Netflix viewers have one complaint after realising who plays Alfred Hitchcock in Ed Gein Monster

It's been streamable on Netflix for over a month, and still, The Ed Gein Story is causing quite the stir amongst viewers.

This week, it's the casting choice of director Ryan Murphy - the brains behind the gory Monsters franchise - that has set tongues wagging, with many criticising the actor cast to play legendary movie-maker Alfred Hitchcock.

For anyone wondering how the story of one of the world's most unhinged killers manages to cross over with the entertainment industry in the first place, however, we advise you to sit tight. It's about to get complicated.

Basically, the majority of the eight-part series sees actor Charlie Hunnam recreating the crimes of Ed Gein, the Wisconsin murderer whose psychosis spurred him to exhume corpses and fashion keepsakes from their bones and skin.

Meanwhile, a secondary, somewhat meta storyline cleverly incorporates commentary on Hollywood's bizarre obsession with his gory killings, which famously inspired The Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror movies and Psycho. The latter was, of course, directed by Hitchcock in 1960.

As such, the late British movie-maker is characterised in Murphy's latest production, which shows Hitchcock in crisis after Psycho inadvertently sparks a fascination amongst cinema-goers with an unsettling new genre of film known as 'sex-horror'.

In a bid to portray Hitchcock, however, Murphy's hair and make-up teams pulled out all the stops to recreate his signature balding head and curvaceous appearance.

So much so, that viewers apparently failed to recognise the A-list man behind the mask, who just so happens to be a BAFTA-winning, SAG-winning, Emmy/Tony/Olivier nominated actor.

Hitchcock appears in the series (Netflix)

And for those who still hadn't clocked, English actor Tom Hollander - famed for his appearances in Pirates of the Caribbean, Bohemian Rhapsody and The Night Manager - plays Hitchcock.

"I'm only just hearing that Tom Hollander is in that Ed Gein show playing Hitchcock. Insanity," one fan penned online after it dawned on them, while another: "The real monster is whoever cast Tom Hollander as Hitchcock. Also Ed Gein is the real monster. But that casting director, too."

As we say, however, the revelation hasn't gone down too well with some viewers, who have questioned why they couldn't have simply cast a larger actor to play the much-loved director.

"Monster is good and everything but Alfred Hitchcock looks like a high school theater did his fat suit and stage make up. They couldn't find an older man with a neck roll and belly??" one questioned.

Hollander plays Hitchcock in the series (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Another went on: "Monster: The Ed Gein story, whomever cast the role of Alfred Hitchcock should be banished from Hollywood forever. First of all, there are plenty of actors with his build. Why get a skinny actor and make him fat? I just don’t get it."

They continued: "Also, he talks like a Jack the Ripper victim or Monty Python. Did you ever even listen to Hitch? Not all British accents are cockney like that. Hitch’s accent was more like British Royalty, not British street hookers from the 1900s."

Others, however, have defended the decision to cast the star, chiming in with: "Tom Hollander as Alfred Hitchcock in Monster: The Ed Gein Story. Unrecognisable but instantly recognisable. What a piece of casting!"

While another said: "Tom Hollander is such an awesome actor. Nailed this Alfred Hitchcock role."