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

Osgood Perkins, the son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins, has criticised the latest season of Ryan Murphy’s true crime series Monster.

Speaking to TMZ, the Longlegs and The Monkey director admitted he hasn’t seen Monster: The Ed Gein Story but “wouldn’t watch it with a 10-foot pole”.

He also condemned streaming platforms for taking the true crime genre and attempting to give it "glamorous and meaningful content”, adding that he worries about contemporary culture being “reshaped in real time by overlords”.

One of the show's subplots centres around Osgood's late father Anthony (played by Joey Pollari) and depicts the actor being cast as the Gein-inspired character Norman Bates in Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 movie Psycho.

Following its debut, Monster season 3 received backlash for hinting at a link between Perkins and Gein, because of the actor’s decision to keep his sexuality private during his lifetime.

Perkins added that the genre as a whole is "increasingly devoid of context and that the Netflix-isation of real pain is playing for the wrong team".

While the star’s sexuality was an open secret among Hollywood, he remained married to Osgood’s mother Berry Berenson until his death from AIDS aged 60 in 1992.

The inclusion of Anthony Perkins isn’t the only storyline strand to have received backlash following Monster season 3's debut, with its portrayal of Gein’s connection with Ted Bundy, his relationship to Adeline Watkins, and the show’s version of Evelyn Hartley’s disappearance also having come under fire from some viewers.

Gein star Charlie Hunnam previously defended the show’s divisive depiction of the titular serial killer, telling The Hollywood Reporter that he doesn’t agree the series sensationalises the killer's crimes.

"I never felt on set that we did anything gratuitous or for shock impact," he said. "It was all in order to try to tell this story as honestly as we could."

He also questioned whether Gein is the real monster of the show, or whether it’s the audience for watching the series.

"Is it Ed Gein who was abused and left in isolation and suffering from undiagnosed mental illness and that manifested in some pretty horrendous ways? Or was the monster the legion of filmmakers that took inspiration from his life and sensationalised it to make entertainment and darken the American psyche in the process?" he asked.

"Is Ed Gein the monster of this show, or is Hitchcock the monster of the show? Or are we the monster of the show because we’re watching it?"

Monster: The Ed Gein Story is now streaming on Netflix – sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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