference rather than legal fact. “You can be political or religious on your own time.”

    Not surprisingly, not everyone agrees.

    “Hot take, making people uncomfortable is usually the only way to make change,” redditor lovable_cube said in response to a thread titled, “Keep your politics at home” about a coworker spouting unwanted political opinions. “We have something very broken right now, we need change.”

    Monster drew other conclusions from the results of its survey. It suggested employers can find a productive balance between the extremes of banning talk about politics in the workplace, and letting debate flow unchecked in ways that risk sparking employee anger or higher quit rates.

    “Organizations that force or encourage political alignment risk alienating employees and fostering judgment rather than collaboration,” it said. “Creating a culture where employees feel comfortable, but not pressured, to share personal beliefs is crucial. Encouraging open communication about work-related issues, while maintaining neutrality on political topics, can help maintain a respectful and productive workplace.”

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    Bruce Crumley

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  • These 4 Sectors Are Still Recruiting as the Job Market Flattens

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    With evidence mounting that most companies are now limiting hiring to replacing departing employees, it’s little wonder many people are hugging their current jobs even more tightly. That leaves a growing number of jobseekers facing employment situation that looks daunting— if not worse. The good news for those people is new data shows some sectors continue recruiting energetically, but the bad news is that most available positions aren’t what the majority of job seekers are looking for.

    That labor market mismatch was one of the main findings in job post platform Monster’s new report on hiring trends for the third quarter of 2025. Its research showed a majority of its employee-side users continue applying primarily for administrative, office support, software, data, and other information technology positions. But these have become increasingly rare as businesses replace those workers with artificial intelligence, and scale back hiring generally. But that famine of opportunity resembles something closer to a feast for people considering work with healthcare, sales, customer service, and logistics companies that continue increasing headcounts.

    In case current job seekers were too depressed about their prolonged hunt for work to catch it, the message of Monster’s report that is that people may need to shift their searches from sectors they’d prefer to work in to those still hiring.

    Healthcare companies regularly posted some of the biggest job creation numbers over the past year, so it’s little wonder Monster said they’re still offering six of the top 10 positions businesses are now filling. Those include registered nurses, physical therapists, radiology technicians or technologists, speech-language pathologists, respiratory therapists, and occupational therapists.

    “Clinical roles lead posting volume and remain among the fastest-growing categories,” the report said, citing current staffing shortages and rising demand from aging Baby Boomers requiring more care as drivers of continued hiring.

    Of course, not every programmer, data entry employee, accountant, or marketing writer can simply pivot from those low-hiring professions to more abundant healthcare jobs that often require training or degrees. Luckily there are other options for people willing to make an occupational change.

    Also qualifying for Monster’s hit parade of hot jobs are truck and delivery drivers. With logistics companies both understaffed and trying to keep up with ever growing e-commerce sales by online retail clients, increasing headcount has become a priority.

    For job seekers more inclined to commercial rather than transportation work, sales representatives and customer service employees finished fourth and 10th on Monster’s most-hired-jobs. The advantages of those position, the report said, is they’re “(r)evenue roles (that) stay funded even in slowdowns.” Companies hiring customer service reps, meanwhile, have a “(r)etention focus” and offer “many hybrid/remote” arrangements.

    Other sectors whose hiring trends are on the rise include security services, community and social services, and education and training.

    Frustrated job hunters unwilling to shift their work preference to the more available roles probably won’t be receptive to the other main lesson in Monster’s report, either. That involves moving to smaller urban zones where companies are hiring more, and leaving “high-volume hubs (that) cooled quarter-over-quarter” in the current analysis.

    That means people in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and other low-hiring big cities might want to at least consider a move to the spots posting the highest recent rates of hiring. Those are led by Tacoma, WA, Asheville, NC, Charleston, SC, Colorado Springs, CO, and Sacramento.

    For everyone else, Monster’s report had a few other suggestions to assist their job hunting struggles.

    The first was to cease doing mass-volume applications, and focus on fewer, high-priority openings. As part of that, candidates should make the effort to tailor applications and resumes to the exact skills companies have specified, and stress other transferrable experience that would be of use in those positions.

    “It’s not about quantity; the key is not applying to hundreds of jobs and seeing what sticks,” Monster career expert Vicki Salemi told CNBC. “Actually, it’s the reverse. It’s having a specific job search.”

    The second suggestion was to make peace with the high likelihood that it’s going to take considerably more time to strike employment paydirt than it has in recent years.

    “The slower hiring life cycle doesn’t mean it’s not happening, it’s just delayed as employers do their due diligence,” the Monster report said. “It’s important for job seeker to be consistent with their job search efforts and to focus on what they can control. When they’re actively interviewing, candidates should continue to apply to new opportunities and expand their network.”

    And if that doesn’t work, driving a truck in Albany might be more the most viable short-term employment option.

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    Bruce Crumley

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  • Here’s What Ed Gein’s Voice Really Sounds Like After Monster‘s Charlie Hannam Was Accused of Using a ‘Ridiculous’ Accent for the Role

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    Ed Gein’s Voice in Real Life & if He Really Talked Like That From Monster Season 3



























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    Lea Veloso

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  • Monster Doesn’t Know When to Quit

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    Monster: The Ed Gein Story tiptoes toward a thought-provoking read on the American obsession with true crime. Then it blows right past it.
    Photo: COURTESY OF NETFLIX

    Spoilers follow for Monster: The Ed Gein Story, all eight episodes of which premiered on Netflix on October 3. 

    Much like the other installments of Monster, you can guess the point The Ed Gein Story is making: We don’t know the full story of killer Ed Gein, and maybe if we did, we’d sympathize instead of judging him, and we’d better understand America, its crassness and consumerism. Creators Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy aren’t implicating themselves in that formula, of course, because they’re doing the important work of pointing out all the other filmmakers, law-enforcement authorities, and media professionals who spun the Gein story for their own devices. But their pointed fingers would feel a little cleaner if they weren’t delivered alongside lengthy scenes of Charlie Hunnam’s Gein having sex with a corpse or dancing around in the snow while wearing a suit made of women’s skin. Brennan and Murphy could’ve ended the season with its fourth episode, which features its most insightful observations about the United States’ blinkered perspective on political violence. Monster tip-toes very close to delivering a thought-provoking argument about the way we use entertainment to avoid taking responsibility for our collective sins of complacency and cultural narcissism. Alas. Like Gein, Monster doesn’t know when to stop.

    Monster starts in the early 1940s with Gein’s life in remote Wisconsin, trapped at a failing farm with his abusive religious mother Augusta (Laurie Metcalf). The pair’s routine basically goes like this: She screams at him that he should never have sex, catches him masturbating while wearing her underwear and choking himself with a belt, then screams some more Bible quotes at him until the cycle starts again. Ed’s repressed and lonely, a cowed boy trapped in a broad-shouldered man’s body, and Hunnam’s falsetto-voiced, wide-eyed performance is a little bit Lennie from Of Mice and Men, a little bit Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. When his on-again, off-again girlfriend Adeline Watkins (Suzanna Son) shows him Polaroids taken by a soldier in the Nazi concentration camps and a kinky fetish comic featuring Ilse Koch (Vicky Krieps), the German war criminal nicknamed “the Bitch of Buchenwald,” Gein becomes obsessed. After his mother dies in 1945, he starts digging up graves to mimic Koch’s hobby of using human skin to make home furnishings and furniture, and eventually, remains from more than 200 bodies litter his house, like belts made out of nipples and bowls made out of skulls. Later, Gein begins killing people around town and using their bodies for his creations, too. (It cannot be overstated how distressing this show is to watch. Kudos to the props department, but also, what in the actual hell.)

    Once Monster establishes these rushed motivations for Gein’s increasingly horrifying activities, it jumps around in time: to 1959, when Alfred Hitchcock (Tom Hollander) began thinking about making Psycho; 1968, when Tobe Hooper (Will Brill) tapped into his childhood fear of Gein to conceive The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; and the late 1980s, when Gein inspired Buffalo Bill’s crossdressing in The Silence of the Lambs. Monster traces the massive shadow Gein left on 20th-century horror to convey how far Gein’s lore spread, how well-known he became for acts he didn’t entirely understand himself, and eventually, how disconnected he felt from both those crimes and that reputation. But it’s also trying to make a broader argument that is less about Gein as an individual and more about why we as Americans are more comfortable with ingesting some kinds of gore and brutality over others. Why do we pay money to see Leatherface shove his chainsaw into people’s torsos, but turn off the TV when news coverage of the Vietnam War comes on? Why do we transform images of Jewish misery into lurid soldier’s mementos, shrug off war crimes like My Lai, and treat New York City crime-scene photographer Weegee like a minor celebrity?

    Monster doesn’t have answers for these questions, just a general disdain for Americans and broad observations about our own cowardice. It’s frustrating that the series presents this bloodlust and apathy as a post-World War II development in the American psyche, thus tidily ignoring that the U.S. was born out of genocide and built on the backs of enslaved people. But Brennan and Murphy find thought-provoking tension in these imbalances, contrasting our disinterest in keeping up with America’s imperialist destruction with our never-ending fascination with Gein’s brutality and depravity. And the series incriminates us, of course, when Hunnam looks straight into the camera and says, “You’re the one who can’t look away.” By fourth episode “Green,” Monster has hit all these points, and hit them well. The episode’s final minutes feature Hooper ranting about how he was “fucking bored” by Psycho. When someone tells him he can’t make his movie, he replies, “Why not? They’re mowing down whole villages and putting it on TV. They’re burning babies … I’m not making the movie this country wants. I’m making the movie it deserves. They created it. The ugliness, the violence, the cruelty, the depravity, the lies. We’re humans, but we’re not human anymore.” His tirade is nihilistic and grandiose, but he makes some good points! Gein is the bogeyman, Hooper argues, but he’s a bogeyman for an America that’s already deeply lost its way, and maybe never had it.

    Imagine if Monster had ended there. We’ve seen Gein infantilized and mistreated by his mother, led on and corrupted by Adeline, have his schizophrenia activated by those horrific images from the concentration camps, and become a ruthless murderer of women who made him angry. We understand that headlines about Gein were inspiring copycats and changing true crime as we know it. We feel Brennan and Murphy’s contempt. But Monster just keeps going, making the same arguments and piling on the stomach-churningly awful visuals until you lose all sense of whatever nuance the show once had.

    Consider the finale, which floats a bunch of big-brained ideas about the cruelty of religious moralizing, the churning depravity of the American audience, and the failures of our criminal-justice and public-health systems, only to let them all splatter to the ground like the organs of so many of Gein’s victims. In “The Godfather,” Gein is reformed. With therapy and the appropriate medication, he’s lucid and penitent, but he’s still stuck in an underfunded asylum, surrounded by inmates who insult and bite him. The only people who write him letters are serial killers who adore him, especially serial killers who were portrayed on the Netflix series Mindhunter (which Monster, for some reason, takes a swipe at with a frankly exhausting, metatextual parody). He has information from serial killer “Birdman” Richard Speck about Ted Bundy, who is still on the loose beheading young women, but the FBI is ignoring Gein’s tips — until finally, a cop meets with Gein and uses his information to catch Bundy. This is allegedly a fantasy sequence, but one of Monster’s greatest flaws is how flimsy it is at differentiating Gein’s imagination from what the series is presenting as objective truth.

    The most needless scene of all is a bizarro fantastical sequence where Speck, who describes Gein as his role model and hero for faking insanity (even the killers who idolize Gein didn’t know him, Monster argues), narrates a letter he wrote to Gein in which he asks Gein if he’d like to masturbate while touching Speck’s estrogen-enhanced breasts. Look at all these freaks and opportunists, Monster tells us, unlike good boy Gein, who as he dies imagines himself going down the middle of a Soul Train-style line of asylum patients and employees and the people from his life, all bumping and grinding to Yes’s “Owner of a Lonely Heart.” His final thoughts are of reuniting with Augusta, who greets him warmly at the top of a set of stairs. (If you’re picturing a Glee performance mashed up with Leo and Kate’s reunion at the ending of Titanic, that’s exactly what it’s like.) Ed has made her proud, Augusta tells him, and although “only a mother could love you,” she does.

    The final image of Monster is the pair drinking lemonade on the front porch of their home. Is this a rare moment of familial pleasantness we didn’t see? A hypothetical, what the Geins could have been like if Ed had received treatment earlier? Or a vision of Ed and Augusta in heaven, somehow? It’s unclear! Regardless, this is an exceedingly genteel way to end a show that previously had shown us not one, not two, but three shots of removed and preserved vulvas. Monster practically insists that Gein changed in the later years of his life, and Hunnam’s performance shifts into a man more self-possessed and calm, his voice pitched downward and his body language steady after years of proper treatment for his schizophrenia. (Although the show struggles to really clue us into Gein’s interiority, Hunnam admittedly tries his hardest to make him accessible.) But Monster is gratuitous in conveying both Gein’s deviance and reform, leaning into the excessive characterizations and flourishes it previously criticized Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Silence of the Lambs, and Mindhunter for demonstrating, too. In the season’s back half, neither its overloading of vile desecrations nor maudlin sentimentality adds anything that Monster hadn’t already established four episodes ago. We already know how the tale of Ed Gein ends, with commercialization and infamy. What Monster fails to consider is that it’s part of the problem.

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    Roxana Hadadi

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  • How Monster Butchers the Real Ed Gein Story

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    The third installment of Monster justifies its various imaginings through constant reminders that Ed’s (Charlie Hunnam) grip on reality that is tenuous at best.
    Photo: Netflix

    Ryan Murphy “based on a true story” adaptations are known for having a flexible relationship with the truth. That willingness to play fast and loose with history gained new momentumb in the Monster series, the first two seasons of which made questionable diversions from the life of Jeffrey Dahmer and the saga of the Menendez brothers. But in an interesting twist, the new third installment, The Ed Gein Story, embeds the idea of differing versions of the truth into the season’s narrative. After all, Ed Gein inspired legendary fictional villains like Norman Bates (Psycho), Leatherface (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), and Buffalo Bill (The Silence of the Lambs), so not only does Monster offer deeply fictionalized versions of Gein’s crimes, it moves its adaptive tendrils outward to explore how his monstrous actions rippled through pop culture.

    That approach opens up all sorts of new avenues to diverge from the historical record. Murphy’s Monster co-creator Ian Brennan, who writes all eight episodes, clearly savors taking kernels of truth and turning them into batches of popcorn this season. In doing so, he insulates himself against charges of gross extrapolation through constant reminders that Ed’s grip on reality is tenuous at best. Think something didn’t happen quite that way? Well, maybe Ed thinks it did. (Although this doesn’t explain some of what this season does to the production of Psycho.) There are details in all eight episodes that are based on verifiable facts, but anything unverifiable, anything that might have happened, even in Ed’s mind, is fair game for Monster, too. Get the shovels, we’re digging for the truth buried within Monster’s grisly fantasia of the Ed Gein story.

    Heavy spoilers follow.

    The “Butcher of Plainfield” became one of history’s most notable murderers not because he killed at least two women but because of what he did with their bodies, and others he dug up at the local cemetery. The list of items that authorities found when his house was raided in 1957 is pure nightmare fuel, including a wastebasket made of human skin, bowls made from skulls, a belt made of nipples, a lampshade created from a human face, and nine vulvas in a shoebox. Most of these body parts were obtained from the cemetery, but also from two women Gein killed: Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden. They found Mary’s face, which Ed had been using as a mask, and Bernice’s entire head. Gruesome, to be sure, and Monster incorporates all of those gnarly details and more.

    Monster is pretty consistent with the details of the atrocities Gein confessed to, including hanging Bernice’s body up in a shed, shooting Mary Hogan, and grave-robbing from the cemetery. However, he was only suspected of other crimes that the show presents as fact, including the disappearance of a young woman named Evelyn Hartley; a pair of missing hunters named Victor Travis and Raymond Burgess that Monster presents as victims of a chainsaw murder that would inspire Leatherface; and even the death of Ed’s brother Henry, which the authorities ruled as a product of asphyxiation despite finding bruising on his head that the show portrays as Ed’s first assault.

    And what about all that nasty mother stuff? According to a 1957 psychological report printed in The Ed Gein File: A Psycho’s Confession and Case Documents, “After the death of his mother … his emotional needs influenced him to attempt the re-creation of his mother by using the parts of bodies from other graves.” So that part aligns pretty closely with Monster’s depiction of Ed’s motivations, although it should be noted that experts on the case are unsure about the extent of Gein’s necrophilia, with Gein claiming that he didn’t have sex with the bodies he exhumed because of the smell. So that truly upsetting scene in episode five is supposition, depending on if you believe a man who did what Gein did had boundaries.

    Monster arguably saves its most unconfirmable flights of fancy for Adeline Watkins, the alleged on-and-off girlfriend of Ed Gein for over 20 years. Maybe. Probably not. The truth is that almost nothing is known about Watkins other than she knew Gein and once said in an interview that they had briefly dated at different times in her life. But she later recanted those claims, saying that her original quotes were blown out of proportion and that she’d never been inside Gein’s house, they only went to the movies a few times.

    The Monster version of Adeline Watkins is not that at all, portrayed more as a Lady Macbeth urging on Ed’s monstrous ways. The fifth episode is particularly remarkable, implying that Adeline not only attacked someone in New York after a meeting with the infamous crime scene photographer Weegee (played by Elliott Gould) but that her mother (Robin Weigert) told her that she threw herself down the stairs multiple times to kill Adeline in utero. Could that have happened? Theoretically, and that’s all Monster needs to run with something.

    The idea that Watkins was an enabler of Gein’s murders and subsequent desecrations could be read merely as a part of the show’s aggressive and admitted mingling of fiction and reality. After all, Watkins also plays a Marion Crane figure in the show, introduced with Ed peeping on her a la Norman Bates, and later envisioned being brutally murdered in a shower while audiences watch a version of Psycho that never existed. In the end, she serves multiple functions on the show as an object of obsession, a partner in crime, a sociopath herself, and a necrophiliac’s girlfriend. That the real Adeline was likely none of those things is fitting for a show about how truth becomes legend, and vice versa.

    Photo: Netflix

    We don’t see much of Ed’s mother Augusta in Monster, and what we do see and hear is often filtered through Gein’s visions and hallucinations. Like a lot of people in this case, not much is known about Augusta Gein other than she married George and had two sons, Ed and Henry. She was reportedly very religious, which is captured on the show in her railings against loose women and the immorality of the world around her. George died in 1940 and Henry in 1944, leaving Ed alone with Augusta, which is when his mental decline began to accelerate.

    Again, Monster blends truth and fiction from the very beginning. Believe it or not, the detail about Ed and Augusta seeing a man abusing a dog seems to be true, at least according to Gein’s account, although she didn’t drop dead on the scene as the show depicts. What Brennan does capture through Augusta is Ed’s obsession with her, reflecting what expert Harold Schechter wrote in his 1989 book Deviant about how she was “his only friend and one true love,” and that after she died, “He was absolutely alone in the world.”

    Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Paul W. Bailey/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images, Netflix

    In one of several sections of the show that seeks to capture the influence of Ed Gein on pop culture, Brennan imagines the Master of Suspense’s obsession with the moral boundaries crossed by the man who would inspire Norman Bates. Of course, Psycho was based on a novel of the same name by Robert Bloch, which was loosely inspired by Gein. A review of the book caught the attention of Peggy Robertson, Hitch’s assistant, and the filmmaker forwent his director’s fee and lowered the budget to get it approved by Paramount distributors. Much has been written about the production of Psycho, including how it radically deviates from the book — Marion is barely a character in the source and Bates doesn’t look like Anthony Perkins — but Hitchcock being as obsessed by Gein’s horrific tendencies as he is in Monster is a new idea, one largely imagined.

    The show’s bending of reality fully breaks in episode two as we see Hitch watching a tumultuous screening of Psycho, complete with vomiting and fainting audience members, and even get a re-creation of the shower scene with Hunnam’s Ed and Son’s Adeline in the Norman and Marion roles. Anyone who’s seen the actual movie knows the nudity and graphic violence of the Monster version doesn’t match up with the source; it’s just one more example of how all the material here about the production of Psycho is exaggerated for effect.

    Photo: Vulture; Photos: Pierre Vauthey/Sygma via Getty Images, Netflix

    In a show full of oversized versions of real-life people, Alma Reville is surprisingly subtle, but also remarkably underdeveloped, especially given the talent of the actress cast to play her. The real Reville married Alfred Hitchcock in 1926 and they remained partners until his death in 1980. Her work with Hitch is well-documented, including collaborating on some of his best scripts, but Monster really just uses her as a judgmental sounding board for Alfred, there to shake her head after Psycho typecasts him into a new genre called “sex horror.” She’s just there to look concerned at Alfred and say things like “You have other stories to tell.”

    Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Reporters Associes/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images, Netflix

    Hitchcock’s Psycho star doesn’t get much to do in Monster, either, although the way the show connects him to Gein is significantly more insulting to the actor’s legacy than what it does with Alfred and Alma: A show about a cross-dressing psychopath introduces the actor who would play Norman Bates cross-dressing with his boyfriend. Ugh. In a later scene, Bates gets a blowjob from a boyfriend while watching himself on the big screen in Psycho. There isn’t really enough to hold onto here in terms of fiction vs. reality because Monster is only interested in the fact that Perkins felt he had to remain closeted to keep his fame, and that tenuous connection to Gein’s behavior behind closed doors isn’t just shallow, it’s pretty gross.

    Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images, Netflix

    The fourth episode of Monster suggests that a young Tobe Hooper heard about Ed Gein from his father at the dinner table, incorporating that into his vision of the 1974 horror masterpiece The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It also imagines an adult Hooper sparking to the idea at a Montgomery Ward department store when he sees a chainsaw and fantasizes about using it to carve through a holiday shopping line. He then incorporates the body suit stories about Gein into his vision of Leatherface on the set of TCM.

    There’s a tiny bit of truth hiding in Monster’s imaginings about Hooper. Yes, the filmmaker said that elements of Gein’s crimes inspired elements of TCM, but it’s a film about a lot more than the Plainfield Ghoul, including the proliferation of misinformation and the Vietnam War, which the episode nods to as well. Hooper wanted to tell a true story that wasn’t really true, sort of like what Monster does.

    Photo: Netflix

    A 58-year-old Plainfield hardware store owner, Bernice Worden disappeared in November 1957. Her son, Deputy Sheriff Frank Worden, led the investigation after finding blood stains on the floor, discovering that Gein had been seen in the store the night before she disappeared. This led to the investigation of Gein’s farm that unearthed his atrocities, including Worden’s body being decapitated, flayed, and hung in his shed. Both Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden were roughly similar in age, appearance, and background Augusta Gein, which is likely why Ed killed them.

    Monster devotes a scene to an imaginary encounter with Ilse Koch that inspires Ed to kill Mary (played by Rondi Reed), but the show really goes nuts with its version of Bernice, going so far as to imagine a torrid sex scene between the two in which Ed wears women’s clothing before the two fornicate. Monster uses this encounter to thematically tie Ed’s murder of Bernice to his own confused sexuality and mommy issues, but underlines the unreality of the situation via the green blood that seeps from Bernice’s head after he shoots her in the hardware store.

    Photo: Netflix

    In October 1953, 14-year-old Evelyn Hartley went missing in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, after she had been hired to babysit the 20-month-old daughter of a man named Viggo Rasmussen, and was never seen again. A local man claimed to have seen two men in a vehicle that night not far from the Rasmussen house, and there were strange details about the house, including every room being locked and a window missing a screen with a stepladder leading to it, but Evelyn’s body was never found. When he was arrested, Gein was asked about the case because he lived not far from the house, but no trace of her was found in the Gein residence, and, well, he wasn’t exactly big on hiding body parts, which was likely one of the reasons that the authorities cleared Gein of any involvement with this one (as well as the disappearance of 8-year-old Georgia Weckler, also insinuated on the show).

    In the third episode, Monster posits that Ed tried to get a babysitter job to prove he could be a father with Adeline, and that said job was “stolen” by Evelyn Hartley. So what does Ed do? He stalks and kidnaps her, trying her up in his basement and yelling at her about how he was somehow going to pay for a wedding with a “babysittin’ job.” Then he introduces her to “mother” before bashing her in the head with a hammer. In a series with a lot of torturously gross scenes, it’s one of the grossest.

    Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, Netflix

    A German war criminal who was married to the commandant of Buchenwald during World War II, Ilse Koch is deserving of a Monster season of her own. In the show, Ed is inspired by a comic book about Koch titled The Bitch of Buchenwald, given to him by Adeline, suggesting that her sadistic treatment of Jews during the Holocaust led to Gein’s house of horrors in Wisconsin. Most of the show’s version of Koch comes from witness testimony during her 1947 US military commission court trial at Dachau, where she was accused of many of the atrocities seen on the show. That includes turning skin into lampshades, something that two inmates alleged to have seen happen but was never proven; when Buchenwald was raided, items made from human skin were found, but the direct connection to Koch could never be established.

    Monster’s visions of Ilse Koch are freed from the historical record because they’re merely what Ed sees in his head after reading the comic book. Whether or not The Bitch of Buchenwald did what is reenacted on the show isn’t relevant, because her activities are placed in the context of a comic book that exaggerates history to make a point — just like Monster does. That is until the seventh episode, in which Ed contacts an imprisoned Ilse over ham radio just before she kills herself. Koch did indeed die by suicide in prison, but did she really speak to Gein beforehand? Of course not, but the walls of reality have crumbled so completely by this point in Monster that we’re in and out of Ed’s hallucinating mind. Maybe we were all along.

    Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images, Netflix

    As an institutionalized Ed starts to examine what’s behind his cross-dressing ways in the seventh episode, he comes across a recording of “I Enjoy Being a Girl” by Christine Jorgensen, dancing and singing along in his bra and panties. One of the first people widely known to have had a sex reassignment surgery, Christine Jorgensen became a celebrity on the New York scene in the early 1950s. In 1957, she saw Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song, becoming enchanted by the track that captivates Ed and making it her own.

    In the “Ham Radio” hallucination episode of Monster, Gein “calls” Jorgensen to ask her about why he feels disconnected from his “trouser snake.” As he tells his imaginary Christine about his mother abusing him after catching him masturbating, we hear her voice coming from the mouth of his therapist, the person he’s really speaking with, and flash to the iconic scene in The Silence of the Lambs when Buffalo Bill wears his woman suit, drawing a line between Ed’s proclivities and that masterful film. But imaginary though she may be, Christine gives Ed a much-needed reality check when she makes it clear that his attempt to use her experience to explain his immoral behavior won’t fly. “I don’t think you and I are alike at all,” she says. “The transexual is rarely the perpetrator of violence, Mr. Gein. We are far more likely to be the victims of violence.”

    Photo: Netflix

    In the truly bonkers finale of Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Netflix gets as close to a third season of Mindhunter as there will likely ever be. Happy Anderson, who played serial killer Jerry Brudos on that acclaimed show, returns as the Shoe Fetish Slayer Jerry Brudos, talking to characters clearly meant to be Holden Ford and Bill Tench, though they’re named John Douglas and Robert Ressler, about how he was inspired by Gein. They then go back to their basement office and talk about the case with a woman modeled after Wendy Carr.

    After that WTF opening, the finale works hard to push the idea that Gein influenced numerous other serial killers. Anderson’s Brudos says, “I chopped my share of bodies once I heard about the fella in Wisconsin that did it.” The infamous Richard Speck (Tobias Jelinek) talks about his titties and sends a letter to his beloved Ed, which Gein then uses, Hannibal Lecter-style, to lead the authorities to catch Ted Bundy. And then, in one of the most OMG things that’s ever appeared on Netflix, a near-death Gein has a vision of serial killers thanking him for how he inspired them, including Brudos, Speck, Charlie Manson, Ed Kemper, and more. After a bizarre goodbye with Adeline that feels half-imaginary itself, he goes back to the hall of monsters in his mind and ascends the Psycho staircase to his waiting mother as Yes’s “Owner of a Lonely Heart” plays on the soundtrack. And thus Monster goes out having fully intertwined reality, fiction, and legacy into one nutty vision that it is almost impossible to believe exists.

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    Brian Tallerico

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  • So you want to know about Ed Gein now… | The Mary Sue

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    As is the way with Ryan Murphy’s Monster series, fans flock to Netflix to watch his latest season. Based on infamous murder cases, the show has tackled Jeffrey Dahmer, Erik and Lyle Menendez, and now season 3 is centered on Ed Gein.

    Gein is the kind of serial killer that many forget. But he is infamous for a reason. After all, his story did inspire creatives to make Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre after learning of what this man did. So if you want to head into the Ryan Murphy universe with a little bit of knowledge of Gein, here is what you need to know about the man.

    Gein grew up in Plainfield, Wisconsin, where his crimes took place. He was known as the Butcher of Plainfield and the Plainfield Ghoul. When Gein was 48 years old, he claims to have killed his first victim, Mary Hogan and then said he killed hardware store owner Bernice Worden when he was 51 years old. Worden was Gein’s victim who got him caught.

    If you’re wondering how this man is tied to stories like Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it is because he was a twisted man who was not only a serial killer but a body snatcher as well. He would create things out of human skin (the Leatherface of it all) and his deep love for his mother would go on to be the inspiration for Norman Bates.

    While Gein was only found guilty of Worden’s murder and pled insanity so he spent the rest of his life in a mental institution. He was accused of at least 5 other murders as well as a string of missing people cases in Wisconsin. But his more deranged methods made him the infamous serial killer he’s known to be.

    Why do we keep telling stories of these men?

    Now that you know more about Gein, we have to ask ourselves an important question: Why do we constantly go back to the serial killers and not their victims? This is a common criticism of fictionalized tellings of these stories and it still is a problem. If anything, I need to spend no time at all with the killer themselves.

    And yet time and time again, we are telling the story through their eyes and that’s not really something I think we need in 2025. Gein’s legacy has been documented in cinema for years. Thanks to Alfred Hitchcock, Tobe Hooper, and Kim Henke took Gein’s crimes and made them part of cinema history forever. And yet that isn’t enough? We still have to watch things through his eyes?

    Arguably, I’m still working through the show and maybe I will change my tune but it is a criticism I have of the Monster series as a whole. It is very much on the side of those accused of murder and the only one it worked to help was the Menendez brothers and there were plenty of flaws with season 2 as well.

    Ed Gein is not someone you should become fascinated by. I watch murder documentaries and learn about serial killers to keep myself safe because that is sadly the world we live in. At the end of the day, Ed Gein was confirmed to have murdered two women who had their lives cut short because of his actions. And let’s not get into the basket made of skin.

    (featured image: Netflix)

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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    Rachel Leishman

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    Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She’s been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff’s biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she’s your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell’s dog, Brisket.

    Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

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    Rachel Leishman

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  • The 10 Scariest Monsters In Anime

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    The Xenomorph. The Thing. Donald Trump in Home Alone 2. What do all these movie monsters have in common? None of them are as scary as creepy critters on this list (well, maybe that last one). Anime has come up with some seriously terrifying beasts over the years, containing as many horrific multitudes as an evil twin of Walt Whitman. When it comes to the freakiest of the freaks, this crop of monsters rises to the top. Here are the 10 scariest monsters in all of anime – the sensitive reader may want to avert their innocent eyes.

    Pride from Fullmetal Alchemist
    (Aniplex of America)

    A secret antagonist from Fullmetal Alchemist, Pride is the true form of spoiler alert – Selim Bradley, son of King Bradley: the Führer of Amestris himself. A synthetic shapeshifter made of shadows, Pride was the first homunculus created by overarching antagonist Father. Named after the deadliest sin in Christian theology, Pride lives up to its reputation by being the single most dangerous creature in the series. It’s a being that exists in total darkness, an obscure mass of eyes and limbs and teeth that can tear anything to shreds when the lights go out. Stealthier than the Xenomorph and twice as tough, Pride haunts the tunnels beneath Amestris, killing anything that gets too close to the lair of its creator. Thankfully, the beast has one weakness: light. A flickering match will stave off Pride’s advance – but not for long.

    The Angels – Neon Genesis Evangelion

    Sachiel, an angel from Neon Genesis Evangelion
    (Gainax)

    The eldritch horror alien invaders of Neon Genesis Evangelion, the Angels possess the exact opposite temperaments of their benevolent namesake. Unknowable extraterrestrial terrors, these beings assault planet Earth for purpose that scientists don’t fully comprehend. Their bodily forms are as inscrutable as their motives – no two angels are exactly alike. Some are walking Godzilla beasts blasting cityscapes with biological lasers, others are higher dimensional horrors that break the laws of physics. Worst of all, each Angel generates a psychic barrier appropriately called an “Absolute Terror Field” that’s capable of deflecting all forms of conventional ballistic weaponry. The only way to stop an Angel is by beating it at its own game – meaning you have to stick a middle schooler in a giant biomechanical suit made of repurposed Angel flesh and sic them on the alien enemy. The tactic works, but is it worth the cost? Shinji Ikari’s mental breakdown doesn’t exactly make a compelling case.

    Titans – Attack On Titan

    Reiner in Marley looking at Erem
    (MAPPA)

    Attack On Titan engineered pure nightmare fuel by wandering through tried and true horror territory: the uncanny valley. Naked flesh-eating giants with sporting a parodies of human faces, Titans are lumbering horrors that belong on the other side of a big old wall. Thankfully, that’s the tactic humanity uses to contain them, but when intelligent Titans emerged and kicked that wall down, humanity was forced to change their strategy. While the idea of intelligent humans piloting Titans is terrifying enough, the WORST type of Titans are the abnormals – killers that behave with an inexplicable level of cunning. Their intelligent behavior isn’t the result of an internal human pilot – so why are they smart? They’re simply aberrants, random mutations of whatever cursed genome makes a regular Titan. Unpredictable. Unexplainable. Uncanny.

    Awakened Beings – Claymore

    (Crunchyroll)

    Underrated monsters from the underrated dark fantasy series Claymore, Awakened Beings rival Berserk‘s demons in terms of pure, unnatural terror. In this dar fantasy world, humankind is plagued with the scourge of the Yoma, shapeshifting flesh eaters that gorge on human flesh. Claymores are all-female warriors made to combat Yoma, augmented with Yoma flesh by the shadowy Organization that engineers them. If a Claymore leans to much on their Yoma powers, they run the risk of become an Awakened Being – an evolved form of Yoma with near divine abilities and infernal appetites. They’re also called “Voracious Eaters,” providing a clue into how they spend 99% of their time. Intelligent, cunning, ruthless, Awakened Beings are a mix of angel, demon and animal – eerily beautiful, totally evil, always hungry.

    Parasites – Parasyte: The Maxim

    a parasite from "Parasyte"
    (Sentai Filmworks)

    Parasites from Parasyte: The Maxim are just plain awful – monsters from the ninth circle of sci-fi Hell. They’re an alien species that begins its life cycle as a nasty little worms, landing en masse on a planet and burrowing into the brains of intelligent life. After they consume the host’s mind, they then devour the host’s entire head – shapeshifting to disguise themselves with their host’s face. Using this human camouflage, they cozy up to their host’s intimate partners and friends – devouring them with fleshy maws of blades and teeth once they get close enough. It’s Invasion of The Body Snatchers but so much worse. The weirdest part? Some parasites are known to develop human emotions, expressing gratitude and even affection to human beings. These are the exception to the brain-eating rule, however. Most parasites don’t feel the need to get to know their food.

    Goblins – Goblin Slayer

    Goblins from "Goblin Slayer"
    (Crunchyroll)

    Who would have guessed that such a traditionally “starter level” enemy would become one of the most reviled creatures in all of anime? The goblins of Goblin Slayer are a different breed, violent killers with surprising levels of cunning and strength. Capable of growing to ogre sizes and intelligent enough to command armies, goblins are so traumatizingly good at murder that the series’ protagonist engineered his whole identity around eradicating them. The worst part of goblins aren’t their homicidal tendencies, but reproductive ones. They create more of themselves by capturing women of all different species and forcing themselves on them – breeding goblin offspring. There is nothing good about goblins, they’re cruel and brutal creatures working towards the total eradication of mankind. No thanks.

    The Walking Fish – Gyo

    A walking fish from "Gyo"
    (Aniplex of America)

    The antagonistic force of Junji Ito’s Gyo, the walking fish are a nameless assortment of sea creatures that have inexplicably grown gross robot spider legs. These critters are able to saunter out of the ocean en masse and lay waste to the human world, spreading their noxious presence far and wide. The horror of these beings is the fact that they aren’t fish at all – they’re machines piloting the corpses of Dead Sea creatures, and the use the gasses generated biological decay to power themselves. Eventually, these evil walking machines are able to attach themselves to human corpses, powering themselves through the rot of our species. What do they want? It’s never made clear – they’re like a virus, they seem to only want to make more of themselves. Considering that the lifeforms in the ocean outnumber us a bajillion to one, it’s only a matter of time before the human race is entirely overwhelmed by the sea.

    The God Hand – Berserk

    The God Hand from "Berserk"
    (OLM Team Iguchi)

    The crapsack world of Berserk is the definition of “godless” – plagued by wanton violence and murder as rival kingdoms attempt to assert their dominance through never-ending war. And yet, gods do exist in this bloody and bitter land – and that’s the most horrible part. The psychic manifestation of collective human suffering, The God Hand is a nigh-omnipotent group of five demon princes that orchestrate the fate of the world. Ordained by the mysterious Law of Causality, these infernal sovereigns command the forces of demonkind, and are responsible for handing out “behelits” – abyssal artifacts capable of transforming humans into demons. They’re not evil for evil’s sake, they’re simply operating according to the greater divine will of the universe – a will that leads everything to death and ruin. Not good.

    Koh The Face Stealer – Avatar: The Last Airbender

    Koh The Face Stealer from "Avatar the Last Airbender"
    (Nickelodeon)

    Koh The Face Stealer is the most criminally underrated monster in all of anime – a primordial terror whose capacity for evil is only limited by the fact that he exists within a cartoon marketed to kids. An unfathomably ancient spirit, this centipede monster has spent eons pilfering the faces of living things – adding them to his never-ending collection. If you seek an audience with Koh, you can’t show the slightest expression – otherwise he’ll yank your mug off your dome! The most terrifying aspect of Koh is that he doesn’t seem to have a reason for face-theft, it’s simply his nature. He’s the ultimate example of Neutral Evil – he doesn’t actively seek out people to hurt, but he’ll hurt you for certain if you visit.

    Johan Liebert

    Johan Liebert in 'Monster'
    (Madhouse)

    The titular monster of Monster, Johan Liebert doesn’t need fangs, claws, or a carnivorous appetite to earn a slot on this list – his actions guarantee it. An angel-faced agent of destruction, Liebert uses his supernatural levels of charisma and cunning to orchestrate “the perfect suicide” – killing himself after killing everyone who knows about his existence. The ultimate nihilist, Liebert views human life as an unimportant speck of consciousness floating in an uncaring cosmos. The ultimate cynic, Liebert thinks that any human being can be manipulated into performing evil acts faced with the right amount of despair. The ultimate monster, Liebert manipulates and kills simply because it is his nature to do so. He’s the pinnacle of anime evil, and the scariest thing on this list.

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

    Image of Sarah Fimm

    Sarah Fimm

    Sarah Fimm (they/them) is actually nine choirs of biblically accurate angels crammed into one pair of $10 overalls. They have been writing articles for nerds on the internet for less than a year now. They really like anime. Like… REALLY like it. Like you know those annoying little kids that will only eat hotdogs and chicken fingers? They’re like that… but with anime. It’s starting to get sad.

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    Sarah Fimm

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  • 2025 Emmy Awards: See the full list of winners

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    Discover the full list of Emmy 2025 winners, highlighting outstanding achievements in drama, comedy, limited series, reality, and talk shows. See below for a full list of nominees, with the winners in bold.Outstanding lead actor in a drama seriesSterling K. Brown, “Paradise”Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us”Adam Scott, “Severance”Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”Outstanding comedy series”Abbott Elementary””The Bear””Hacks””Nobody Wants This””Only Murders in the Building””Shrinking””The Studio””What We Do in the Shadows”Outstanding lead actor in a limited series or TV movieColin Farrell, “The Penguin”Stephen Graham, “Adolescence”Jake Gyllenhaal, “Presumed Innocent”Bryan Tyree Henry, “Dope Thief”Cooper Koch, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”Outstanding talk series”Jimmy Kimmel Live!””The Daily Show””The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”Outstanding lead actress in a limited series or TV movieCate Blanchett, “Disclaimer”Meghann Fahy, “Sirens”Rashia Jones, “Black Mirror”Cristin Milioti, “The Penguin”Michelle Williams, “Dying for Sex” Outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or TV movieErin Doherty, “Adolescence”Ruth Negga, “Presumed Innocent”Deirdre O’Connell, “The Penguin”Chloë Sevigny, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”Jenny Slate, “Dying for Sex”Christine Tremarco, “Adolescence”Outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or TV movieJavier Bardem, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”Bill Camp, “Presumed Innocent”Owen Cooper, “Adolescence”Rob Delaney, “Dying for Sex”Peter Sarsgaard, “Presumed Innocent”Ashley Walters, “Adolescent”Outstanding reality/competition series”The Traitors””RuPaul’s Drag Race””The Amazing Race””Survivor””Top Chef”Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy seriesIke Barinholtz, “The Sudio”Colman Domingo, “The Four Seasons”Harrison Ford, “Shrinking”Jeff Hiller, “Somebody Somewhere”Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear”Michael Urie, “Shrinking”Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live”Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy seriesLiza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear”Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”Kathryn Hahn, “The Studio”Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”Catherine O’Hara, “The Studio”Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”Jessica Williams, “Shrinking”Outstanding lead actress in a drama seriesKathy Bates, “Matlock”Sharon Horgan, “Bad Sisters”Britt Lower, “Severance “Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”Outstanding supporting actor in a drama seriesZach Cherry, “Severance”Walton Goggins, “The White Lotus”Jason Isaacs, “The White Lotus”James Marsden, “Paradise”Sam Rockwell, “The White Lotus”Tramell Tillman, “Severance”John Turturro, “Severance”Outstanding supporting actress in a drama seriesPatricia Arquette, “Severance”Carrie Coon, “The White Lotus”Katherine LaNasa, “The Pitt”Julianne Nicholson, “Paradise”Parker Posey, “The White Lotus”Natasha Rothwell, “The White Lotus”Aimee Lou Wood, “The White Lotus”Outstanding lead actress in a comedy seriesUzo Aduba, “The Residence”Kristin Bell, “Nobody Wants This”Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”Jean Smart, “Hacks”Outstanding lead actor in a comedy seriesAdam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”Seth Rogen, “The Studio”Jason Segel, “Shrinking”Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”Outstanding drama series“Andor”“The Diplomat”“The Last of Us”“Paradise”“The Pitt”“Severance”“Slow Horses”“The White Lotus”Outstanding limited series”Adolescence””Black Mirror””Dying for Sex””Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story””The Penguin”

    Discover the full list of Emmy 2025 winners, highlighting outstanding achievements in drama, comedy, limited series, reality, and talk shows.

    See below for a full list of nominees, with the winners in bold.

    Outstanding lead actor in a drama series

    Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”

    Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us”

    Adam Scott, “Severance”

    Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”

    Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”

    Outstanding comedy series

    “Abbott Elementary”

    “The Bear”

    “Hacks”

    “Nobody Wants This”

    “Only Murders in the Building”

    “Shrinking”

    “The Studio”

    “What We Do in the Shadows”

    Outstanding lead actor in a limited series or TV movie

    Colin Farrell, “The Penguin”

    Stephen Graham, “Adolescence”

    Jake Gyllenhaal, “Presumed Innocent”

    Bryan Tyree Henry, “Dope Thief”

    Cooper Koch, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”

    Outstanding talk series

    “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
    “The Daily Show”
    “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”

    Outstanding lead actress in a limited series or TV movie

    Cate Blanchett, “Disclaimer”

    Meghann Fahy, “Sirens”

    Rashia Jones, “Black Mirror”

    Cristin Milioti, “The Penguin”

    Michelle Williams, “Dying for Sex”

    Outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or TV movie

    Erin Doherty, “Adolescence”

    Ruth Negga, “Presumed Innocent”

    Deirdre O’Connell, “The Penguin”

    Chloë Sevigny, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”

    Jenny Slate, “Dying for Sex”

    Christine Tremarco, “Adolescence”

    Outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or TV movie

    Javier Bardem, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”

    Bill Camp, “Presumed Innocent”

    Owen Cooper, “Adolescence”

    Rob Delaney, “Dying for Sex”

    Peter Sarsgaard, “Presumed Innocent”

    Ashley Walters, “Adolescent”

    Outstanding reality/competition series

    “The Traitors”
    “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
    “The Amazing Race”
    “Survivor”
    “Top Chef”

    Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series

    Ike Barinholtz, “The Sudio”

    Colman Domingo, “The Four Seasons”

    Harrison Ford, “Shrinking”

    Jeff Hiller, “Somebody Somewhere”

    Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear”

    Michael Urie, “Shrinking”

    Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live”

    Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series

    Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear”

    Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”

    Kathryn Hahn, “The Studio”

    Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”
    Catherine O’Hara, “The Studio”

    Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”

    Jessica Williams, “Shrinking”

    Outstanding lead actress in a drama series

    Kathy Bates, “Matlock”

    Sharon Horgan, “Bad Sisters”

    Britt Lower, “Severance “

    Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”

    Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”

    Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series

    Zach Cherry, “Severance”

    Walton Goggins, “The White Lotus”

    Jason Isaacs, “The White Lotus”

    James Marsden, “Paradise”

    Sam Rockwell, “The White Lotus”

    Tramell Tillman, “Severance”

    John Turturro, “Severance”

    Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series

    Patricia Arquette, “Severance”

    Carrie Coon, “The White Lotus”

    Katherine LaNasa, “The Pitt”

    Julianne Nicholson, “Paradise”

    Parker Posey, “The White Lotus”

    Natasha Rothwell, “The White Lotus”

    Aimee Lou Wood, “The White Lotus”

    Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series

    Uzo Aduba, “The Residence”

    Kristin Bell, “Nobody Wants This”

    Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”

    Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”

    Jean Smart, “Hacks”

    Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series

    Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”

    Seth Rogen, “The Studio”

    Jason Segel, “Shrinking”

    Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”

    Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”

    Outstanding drama series

    “Andor”

    “The Diplomat”

    “The Last of Us”

    “Paradise”

    “The Pitt”

    “Severance”

    “Slow Horses”

    “The White Lotus”

    Outstanding limited series

    “Adolescence”

    “Black Mirror”

    “Dying for Sex”

    “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”

    “The Penguin”

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  • Monster Bracket

    Monster Bracket

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    Today on the show, we celebrate Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire with our March Madness monster/kaiju bracket! Jessica Clemons joins Jomi and Steve to put together their list of the 16 best film kaijus. Which one will outlast their monster competition?

    Hosts: Jomi Adeniran and Steve Ahlman
    Guest: Jessica Clemons
    Producer: Jonathan Kermah
    Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal

    Subscribe: Spotify / Apple Podcasts

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    Jomi Adeniran

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  • Netflix’s Controversial 'Monster' Series Prepares To Tackle the Menéndez Brothers

    Netflix’s Controversial 'Monster' Series Prepares To Tackle the Menéndez Brothers

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    As if Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story wasn’t controversial enough, creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan are making Monster into an anthology series. They have already chosen the Menéndez brothers as the subject for season 2, while Netflix recently announced several casting developments.

    Initially, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was advertised as a limited series, but it wasn’t long before Netflix announced that it had renewed the show with plans to turn it into another Ryan Murphy anthology series, with each season dramatizing a different true crime case. While the first season proved to be a critical success, it wasn’t without controversy. Dahmer’s victims spoke out about not being consulted for the series and being re-traumatized by the dramatization, which tried to humanize the murderer, made entertainment out of their nightmare, and led to fans online calling Dahmer “hot.” All of which is to say: it’s hard to know what to expect with season 2, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story.

    Delving deeper into the Menéndez case is arguably less controversial than doing so with Dahmer. Dramatizing Dahmer’s story forced the families of his 17 victims to relive the horror of his crimes. With Lyle and Erik Menéndez, though, there are at least some lingering questions and concerns about their convoluted case that might be worth revisiting. In 1996, after a lengthy trial process, the two brothers were found guilty of murdering their parents, José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menéndez. While the prosecution argued that they carried out the murders for financial gain, the brothers alleged that they had suffered years of horrific abuse committed by their parents.

    Ultimately, the Menéndez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Although it was inevitable that they would serve time, many felt that, if the brothers’ testimonies were true, the sentence was too harsh. This case fits well into the very important and highly complicated discussion of whether victims who retaliate against abusers should be offered some leniency, making it all the more concerning whether Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story can handle this story effectively and with sensitivity.

    What you need to know about Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story

    Lyle and Erik Menendez during their trial
    (Ted Soqui, Getty Images)

    Viewers won’t have to wait long for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story. Although season 2 doesn’t have a confirmed date, it is slated to arrive on Netflix later this year. If it follows in the footsteps of the first season, viewers could be looking at a September release date.

    Meanwhile, the show has tapped two relatively new actors to Hollywood for the lead roles. Cooper Koch, whose credits include minor roles in various movies and TV series, has been cast as Erik, while General Hospital star Nicholas Alexander Chavez will portray Lyle. However, the season will still boast a few big names. Academy Award-winner Javier Bardem will star in the series as Jose Menéndez. Chloë Sevigny, who has starred in true crime dramas such as The Act and The Girl From Plainville, will star opposite Bardem as Kitty Menéndez. The iconic Nathan Lane, who appeared in Murphy’s American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, has been cast as investigative journalist Dominick Dunne. (The late Robert Morse memorably played Dunne in The People v. O.J. Simpson.)

    The season does not yet have an official trailer, as filming only recently started after production was delayed by the Hollywood labor strikes last year. However, Netflix did release a brief teaser, which simply plays a recording of the eerie 911 call the brothers made after murdering their parents.

    Plotwise, as mentioned above, the season will retell the story of the Menéndez brothers and their trial. Although the case has been told excessively by the media in the form of television films and documentaries, this is the first time it has been adapted as a big-budget drama.

    It’s worth noting that the case actually garnered renewed attention before the series was announced, as it has become popular on the true crime side of social media. Recently, the release of Gypsy Rose Blanchard has led to calls on social media for the Menéndez brothers to be released as well. However, there are also a lot of bizarre posts focused on the brothers’ physical appearances, which suggests a likely repeat of viewers romanticizing the brothers as they did Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer.

    (featured image: Stephen Kim, Getty Images)

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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    Rachel Ulatowski

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  • Monster Hunter Now weapon list and how to unlock new weapon types

    Monster Hunter Now weapon list and how to unlock new weapon types

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    Weapons are the most important tools in your Monster Hunter Now arsenal.

    This mobile version of the series stripped back the usual roster of weapons down to six choices at launch, locking them behind story quest progression or Hunter Rank progress, with more being introduced with seasonal updates over time.

    Despite the limited number of weapons in Monster Hunter Now, there are a couple of ranged options and series staples, such as the Great Sword, giving you some variety to play around with.

    Monster Hunter Now weapons list: How many weapons are there?

    To date, the roster of weapons in Monster Hunter Now is as follows:

    • Sword and Shield
    • Great Sword
    • Bow
    • Hammer
    • Light Bowgun
    • Long Sword
    • Dual Blades (added in Dec. 2023’s “Fulminations in the Frost” update)
    • Lance (added in Dec. 2023’s “Fulminations in the Frost” update)

    Developers Niantic and Capcom have confirmed new weapon types will continue to be added to the game as part of a “season system,” so for those familiar with the main series, hopefully your favorites will roll out before too long.

    How to unlock new weapon types in Monster Hunter Now

    Image: Niantic / Capcom via Polygon

    To begin with, you’ll only have access to the Sword and Shield, albeit with multiple variations by forging together parts from slaying large monsters.

    To unlock new weapon types in Monster Hunter Now, you must progress through the main story quest. Specifically, you need to reach Chapter 2, where you’ll first unlock the Great Sword, and just a few steps later, the remaining roster of weapons.

    Specifically, you need to reach the following points in the story:

    • To unlock the Great Sword, complete the first stage of “Chapter 2: Shimmering Swamp” in the main story.
    • To unlock the Bow, Hammer, Light Bowgun, and Long Sword, reach Hunter Rank 15.
    • To unlock the Dual Blades and Lance, they appear to unlock for all players from Hunter Rank 15 as part of Dec. 2023’s “Fulminations in the Frost” update.

    These pre-requisites aren’t too far into your Monster Hunter Now journey — requiring just a few hours of play. Of course, that might be staggered out depending on how much you’re able to explore, with many story steps based on collecting resources, which will be limited if you are playing in just a single spot.

    Meanwhile, though large monsters do spawn frequently on your stationary position, making use of paintballs for when you need to complete large monster steps quickly is advised.

    When will new weapon types arrive in Monster Hunter Now?

    New weapon types — alongside new monsters and story updates — will be coming to Monster Hunter Now as part of major quarterly updates.

    The first of these was “Fulminations in the Frost”, arriving Dec. 2023, which introduced the Dual Blades and Lance.

    From here, developers Niantic and Capcom have confirmed “additional weapon types” from March 2023.

    Monster Hunter Now Fulminations in the Frost teaser image, showing Hunters fighting Zinogre.

    Image: Niantic / Capcom

    It’s possible there’s more to come in this update — and if not, expect more weapons to be rolled out in subsequent ones to come.

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    Matthew Reynolds

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  • Titillating Costumes, Monster Smash, & Scary Make Horny w/ Mishamai

    Titillating Costumes, Monster Smash, & Scary Make Horny w/ Mishamai

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    Camry

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  • Monster Energy Keeps Pushing Devs To Change Their Game Titles

    Monster Energy Keeps Pushing Devs To Change Their Game Titles

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    Monster Energy, the energy drink company that puts artificially-flavored gloop in cans next to gaming setups worldwide, is pushing an indie studio to change the name of its game. Glowstick Entertainment’s 2020 horror title, Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals is apparently “confusingly similar to their energy drink,” Glowstick CEO Vincent Livings said in a Twitter thread.

    It Looks Like A PlayStation Classic, But Your Grappling Hook Is A Frog

    “Yep, that’s really their claim,” he continued.

    Monster, which is partially owned by Coca-Cola and has a market cap of $55.8 billion as of writing, is a known “trademark bully.” Over the years, it has sued a small Ohio restaurant for using “monster” in its signage, a Georgia welder for using an “M” similar to its logo, and once entered a legal battle over the name of a man’s aquarium hobby forum, MonsterFishKeepers. In 2020, Ubisoft changed the name of its game Gods & Monsters to Immortals: Fenyx Rising following Monster’s claim that the title would be too easily confused with its brand.

    Read More: “Gods & Monsters Isn’t The First Time Monster Energy Has Been Annoying About Naming Rights”

    All of that is finishing salt for Monster—it has pretzeled itself in many obscure legal battles with obscure little guys, and it will likely happily continue to do so. But Livings is projecting Mortals & Monsters and won’t go down easy.

    According to another thread, Monster “demands that, in exchange for allowing us to use the name ‘Monsters & Mortals,’ we agree to never name any other game any variation of the word ‘Monster,’” Livings said.

    “It also forces us to agree to never use a green & white logo on a black background for any game we ever make,” he continued. “So they own the colors green & white too, apparently.”

    Livings plans to push back on Monster in court, and is advocating for a boycott in the meantime.

    “Dishonest companies like Monster Energy depend on doing their bullying in secret, while presenting a clean image to their base (athletes & gamers),” he said. “Showing their true face publicly is the only real way to stop them.”

    Monster did not respond to Kotaku’s request for comment in time for publication.

    Update 4/05/2023, 3:10 p.m. ET: Glowstick Entertainment CEO Vince Livings commented to Kotaku:

    We are currently in the process of filing a Motion for Summary Judgment to try to stop Monster Energy’s legal team from dragging the process out longer and draining our financial resources. The motion only has a 50-50 chance of success and can still be appealed, but it saves us a lot of time if it succeeds. 

     

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    Ashley Bardhan

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  • CNN’s Halloween Quiz

    CNN’s Halloween Quiz

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    Which horror film was the first to win the Academy Award for Best Picture?

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  • Parenting 101: Favourite Halloween books

    Parenting 101: Favourite Halloween books

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    Gather up the kids and check out these fun Halloween titles for all ages.

    B is for Boo: A board book for little pumpkins, they’ll not only find out more about Halloween but they’ll learn the alphabet too!

    How To Catch A Monster: Tonight’s the night I’m gonna catch that monster under my bed. But what happens next might surprise you.

    Boo Who? Boo is new and is just trying to figure out where he fits in. Wait till you see how he makes new friends.

    How To Make Friends With A Ghost: Because, after all, ghosts need friends too.

    Herbert’s First Halloween: It’s Herbert’s first Halloween and he wants to find the perfect costume. And he does…

    Even Monsters Need To Sleep: We all have our bedtime routines, including monsters!

    – Jennifer Cox

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  • Butterfly Fish Productions Releases a Free Stay-at-Home Digital Coloring Book to Thank Front-Line Workers and to Launch the Kindeez Children’s Book Series That Promotes Kindness

    Butterfly Fish Productions Releases a Free Stay-at-Home Digital Coloring Book to Thank Front-Line Workers and to Launch the Kindeez Children’s Book Series That Promotes Kindness

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    Press Release
    –


    updated: May 21, 2020


    REDONDO BEACH, Calif., May 21, 2020 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Butterfly Fish Productions announces the release of their free stay-at-home coloring book to thank essential workers and help overwhelmed homebound families looking for a fun way to teach lessons in kindness while social distancing. It also introduces a new group of children’s book characters, The Kindeez. This free digital copy of The Kindeez Stay-at-Home Coloring Book is available now at thekindeez.com.

    What if mythical creatures, prehistoric animals, science-fiction beings, and humans all co-existed during the same time and lived in the same place? Well, in Amigos Valley they do. Meet The Kindeez. The Kindeez is a fantastic and diverse mix of evolved characters that unite to spread kindness to all. From learning to lend a helping hand with Roman the Robot to teaching politeness with Uku the Unicorn, The Kindeez children’s book series by Butterfly Fish Productions presents kindness in a fun and exciting way. The Kindeez Stay-at-Home Coloring Book was created to say “Thank You” to those serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in all essential services. “As a family-owned company, we wanted to do something to help. We noticed that kids were looking for something fun to do during the pandemic, and it seemed like the perfect time to promote the most fundamental lesson of all- kindness,” said Vincent Lucido, co-owner (and illustrator) of Butterfly Fish Productions.

    About the Creators

    Amid a successful storyboard and illustration career in the entertainment industry, Vincent Lucido began creating The Kindeez with his wife, Sandy Lucido. The result is the book The Kindeez Stay-at-Home Coloring Book and The Kindeez: Learning to be Kind One Act at a Time (soon to be released).  Sandy Lucido, co-owner and author said, “This book series was created to offer an alternative to a lot of the negative messaging in the world by showing how just one act of kindness can change people’s hearts.” Vincent and Sandy live in Southern California with their two children. Butterfly Fish Productions is excited to share the many projects and products of The Kindeez, with their message of kindness to all. 
     

    Product Availability

    The Kindeez Stay-at-Home Coloring Book is available now for free ​digital download at thekindeez.com. 

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    THE KINDEEZ and related logos, and the name and appearance of each character, are copyright and trademarks of Vincent Lucido and Sandra Lucido. BUTTERFLY FISH PRODUCTIONS and logo are trademarks of Vincent Lucido and Sandra Lucido.

    Media Contact:

    Butterfly Fish Productions

    (310) 427-9295

    admin@butterflyfishproductions.com

    Website: thekindeez.com

    Source: Butterfly Fish Productions

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