This article contains major spoilers for Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story. Read only if you have already seen it.
The story of Lizzie Borden has fascinated the American public for over a century, trapped in the rhyme of a nursery song and the ambiguity of a jury's acquittal. Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story peels back the layers of Victorian repression to examine the psychological breaking point of a woman living in a gilded cage.
This breakdown examines the final act's ambiguity, analyzing how the film reconciles the historical reality with its own fictionalized psychological narrative, ultimately answering whether the film suggests Lizzie is a victim or a calculated killer.
The Atmosphere of Repression
The film masterfully builds tension not through jump scares, but through the suffocating environment of the Borden household. From the opening scenes, we see a young woman trapped by the rigid moral codes of late 19th-century Fall River. Her father’s cold, transactional nature creates a powder keg of resentment that the film suggests was always going to explode.
What worked: The slow-burn character development effectively establishes Lizzie as a woman with nowhere to turn. By focusing on her internal isolation, the filmmakers force the audience to empathize with her desperate state long before the violence begins. The production design captures the claustrophobia of a home that acts more like a prison than a sanctuary.
The house is a tomb, even when everyone inside is still breathing.
The Path to the Incident
As the film progresses, the interactions between Lizzie and her stepmother move from passive-aggressive to overtly hostile. The script leans into the theory that Lizzie was acting under extreme emotional duress. While history remains murky regarding the specific catalysts of that August morning, the film chooses to frame the murders as a desperate, frenzied reclamation of agency.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story scene 1
What did not work: Some viewers may find the lack of a clear, singular motive for the second murder—the stepmother—a bit jarring. While it aligns with the chaotic nature of the real-life crime, it leaves a narrative gap that the film attempts to fill with psychological ambiguity rather than a solid logical progression.
The Final Twist Explained
The ending of the film chooses to leave the viewer in a state of suspended disbelief, much like the jury that acquitted her in 1893. By showing the aftermath through a distorted, dreamlike lens, the director suggests that Lizzie’s reality has fractured. Whether she was guilty as sin or a victim of circumstances, the film concludes that she is irrevocably changed by the act.
The verdict: The film is a chilling exploration of trauma and legacy. It succeeds by refusing to give the audience an easy answer, acknowledging that the 'real' Lizzie Borden will always be a ghost story we tell ourselves to process the inexplicable nature of extreme violence.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story scene 2
True crime isn't about the weapon; it's about the woman who felt she had no choice but to pick it up.
What Fans Are Saying
The defenders: Many fans praise the film for its stylistic choices and its refusal to lean into the traditional tropes of the slasher genre. They appreciate that the movie centers on the emotional toll and the societal fallout rather than the gore itself.
The critics: Detractors argue that the film takes too many liberties with the historical record, effectively humanizing a figure who many believe committed a cold-blooded double homicide. They argue that the artistic ambiguity serves to obscure the brutality of the act.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story scene 3
The middle: Most viewers fall somewhere in between, acknowledging that while the film is a departure from the historical accounts found in police reports and transcripts, it is a compelling piece of gothic fiction that captures the spirit of the era perfectly.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is less about the mechanics of the crime and more about the societal pressures that create 'monsters.' By keeping the ending open-ended, the film preserves the myth of the Borden house, allowing the shadow of the axe to loom just as large today as it did over a century ago.
Lizzie’s legacy remains a mystery because it is the kind of story that requires us to look into the darkest corners of human nature. Whether or not she swung the weapon, the film convinces us that the person who walked out of that house was never the same one who walked in.
