Netflix’s Monster director reveals scrapped Andrew Borden death scene and why it was changed

Max Winkler, who directed six out of the eight Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story episodes, has opened up about the process of Andrew Borden’s murder scene, and how it nearly looked very different. 

Although the real-life Lizzie was suspected of killing her father Andrew and stepmother Abby with a hatchet in 1892, she was acquitted after an initial hearing the following year – and no one was ever charged with the crimes. 

It remains one of America’s most infamous unsolved cases, but Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Netflix series certainly doesn’t hold back from filling in the gaps, portraying the story as if Lizzie and the Bordens’ live-in maid Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan committed the crimes. 

As we’ve seen in previous seasons of Monster, everything is displayed in gory detail. In Andrew’s case, it goes even further than the historical evidence, showing Lizzie repeatedly striking her father 41 times.

This number comes from the infamous nursery rhyme claiming Lizzie “gave her father 41” – one of many lines from the rhyme that are factually incorrect. According to records, the real Andrew was struck either 10 or 11 times with the hatchet. 

But Monster deliberately leans into the legend, showing all 41 blows on screen. And according to Winkler, the original plan for the scene was very different – and arguably less graphic. 

Why the original Andrew Borden murder scene was changed

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Winkler explained that initially, they wanted to find 41 little cutaways for the scene of Andrew’s murder – one per blow. But the finished scene includes just several cutaways, which play while Bridget is delivering the second half of the whacks. 

This way, we see more of Lizzie’s face, and how Lizzie and Bridget essentially switch roles in this moment. “It was very intentional for me, for Andrew’s death, to show all 41 whacks, because it is so many whacks,” the director said. 

“It’s so past the point of getting the job done. There’s so much premeditation and passion into doing that, and to actually play that with no music and just the sound and the banality of a lifeless body being hit by some blunt instrument is very viscerally upsetting.”

Winkler continued, “We did certain cutaways. I at first wanted to find 41 little cutaways to all the little details – that was something we had on our list of things to do. But we ended up staying more on the whacks and more on Lizzie’s face, which hardened by that point, and how her and Maggie sort of switch sides. 

“Maggie’s actually the one who was the instigator, unlocking Lizzie’s birdcage. The emotional experience that Vicky as Maggie has doing at the end, the passing of the acts, I thought was really effective and something we figured out on the day.”

As said, there were still additional details that make it into the scene when Bridget takes over, including the image of Lizzie’s late mother, crushed cherries, Andrew’s ring – almost as if the reality of the situation is dawning on her. 

This was also something Winkler reflected on: how brutal and sad the killings actually were. “Sarah Adina Smith directed Rebecca’s [Abby Borden] murder, which I thought she did brilliantly,” he said. 

“I did the opening murder, which is very much the fairytale version of it. We’ve heard this nursery rhyme. It’s the movie version of it where nothing went wrong; this sort of operatic ballet. And it’s intentionally romantic. Whereas the actual killing of Andrew [Borden] and Abby is brutal and sad. 

“Despite their limitations and abusive tendencies, I feel empathy for them before they die. It’s very sloppy and messy and sad. I don’t think any version of it is cool or that Lizzie is like a superhero.”

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Featured image credit: Netflix