.png "Netflix’s Monster The Ed Gein Story shows how crime-based content drives growth, brand partnerships, and monetization in streaming.")
Netflix’s Monster The Ed Gein Story shows how crime-based content drives growth, brand partnerships, and monetization in streaming.
I’m Aadi, an MBA in marketing and finance, with years of research into how media, entertainment, and startups convert cultural moments into sustainable revenue streams. The most disturbing crimes in history could become one of the most profitable content categories for a global streaming giant? For entrepreneurs and founders, Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story offers a case study in turning controversy into scale.
- Netflix released Monster: The Ed Gein Story on October 3, 2025.
- The series dramatizes the life of Ed Gein, the Butcher of Plainfield.
- His story inspired Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs.
- Questions remain: Did Ed Gein kill his brother Henry? How many victims?
- Netflix monetizes cultural shock value while positioning true crime as global IP.
Netflix has proven again that shock sells. The October 2025 premiere of Monster: The Ed Gein Story tapped into the dark curiosity around who is Ed Gein and why his crimes changed American horror forever. For the streaming company, this wasn’t just about another thriller. It was a calculated business move.
Ed, known as the Butcher of Plainfield, confessed to killing Bernice Worden and Mary Hogan, while suspicion still lingers over whether Ed Gein killed his brother Henry during a 1944 fire. Police ruled it accidental, but folklore keeps the question alive.
In Netflix’s retelling, Charlie Hunnam plays Gein, with Laurie Metcalf as Augusta Gein and Suzanna Son as Adeline Watkins. The inclusion of Adeline Watkins Ed Gein adds dramatic flair, though history shows no such romance.
The economics are clear. Horror and true crime deliver strong retention rates. Every time Netflix drops a title like this, it drives subscriptions in key markets. A Nielsen study in 2024 found crime-based docuseries outperform sitcoms in binge completion rates.
That’s why the Monster anthology didn’t stop at Dahmer. The Ed Gein Story Netflix is the next growth hack.
What about brand angles? A story involving Ilse Koch, called the Bitch of Buchenwald, and comparisons with the BTK Killer, Richard Speck, and Devil in Disguise John Wayne Gacy bring an international dimension.
The casting of a Henry Gein actor and dramatized figures like Evelyn Hartley or Enid Watkins allows Netflix to push its creative IP far beyond plain biography.
Investors should note this isn’t just storytelling. It’s a playbook on scaling intellectual property. Monster The Ed Gein Story IMDb already trends, reviews are building, and fan debate over “Was Ed Gein special?” or “Did Ed Gein have a soft voice?” fuels organic search. For Netflix, every keyword becomes a traffic funnel.
The lesson for founders? Don’t underestimate cultural IP.
Ask yourself, in your venture, what untapped story or narrative could lock audience attention? That’s where scale and revenue live.
5 to Do’s and Don’ts for you as a founder and startup:
- Analyze how cultural storytelling builds brand stickiness.
- Look for niches that spark strong audience emotions.
- Adapt the principle to your market size.
- Don’t assume controversy kills business; sometimes it fuels growth.
- Don’t copy your competition blindly.