The resurgence of the true crime story of Candy Montgomery has been a phenomenon in and of itself. The case of the axe murder of Betty Gore on Friday the 13th, 1980 by her friend and fellow church member Candy Montgomery was one of the most gruesome and scandalous cases to hit the small Texas town of Wylie. Yet much of the story remained untold, captured only once in the 1990 Lifetime movie A Killing In a Small Town starring Barbara Hershey. However, in the last year, not one but two series were developed based on this true crime case. Hulu created Candy starring Jessica Biel and HBO Max created their own series titled Love and Death starring Elizabeth Olsen, sister to the well-known Olsen twins, Mary Kate and Ashley. Both were met with great anticipation and rave reviews, but we had to know, which one did it better?
Candy Montgomery was a small-town Texas housewife, active in her local church, and reportedly a friend and neighbor to all. Yet beneath her demure demeanor lurked a dark secret – she was a murderer. The discovery of Betty Gore’s body shocked the town, as the suspect was unknown, and the murder itself was especially gruesome. Betty was struck 41 times with an axe with her baby just in the next room. Many wondered if it was the work of a drifter, some depraved unknown assailant who had been intent on robbing the woman and whose plan had fallen apart at the last minute. No one would have ever suspected that someone within the town would be responsible, let alone a friend of Betty’s. Yet before long, the dark truth came out, Betty’s close friend Candy Montgomery had not only been having an affair with her husband, Allan, but she was also responsible for Betty’s death. Here’s our review of which portrayal was superior based on our metrics of what makes a good true crime drama great.
Character portrayal: Candy
Candy Montgomery is a complicated woman — a doting mother, and a dedicated housewife — who also happens to be a murderous adulterer. Basically, there are a lot of layers. A complex character for even the best of actors, so between Candy’s Jessica Biel and Love and Death’s Elizabeth Olsen, who played it better?
If we are talking about accurate portrayal, we are going to have to go with Hulu’s version. The real Candy Montgomery was not a lighthearted, bubbly blonde, she was a straight-shooting Texas matriarch who looked more like a lonely librarian than a femme fatale. She had short, brown, permed hair and big Coke-bottle glasses. Also while she was reportedly “happy-go-lucky” with a positive attitude (one of the things that attracted Allan to her) she was also very direct and “straight-shooting,” as revealed in interviews and court documents. Hulu’s version seems to capture that aspect of her personality a little more accurately and physically speaking, Biel’s appearance is much closer to the real thing.
Also, in case you were wondering, there are apparently no hard feelings or competition vibes between the two actresses, as evidenced by Jessica Biel’s post supporting Love and Death‘s release and wishing Elizabeth “Lizzie” Olsen a happy birthday.
Another character that swayed the vote was Betty Gore, who was also portrayed very differently in the two versions. Candy seems to focus more on Betty’s private life and struggles, while Love and Death portrays Betty more from Allan and Candy’s point of view and interactions. In Love and Death, she is seen as a more ornery and confrontational person while Candy portrays her as more depressed and withdrawn. Many feel this portrayal is a bit more accurate as she reportedly suffered from postpartum depression and anxiety.
Candy also digs more into Betty’s personal life outside of her marriage to Allan. It takes a look at her short-lived teaching career, which is presented in both movies as resulting in an egging of their home, which is reportedly true. Candy gives more details of Betty’s life and seems to set it up a little more accurately and in-depth. Melanie Lynskey — who plays Betty in Hulu’s Candy — is also a dead ringer for the real thing, which becomes important as part of Gore’s insecurity in her marriage was around her softer figure. So between Candy’s accurate physical appearance and Betty’s character development, we are giving the character portrayal award to Candy.
Accuracy: Love and Death
What makes a true crime series so fascinating is exactly that – it’s true. So while many series take great liberties with the stories they are portraying, sometimes it’s better to just stick to the facts of a case. So if that is what you are looking for in a series, then let’s get down to business. Overall, it’s a tough call. Love and Death is mainly based on the Texas Monthly article Love and Death in Silicon Prairie, and it follows that storyline very closely in many ways. Candy — on the other hand — more closely follows the book Evidence of Love by Jim Atkinson and Joe Bob Briggs.
All the main plot points are hit by both series, but in Candy, the timeline shows the Gore couple going to the couples’ retreat/workshop “Marriage Encounter,” then returning to have Betty’s baby shower hosted by the Montgomerys. The affair between Allan and Candy is portrayed to have stopped by then or nearing its end. According to court transcripts, however, the affair continued until after the baby’s birth, meaning the pair were still having an affair during the time of the baby shower. That is portrayed as the timeline in Love and Death, which is more accurate to the actual timeline.
Although, truth be told the differences in accuracy are pretty negligible, neither one is wildly off the trajectory of the story and both often follow it word for word. If I had to choose, however, I would have to say overall Love and Death is probably slightly more accurate on a few details. Yet for the most part it seems it is just two versions of the same story, told from different viewpoints.
Watchability: Love and Death
Sometimes you want accuracy and sometimes you just want a good show. Love and Death adds character dimensions and conversations that we felt made the story more interesting, and the characters more relatable. Although those additional dimensions may have led it to be viewed as slightly less accurate character-wise. For example, even appearance-wise, Elizabeth Olsen’s youthful look and shoulder-length blonde curly hair make for great TV and are fun to watch, but the real Candy looked much less glamorous. Her demeanor was also far less fun and flirty and much more straightforward – southern. That’s where character accuracy-wise, Candy slides into the front position, but potentially puts it behind in what we want to watch on a TV screen.
Also, the two series tell the stories very differently, with Candy starting off with the murder itself, or at least the discovery of Betty’s body, while Love and Death was more of a slow burn leading up to the murder and began with more of a look at Candy’s life, marriage, and the affair. It almost made the buildup to the murder more suspenseful, even though you knew it was coming.
Love and Death also seemed to dive more into the motive for the murder which was really the basis for the entire interest of this case. What would cause a seemingly normal churchgoing Texas housewife to lose it and chop her friend 41 times with an axe? Love and Death shows how age regression therapy revealed Candy’s inner rage at being controlled by her mother and the pressure she felt to bend to what others thought. An incident in her childhood revealed how her mother “shushing” her had built up a rage inside of her, apparently released when — after hitting her with the axe — Betty also shushed her. That reportedly was Candy’s breaking point. This point was explored very thoroughly in Love and Death with the hypnosis session re-created. While it was touched on in Candy, Love and Death took us with them on the regression in real-time, which quite frankly made for good TV. So based on the story arc and high points, we had to go with Love and Death for watchability and apparently, many viewers agreed.
Ratings: Candy
Somewhere between likeability and accuracy lay the ratings. Here’s how both versions did on the charts.
Candy: 4.1/5, 72% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.2/10 IMDB, 76% likeability with Google users.
Love and Death: 4.2/5, 63% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.6/10 IMDB, 72% likeability with Google users.
The ratings are pretty close, with Candy higher on Rotten Tomatoes, but Love and Death sliding in first with IMDB. Love and Death has a slightly higher Google audience rating, but likeability by Google users is lower. Truth be told, ratings-wise it’s a bit of a tossup depending on which system you put the most stock in. Time Magazine gave Love and Death‘s portrayal a great review while The Guardian raved about Jessica Biel. Variety smells an Emmy for Elizabeth Olsen while Jessica Biel is up for a Best Actress Satellite Award. So while everyone’s a winner here, technically Candy has a higher Rotten Tomatoes rating, so we are going with that and declaring Candy the winner of the ratings contest.
Our vote: Love and Death
We just liked it better. We felt it was more watchable and Elizabeth Olsen played a more likable and relatable version of Candy, or at least one more interesting to watch. Also, we are suckers for true crime storyline accuracy so that was another vote in this direction. Not to mention the axe scene was so gruesome that even the director struggled with it, which is really saying something.
Also, the thing that made this case so fascinating was the motive for the murder. Love and Death really explored that thoroughly through the age regression re-creation, a scene where Candy warns Allan never to shush her, and even re-creating the childhood scene that set Candy up for the rage behind the murder. To us that was the information we really wanted to see, the affair was interesting and all, and the pair’s friendship was important, but come on – what we really want to know was why she did it. Which Love and Death really dives into. Thus, it receives our vote.
Apparently, we weren’t alone in this opinion as many social media comments also seemed to veer toward the HBO Max version.
Overall, there are no right or wrong answers here, the truth is both versions are great for various reasons and neither one strays too far off the course of the original story. Basically, they are just two different interpretations and viewpoints of the same story. The answer to “who did it better” really lies in personal opinion and what you’re looking for out of the series. If you want accuracy in the plot, Love and Death is your horse, if you care more about accurate character portrayal, Candy will probably be your front-runner. Candy also leads in ratings (by a nose) but Love and Death seems more watchable. In my humble opinion Love and Death is our winner, but Candy‘s Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake combo is hard to walk away from. Yes, JT makes an appearance as the sheriff in Candy, so that might give it some additional bonus points in your book, which is fair. So who does it better? We are going with HBO, but Hulu is a very, very close second.