'Monsters': How makers shot 33-minute single take in Episode 5
The fifth episode of Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, called The Hurt Man, significantly changes things in terms of storytelling. This 33-minute episode was surprisingly shot in one go and features a breakout performance by Cooper Koch, who plays one of the two protagonists, Erik Menendez. In this episode, Erik opens up about his traumatic childhood abuse right after he and his brother got arrested for their parents' murder.
'Monsters' Episode 5: A unique storytelling approach
The episode's distinctive style, with no cuts or edits, means all the storytelling falls on Koch. His co-star Ari Graynor (who plays his attorney Leslie Abramson) shared that they filmed the episode eight times over two days. "We were scheduled to have a bunch of rehearsal. Cooper and I had run it a few times on our own...then we did it in rehearsal," she told Variety. The final take that made it into the episode was actually their eighth attempt.
Koch's struggle and breakthrough in filming 'Monsters' episode 5
Koch faced some setbacks while nailing the first two takes of the episode. He reached out to director Michael Uppendahl for some tips, and Uppendahl suggested he tune into Graynor's character and find the silver lining in his own performance. "That really just opened everything up. I felt amazing after the third take. It was so beautiful. It went better than I could have imagined," said Koch.
The team wanted to 'hold the space for Erik's story'
"It was totally different every time. I think we both knew what an incredible gift it was as actors and also that episode was so much bigger than us." "We just really wanted to hold the space for Erik's story and for me as Leslie to model that kind of listening and love that I think she gives to him," Graynor reflected.
'Monsters' creators committed to presenting Erik's perspective
Ryan Murphy, one of the creators of Monsters, stressed how committed they were to showcasing Erik's perspective. "Everything he does say in there was either based on things that he had said, written, talked about...so it was very true to his point of view," Murphy said. He thought that shooting the episode in one continuous take would keep viewers hooked from start to finish.
