*Watch "Monster in My Family" on Amazon Prime Video here*
*Get Johnny and Me: The True Story of John Wayne Gacy by Barry E. Boschelli on Amazon here*
*Get Postmortem: What Survives the John Wayne Gacy Murders by Courtney Lund O'Neill on Amazon here*
*Get Boys Enter the House: The Victims of John Wayne Gacy and the Lives They Left Behind by David Nelson on Amazon here*
There's an interesting premise behind this show- the relative of a renowned killer meets with the family of one of their victims, mediated by Melissa G. Moore, the daughter of a serial killer. This could have gone wrong in so many ways.
The basics of the John Wayne Gacy case and capture are trotted out again, but this time Gacy's sister Karen Kuzma and her daughter Sheri Hockenberry are meeting Patti Szyc Rich, sister to victim John Szyc. Kuzma's memories of her brother, and the aftermath of his killings, takes up the majority of the time in the episode, culminating in the emotional meeting.
I am thankful that the show runners brought Moore aboard, and didn't turn this into a Jerry Springer-style nightmare of screaming and fisticuffs (at least from this lone episode). Kuzma is a damaged woman, and she is obviously as much a victim as other survivors of her brother's terror. We don't get as much time with Patti Rich, I would have liked to see more about her brother, even if it was boring minutiae. We're so used to hearing the story of the killer, I wish someone would do mini-biographies of any of these victims, and let us get to know these young boys and men.
This episode of "Monster in My Family" still presents some new information, and Rich, Kuzma, and Hockenberry display a strength that I don't know if I would have in the same situation. Also subtitled "Killer Clown: John Wayne Gacy" and "John Wayne Gacy, Jr.", and I've seen this numbered as Episode #5 of the first season.
Stats:
(2015) 43 min. (7/10)
-Written by Jan Kimbrough
-Featuring Melissa G. Moore, John Wayne Gacy, Karen Kuzma, Sheri Hockenberry, Patti Szyc Rich, John Szyc, Terry Sullivan, Mike Albrecht, Anthony Antonucci, Joseph Kozenczak
-(TV-14)- Some physical violence references, some sexual violence references, some violence against children references, some extreme gore, sexual references, strong adult situations
-Media Viewed: Amazon Prime Video
