Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story follows the crimes of the notorious serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer. The story is told from the perspective of Dahmer’s victims and the people around him. The series is now streaming on Netflix.
Story
Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested when a man escapes from his apartment and accuses him of drugging and planning to kill the man. When the police arrive, they discover that Jeffrey is a serial killer who has committed the murders of several young men.
A look into his past shows a tumultuous childhood with parents who always argued with each other. His mother most likely went through post-partum depression after having him and took it out on him while his father wasn’t always there for support.
Jeffrey developed a liking for gutting dead animals and felt a rush whenever he held their organs in his hand. This would eventually translate to him consuming the skin and organs of some of his victims.
Jeffrey was a homosexual man who often picked up men at clubs or who were alone and offered them money to lure them back to his apartment. All in all, Jeffrey killed 17 people before going to prison where he was eventually killed by another inmate.
Performances
Evan Peters is bone-chilling as Jeffrey Dahmer in a role that is close to his regular fare. Peters is a Ryan Murphy muse of sorts and knocks it out of the park yet again as a deranged serial killer with no remorse.
Niecy Nash is wonderful as Glenda Cleveland, the distressed neighbour who did her best to alert the authorities of his misdeeds but still has to live with the weight of knowing that it barely helped.
Richard Jenkins plays Jeffrey’s father and he is brilliant as the worried parent who doesn’t know what he’s dealing with but still has a love for his son and wants to see him get the help that he needs.
Several other cast members do a terrific job of recreating these horrendous stories with the required intensity and emotion.
Positives
The perspectives of Tony Hughes, Glenda Cleveland and Lionel Dahmer are interesting ways to tell the story of Jeffrey Dahmer and the series executes it well.
The series highlights the systemic racism and bigotry that existed in society and reminds people of how far things have progressed and if there are still things that need remedying.
Negatives
True Crime is an almost overdone genre at this point and taking on the story of Jeffrey Dahmer doesn’t allow much room for new information to be produced.
In fact, the series is promoted as the perspectives of his victims but that mostly begins from the second half while the first half carries on as a regular biopic focused on Dahmer’s life.
Ryan Murphy is brilliant at this genre but he does have a tendency to drag things out and his style of grim and slow tone and pace only works a few times before losing its lustre.
Verdict
Dahmer – Monster: A Jeffrey Dahmer Story is a long-drawn 10 episodes with magnificent acting but not much else going for it. It feels like any other true crime documentary that relates the incidents with a significant level of intensity and drama.
It’s quite difficult to maintain your focus the whole time when the pace is so slow and the information is readily available elsewhere or in another documentary.
Dahmer - Monster: A Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Director: Carl Franklin , Clement Virgo, Jennifer Lynch, Gregg Araki, Paris Barclay
Date Created: 2022-09-21 12:30
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