Il mostro

A new Netflix series has just been released - The Monster of Florence. It's based on real events that took place between 1978 and 1985 near the city of Florence, in its suburbs. This is already the third major series in recent months exploring serial killings - after the ones about Ed Gein and John Wayne Gacy. But this one is very different.

While American true-crime shows usually follow a familiar pattern - a troubled childhood, a drunk father, a fanatically religious mother using faith as control - The Monster of Florence goes in the opposite direction.

There's no typical "killer vs. Victim" formula here. Instead, it's a deep, almost philosophical story about post-war Italy - about a society that was closed, judgmental, and constrained by Catholicism and social dogmas.

For me, it was quite an eye-opener. I didn't even know that until 1970, divorce was illegal in Italy. A man who left his wife and children for another woman could lose not only his reputation but his freedom. The series captures this cultural reality - a world where personal freedom was suppressed by religion and fear of public shame.

In its tone and atmosphere, the series feels like an old Italian drama, where the focus is not on the killer but on the spirit of the time - how people lived, what they feared, and how they hid their desires and guilt. It's psychological and spiritual cinema, not horror or crime for shock value.

Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised. At first, I expected a typical American-style thriller, but it turned out to be something much deeper. The pacing is slow and deliberate, the visuals stunning, with beautiful cinematography and an authentic sense of Tuscany's outskirts.

I really don't understand why the ratings are so low - perhaps viewers expected more blood and suspense, but instead got a thoughtful exploration of morality, guilt, and repressed sexuality in Catholic society.

⭐ My rating: 8/10.

Not for those seeking fast-paced action - but definitely for anyone who appreciates psychological drama and European cinema with historical depth.

This crime thriller is based on true events. After long time finally a solid psycho murder episode from Italy on Netflix. I find it is actually on short supply to see good series or movies from Italy on Netflix. The first episode was for me too slow paced and I thought already to stop. But the longer I watched it the more interesting the story got. There are many flashbacks to reconstruct the mystery puzzles and help so the audience to understand what was really going on. The atmosphere and filming locations have been wonderfully created from the 60ties to the 80ties. The actors played the characters respectably and I think the director did a great job too. If you liked the other two psycho killer series on Netflix Jeffrey Dahmer or Ed Gein this is for you. Final vote: 7/10.

Making a miniseries about a serial killer always has potential, but here the result doesn't quite deliver. The Monster of Florence aims to be an elegant, atmospheric true crime story -slow, reflective, and serious- but it ends up being too slow for its own good. Instead of building tension, it drains it. There's no clear main character or strong narrative thread to pull the viewer in, and the story feels scattered and unfocused.

Stefano Sollima tries to add depth through fragmented storytelling, jumping back and forth in time and showing events from different perspectives. It's an interesting idea, but confusion wins over intrigue. At times, it feels more like an exercise in style than a compelling story.

The best part lies in the atmosphere -that unsettling Tuscan landscape, the impeccable cinematography, and the ever-present sense of quiet danger. There's talent behind the camera, but also a lack of rhythm and emotional grip.

It's not a failure, but definitely a missed opportunity. If you're looking for a human, grounded take on the case without sensationalism, you might find something here. But if you expect a gripping, addictive thriller, you'll likely tune out before the end.

There are stories that are born and grow with you, and The Monster of Florence was my dark lullaby companion growing up.

No, I'm not Italian, but Swiss-close enough to the border that Italian culture and its stories often slipped through.

I remember being both terrified and mesmerised by the fear surrounding satanic cults and the "Pacciani trials." They were constantly on the news.

After my cartoon-filled afternoons, I'd stay glued to the television, waiting for the latest update on Il Mostro di Firenze.

So, when Netflix announced its series "Il Mostro," I approached it with cautious excitement. Having watched countless documentaries, films, and series about the case, I feared it would tread the same weary ground.

Thankfully, it doesn't. Instead, it returns to the origins-before The Monster of Florence even existed.

Finally-and I say this with some relief-Netflix delivers a true-crime series that transcends the formula of romanticising serial killers.

"The Monster" avoids mere sensationalism, examining the case through the fractured mirror of Italy's 1960-1970s social perspective.

Starting from the notorious Sardinian trail and the double murder of Barbara Locci and Antonio Lo Bianco in 1968, director Stefano Sollima portrays not an unknown killer, but a festering web of family ties, superstition, and archaic power structures-the breeding ground from which countless lesser monsters could only emerge.

The only certainty that endures is the killer's hatred of women-a sentiment reflective of the prevailing misogyny in society at that time.

Sollima and screenwriter Leonardo Fasoli craft a four-part miniseries with respect for both the victims and the enduring mystery surrounding this unsolved case.

"The Monster" doesn't aim to give a name to il mostro di Firenze, nor does it chase any new twists.

By now, the story is familiar; what remains compelling is how evil takes root and expands-from the whispers of a small town to an obsession that captures a nation.

This is horror born of history: the kind that festers in the quiet corners of a society that would rather look away.

Each episode centres on a different suspect-from the Vinci brothers to the Mele clan-all potentially guilty, all tragically distant from the truth.

Whatever that truth is, it still hasn't found peace, though the series could have delved deeper into the societal trauma that marked a generation of Italians.

"The Monster" still stands as one of the few true-crime works that understands horror not as spectacle, but as something rooted in the collective memory of a nation.

The Monster of Florence case is one of the most bizarre, complex, convoluted and fascinating cases in the history of serial murder. Spanning at least 11 and possibly 17 years, it led to at least 14 and possibly 16 murders, four trials, one trial conviction, two definitive convictions and the trial convicted defendant, Pietro Pacciani, dying in mysterious circumstances before his due process could be completed. It also involved two targeted burglaries of the police evidence room, where several items of evidence were stolen and a string of collateral mysterious deaths and murders of several people involved in the case, as well as strange money transfers into the accounts of two suspects and mysterious threatening phone calls to various witnesses.

The official position of the Italian police is that an occult group of wealthy Italians commissioned the murders, hiring various low lives over the years to do the actual killings, in order to retrieve body parts, that would then be used in weird black magic rituals.

The problem with the Netflix Monster of Florence series is that it covers none of this at all. Instead it focuses on a clan of Sardinians who were initially suspected in being involved in the murders, but were later discounted as new developments arose.

It also consists of repetitive and rather pointless flashbacks and has a strange fixation with a 1968 double murder, which may not have even been perpetrated by the Monster of Florence.

For a series covering an absolutely fascinating and possibly unique serial murder case, it's surprisingly dull and kinda boring and focuses more on melodrama between the Sardinians, instead of the nuances and developments of the case.

The trial convicted defendant Pietro Paccianin is only barely mentioned at the end of the series.

Unless there's a planned second season which will cover the complete story, (and there hopefully will be, considering Pacciani's mention at the end), I'd say to anyone interested in the case to not bother with this one. Watch the feature length 2020 documentary, "The Monsters of Florence" by journalist Andrea Vogt instead. It's far more detailed and available on Netflix UK or Tubi for American viewers.

But as someone familiar with the Monster of Florence case and who has been fascinated by it for years, I found this series extremely disappointing to say the least.