Stefano Sollima’s The Monster of Florence Turns Italy’s Most Notorious Cold Case Into a Chilling Netflix Crime Epic

Netflix’s The Monster of Florence explores Italy’s most chilling unsolved murders through the eyes of those who may—or may not—be guilty. (Image courtesy Netflix)

By Travis Brown | September 17, 2025

Netflix is about to reawaken one of Italy’s darkest legends.

Launching globally on October 22, The Monster of Florence is the latest series from director Stefano Sollima (Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Gomorrah) and co-creator Leonardo Fasoli. A dramatization of the real-life unsolved killings that shook Italy for nearly two decades, the series dives headfirst into a case that remains unresolved, divisive, and deeply haunting.

Between 1968 and 1985, eight double homicides occurred in the rural outskirts of Florence. The victims were always couples. The weapon was always the same: a .22 caliber Beretta pistol. The killer was never caught.

With The Monster of Florence, Sollima crafts more than just a true crime procedural. This is a psychological descent into paranoia, shaped around a singular question: what if the killer isn’t one man, but many? The series doesn’t follow a single suspect or detective, but rather the shifting focus of suspicion itself, exploring how justice, fear, and obsession can blur the lines between guilt and projection.

Shot on location and presented through a cold, clinical lens, The Monster of Florence blends true-crime with cinematic restraint. It doesn’t sensationalize. It unsettles.

The cast includes Marco Bullitta, Valentino Mannias, Francesca Olia, Liliana Bottone, Giacomo Fadda, Antonio Tintis, and Giordano Mannu, under the production banner of The Apartment (a Fremantle company) and AlterEgo, with Lorenzo Mieli, Stefano Sollima, and Gina Gardini producing.

The series is based on ongoing legal proceedings and investigative files, making it one of the rare dramatizations still wrapped in real-world tension.

As crime series continue to flood platforms, The Monster of Florence may be one of the few that not only unsettles the viewer—but actively implicates them in the search for answers.