The Serpent’s Shadow: Eric Goode on the Paradox of Fame and the Dark Realities of ‘Monsters of God’

The name Eric Goode became synonymous with the "stranger-than-fiction" genre of documentary filmmaking in 2020 when Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness exploded into a global phenomenon. However, for Goode, the neon-lit world of Joe Exotic was a detour from a much older, deeper obsession. His latest project, the HBO documentary series Monsters of God, represents a decade-long odyssey into the murky, high-stakes underworld of the exotic reptile trade—a world Goode knows intimately, yet found increasingly difficult to penetrate because of his own success.

In an era where documentary filmmakers are often viewed with suspicion by their subjects, Goode faced a unique irony: the very series that gave him the industry leverage to greenlight his passion project also served as the primary obstacle to filming it.

Main Facts: The ‘Tiger King’ Liability

When Monsters of God premiered on HBO, it was marketed as a definitive look at the history of reptile smuggling in the United States. Yet, behind the scenes, the production was nearly derailed by the cultural footprint of Tiger King. Goode admits that while his Emmy-nominated debut made him a household name, it turned him into a pariah within the tight-knit community of exotic animal collectors and dealers.

"After Tiger King came out, people just didn’t want to be portrayed as some crazy toothless hillbilly in Oklahoma," Goode explained in a recent interview with IndieWire. The subjects he sought to interview—many of whom operate on the fringes of legality—were terrified of receiving the "Joe Exotic treatment," a style of editing they perceived as exploitative or caricature-driven.

Despite Goode’s deep-seated knowledge of herpetology and his history as a conservationist, he found that his credentials were often overshadowed by his reputation as a "tabloid" documentarian. To gain access, he had to rely on his "fluency" in the language of the trade—the ability to discuss species in Latin and recount shared experiences in remote locales like Madagascar. Even so, major figures in the series, such as legendary smuggler Tom Crutchfield, have publicly stated they would never have participated had they seen Tiger King before the cameras started rolling on Monsters of God.

Chronology: From Hospitality to Herpetology

The timeline of Monsters of God predates the "big cat" craze by years. The project’s roots can be traced back over a decade to Goode’s work as a hospitality entrepreneur and co-founder of the Turtle Conservancy.

The Early Collaborations (2010–2014)

Long before he was a director, Goode was a successful artist and businessman in New York. His interest in reptiles led him to hire two young, then-unknown filmmakers—Josh and Benny Safdie—to produce public service announcements for his conservation efforts. Goode describes himself during this period as a "dilettante" in film, while the Safdies were already on a dedicated trajectory toward the cinematic success that would eventually culminate in films like Uncut Gems and Good Time.

In 2014, the collaboration turned toward a feature-length project. Goode and the Safdies spent the summer in South Florida, documenting the eccentric and often dangerous characters that populate the reptile trade. While the Safdies eventually moved on to narrative features, their influence remains; Josh Safdie and screenwriter Ronald Bronstein are credited as executive producers on the final HBO series.

The Tiger King Detour (2015–2020)

As the reptile project stalled due to various logistical hurdles, Goode stumbled upon the story of Joe Exotic. The meteoric rise of Tiger King during the COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of documentary filmmaking and Goode’s career overnight. While it provided the financial and reputational capital to secure a deal with HBO, it also fundamentally changed how Goode had to approach his original subjects.

Completion and Release (2021–2024)

The final years of production involved a delicate balancing act: maintaining the trust of subjects who were increasingly wary of Goode’s "brand" while trying to weave a narrative that was more historical and nuanced than the character-driven chaos of his previous work. The five-episode series finally concluded its run on September 3, 2024, marking the end of a fourteen-year journey.

Supporting Data: A Trade Built on Obsession

Monsters of God distinguishes itself from Goode’s previous work by prioritizing historical context over personality-driven drama. While Tiger King focused on a specific feud, Monsters of God attempts to document a half-century of wildlife exploitation.

The series features "O.G." figures of the trade, including:

• Tom Crutchfield: A man often cited as the most prolific reptile smuggler in American history.
• Mario Tabraue: A former drug kingpin and exotic animal owner whose life reportedly served as a partial inspiration for the film Scarface.
• Anson Wong: Known as the "Lizard King," an international wildlife trafficker based in Malaysia.

Unlike the "freakshow" elements of the big cat world, the reptile trade is portrayed as a more intellectual, albeit equally destructive, obsession. Goode highlights "the fever"—a psychological state where the desire to possess a rare creature overrides legal, ethical, and even survival instincts. This is exemplified by the trade in the Ploughshare tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora), one of the rarest tortoises in the world. Endemic to Madagascar, the species is considered critically endangered, with some experts arguing it is functionally extinct in the wild due to poaching for the illegal pet trade.

Official Responses: The Thin Line of Law Enforcement

One of the most striking elements of Monsters of God is its exploration of the "unintended consequences" of wildlife protection laws. Goode posits that the line between those who protect animals and those who exploit them is often thinner than the public realizes.

The Case of Ken McCloud

The series finale features a significant reveal involving Ken McCloud, a former lead agent for Special Operations at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. McCloud was once hailed as a hero of conservation, a man who used his extensive knowledge of reptiles to bring down smuggling rings.

However, the documentary reveals that after his retirement, McCloud kept a critically endangered Ploughshare tortoise in his home for 20 years. Goode describes this as "deeply selfish," comparing a law enforcement officer keeping an endangered species to a drug agent keeping a stash of cocaine in his garage. McCloud’s defense—that he was "doting" on the animal—is framed by Goode as a symptom of the same "fever" that drives the smugglers McCloud once hunted.

Institutional Silence

The production also encountered resistance from mainstream scientific institutions. Tom Schultz, the long-time curator of herpetology at the San Diego Zoo, refused to sign a release for the documentary despite multiple meetings with Goode.

Goode notes that while the San Diego Zoo does exemplary conservation work, its history is intertwined with the very smugglers featured in the series. During the 1970s and 80s, curators often moved animals through "unscrupulous dealers" to bolster their collections. Schultz’s refusal to participate highlights the industry’s reluctance to reconcile its prestigious present with its legally gray past.

Implications: The Extinction Crisis and the Future of Conservation

The ultimate goal of Monsters of God, according to Goode, is to serve as a cautionary tale for the modern extinction crisis. By highlighting the failures of both the legal trade and the enforcement agencies tasked with policing it, the series asks difficult questions about the efficacy of current wildlife laws.

The Paradox of Protection

Goode argues that some laws designed to save species can inadvertently accelerate their demise. By making certain animals illegal to own or trade, the law creates a "black market premium" that makes the animals more valuable to poachers. Furthermore, when enforcement officers like McCloud succumb to the "fever," the system of checks and balances collapses.

Human Complicity

The series concludes that the "monsters" are not the reptiles themselves, but the humans who project their own desires, greed, and ego onto the natural world. Whether it is a smuggler seeking profit or a collector seeking the prestige of owning the "last" of a species, the result is a catastrophic loss of biodiversity.

What Lies Ahead for Eric Goode

Following the conclusion of Monsters of God, Goode appears to be moving away from the animal kingdom, at least temporarily. He is currently developing a documentary focused on his own family history, as well as a series exploring the nightlife scene of downtown Manhattan in the late 1970s and 80s—a world he inhabited long before he became the "Tiger King."

"I don’t want to just be redundant," Goode said. "I do care about animals, and it’s been a big part of my life from childhood, but I’m working on other things that don’t involve them."

As Monsters of God streams on HBO Max, it stands as a complex, often uncomfortable post-script to the fame Goode found with Joe Exotic. It is a reminder that while "tiger kings" may capture the headlines, the slow, cold-blooded destruction of the world’s most vulnerable species is a much older and more enduring tragedy.