Viewers are warning others about the second episode of Monsters: The Lizzie Borden Story on Netflix, particularly those with “emetophobia.”
Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s latest true crime drama comes with a warning for anyone who likes to eat dinner in front of the TV.
In this new installment in the Monsters Netflix franchise, Murphy and Brennan have chosen Ella Beatty to bring Lizzie Borden to life.
The story follows the infamous Massachusetts woman who was accused of murdering her father and stepmother in 1892. But it’s not just the thrilling story and case itself that has people warning others – in the second episode, something else entirely has left viewers uncomfortable.
The scene shows Lizzie and the maid serving Mr. and Mrs. Borden oysters, which they intend to poison. The plan ends with a horrifying bout of projectile vomiting.
According to Tyla, one person on Reddit called it “an emetophobe’s nightmare.”
What is emetophobia?
According to Cleveland Clinic, emetophobia “is a mental health condition in which you experience an intense fear of vomiting, barfing or throwing up.”
While most people don’t enjoy vomiting, this phobia can cause constant worry about vomiting and “can take over your thoughts,” as “this fear impacts your life beyond just feeling afraid. It can prevent you from relaxing, participating in social activities or eating complete, nutritious meals.”
And for those who genuinely struggle with it, viewers are now sharing their warnings after seeing the episode.
One person on Reddit wrote: “I held my ears and covered my head and said ‘let me know when it’s over’.. Other than that scene? love the show,” according to Tyla.
Someone else joked: “If you think about it positively, it could be used as exposure therapy!”
A third one commented: “I watched the episode last night and would have loved to have seen this warning prior. I also hate vomiting and vomit. I have overcome a lot of it as I have aged. But that episode made me so sick watching it.”
Monsters: The Lizzie Borden Story on Netflix
Director Max Winkler revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly how they pulled it off.
“We do everything once as a dry run without the vomit. So everybody’s faking it,” Winkler said. “Then we do tubes, which we have to do many tests and figure out what’s the distance, what’s too crazy, what’s just crazy enough, what’s too small. Then we start with them putting stuff in their mouth and just doing that version of it.”
Rebecca Hall plays Lizzie’s stepmother, Abby, and was definitely struggling. The hardest part was keeping her from actually vomiting.
“I’m not good with icky stuff, and I’m really not good with vomiting,” she said. “I have like a hair trigger empathetic response, and I will immediately start [vomiting].
“It seemed like it was gonna require being very, very uncomfortable and, you know, I’m kind of a germaphobe.
“So even if it’s fake vomit, being covered head to toe in vomit and diarrhoea for the day did not seem like a particularly enjoyable experience. And indeed it wasn’t.”
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