Customer Reviews

Dahmer

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

Three and a half stars, but I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.

If you are looking for blood and murder, you won't find it here. There is one puddle of blood, a pretty tame drill bit, and one flashing, bloodless cavity exploration. This isn't a film about Dahmer's killing spree; it's a "Pre-Dahmer" exploration of a young man's transformation. And even then, sorry to say, it doesn't have the ring of accuracy to those who know psychology.

What 'Dahmer' does have is some surprisingly good acting from unknown talents. Jeremy Renner is especially good in his role of Jeffrey Dahmer, and kudos to Artel Kayaru, Matt Newton, Dion Basco and Bruce Davison. The film is artistically directed, well photographed, well edited, and makes good use of music/soundtrack and make-up effects. Overall, it's a very well done movie.

'Dhamer' covers Jeffrey's life prior to his 'splurge', so to speak. It's a development study. The script makes use of Dahmer's close run-in's with police that were blown off, like getting caught trying to return a victim to his house, getting caught drugging drinks in a gay bar, and an incident in his youth with a garbage bag in the back of his mothers car that *wasn't* grass clippings.

The movie makes strong use of flashbacks and scene-skips, but it works to an advantage on film. Jeremy Renner plays both younger and older Dahmer, and the make-up/photography is excellent in making this work on-screen. To some, the movie may seem paceless, but it's absorbing nonetheless. It did seem to end too soon, too much left out; but for the time frame of Dahmer's life it did a good job.

Some interesting notes of my own would be the writer's reference to the Christian cross as a torture device, like worshiping an electric chair or a guillotine. To a serial killer, this would make sense. It brings up interesting social issues for a young gay man, but I honestly don't credit Dahmer with having much debative intellect. Serial killers are normally creatures of immediate sensation, not debative thought. They live 'in the now' and often believe that other people are simply 'items' in their world and not beings with thought processes; like them. Others are a study, not a reality.

I strongly doubt Dahmer felt any revulsion the first time he cut, killed, dismembered, or ate any of his victims. It would have been merely interesting to him. In the real world, you can't use reason to reach unreasonable people. They cannot hear it.

All in all, I suggest renting before buying, and keep in mind its more of an artistic study than a horror movie. Enjoy!

Dahmer is an in depth look at the infamous serial killer. Instead of fully depicting Jeffery Dahmer's heinous acts of brutality and depravity, Dahmer focuses on the individual alone. The film raises the commonly asked question of why? How could this happen? Why did this happen? What turned Dahmer into a serial killer? Anyone going into this film looking for the answers to all of these questions is going to be let down because Dahmer is not about answering the questions. What this film gives you instead is an ambiguous portrait of Jeffery Dahmer the man. There are no solid answers to why Dahmer did what he did, but it does give you one interpretation of what turned Dahmer into a serial killer.

In the film, Dahmer is portrayed as a loner who is incapable of connecting to anyone. Many of the scenes in the film depict Dahmer walking around in complete solitude. I think that these scenes of Dahmer are essential to understanding the movie. There is just a general sense of hopelessness and alienation in this movie. According to the film, alienation is what drove Dahmer over the edge. Dahmer is just so far away from humanity that he is incapable of being saved. No one could save him during his lone descent into madness. It is painful to watch the various people in Dahmer's life, including his father, try to connect with him completely oblivious to the fact that he is too far away from humanity to be saved now.

How does this movie hold up to the actual events? The brutality of the actual murders is toned down and sacrificed for character development, which was a mature decision on the part of the film creators. There are several changes in the storyline, too, but none of these changes are blatant attempts to spice up an already deranged/disturbed story (see Nightstalker). These changes actually do not even effect the movie's overall impact, so do not worry because the overall story of the real life murders stays intact. The movie is still very disturbing without glorifying violence too much.

Overall, the creators of this movie made a bold and mature decision to focus entirely on Dahmer the person. This is not a movie about the trial or all of the things that happened after Dahmer was discovered. This is the perfect movie for people looking for an in depth look at the mind of a serial murderer. There is not much blood, gore, and guts in this movie at all. This is not a Disney movie. This is not even a "real horror" movie. This is a very psychological movie that takes you into the mind of one of America's most depraved serial killers. If anything, you should be disturbed by the fact that this is based upon a true story. None of this was conjured up in someone's head; Dahmer is something that we can encounter in our own sick sad world. It is the kind of film that truly makes you question your own environment. Just how good do you know your own neighbors when appearances can be so deceiving? In the case of Dahmer, the movie succeeds to paint a portrait of a man that very few people would actually like to take a long, hard look at...

From 1978 until 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer lived a life that became the focal point of worldwide media interest Amongst the most well-documented portions of this were the acts of creating lobotomized sexual slaves, of keeping trophies of victims in various states of decomposition all around his home, and of having the mysterious "blue barrel" that was used for disposal in his home. Some of the lesser-known facts were that he worked in a Chocolate shop, that he had been arrested before because he had sexual contact with a minor, and that his family life was something that had been strained. When reading about him in the book his father's book wrote, (A Father's Story by Lionel Dahmer), you could see some of the ingredients that went from "deviant sexual impulses" and "aberrant drug use" and spiraled into something that nightmarishly consumed 7 people before the police finally intervened.
This is the story of some of that and of his younger years combined, with extreme liberties taken.

One of the things that made this movie different than a lot of other movie was the fact that it didn't focus on blood and gore as much as it did on the characterization of Dahmer. Jeffrey Renner does a great job doing that portrayal, keeping the awkward charm attributed to Dahmer and yet still giving Dahmer a methodical approach that seems cold and disjointed. The movie starts in the middle of Dahmer's killing spree and doesn't really offering conjecture as to why he does everything he does. It does offer the viewers little glimpses into Dahmer's life in a round-about way, however, putting together a portrait of what Dahmer was like. It begins with Dahmer manning the chocolate production line, and from follows Dahmer as he starts looking for people that suit his needs. The first he finds is one of his most well-known, the 14year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone, and goes into how he lured the boy into his home and how the police had intervened but had done nothing in the end. That seemed to be something typical with Dahmer and related something about him and his victims; he was white and was good at choosing words and his victims were minorities and were oftentimes ignored. Along the way the movie also backtracks in the film and shows us the first murder Dahmer participates in, a hitchhiker names Steven Hicks, and shows us how the words "I didn't want him to leave" came into play there. It also explores his homosexuality, the way he drugged people to make them compliant, and the way his brutality escalated.

Remembering that this movie is a work of fiction, this movie could be interesting to a number of people depending on what you want to watch. Since it is about a serial killer the topic is well-known, and if the thought of a Dahmer movie appeals to you then it appeals to you. I personally thought it was well done, again taking liberties, but that is to be expected.

This is a macabre and spectacularly disturbing portrait of one of America's most reviled killers. While the film does skim over some of the more gory aspects of Dahmer's murders, it makes a very strong statement on his mental and social illnesses.
Jeremy Renner (who I first saw in National Lampoon's Senior Trip, of all things) masterfully portrays Dahmer in both a linear "present-day" story line and a series of very well edited flashbacks. His nervousness and almost frantic urgency while in the company of the living is chilling when contrasted with his calm with the victims post-mortem. The supporting cast is also top-notch. Through their performances we see a domineering father, a blind-sided grandmother and truly fearful and confused cast of victims.
The sets, lighting and cinematography also lend to the eerie tones in Dahmer. From the red lighting in Dahmer's bathroom as he crushes pills with a water glass, to the strobe effect in the seedy club he frequents, the audience is forced into an emotional response to each setting and the events that transpire in them.
Overall, the film does a nice job of getting into the head of a nefarious maniac. Even if it is ambiguous with a lot of the details of Dahmer's killings, it will make you think twice about accepting a drink in a bar, and wonder what the handsome, seemingly harmless boy next door is really up to.

I purchased Dahmer at a local video store last year. I had not seen the film, but all I needed to know was that it was not a major hollywood movie and it was about Jeffery Dahmer. I enjoyed the Silence of the Lambs series and thought that Anthony Hopkins did an excellent job. But, what interested me about Dahmer is that it's about a real person. The film takes place in Milwaukee,Wisconsin and the opening scene shows Jeffery Dahmer looking and acting like a civilized human being while working at a chocolate factory.
The film begins with Dahmer in prison and then flashes back to the beginnings of his murderous ways. Jeremy Renner portrays the canibalistic- necrophiliac-disturbed individual,Jeffery Dhamer, in a very skillful and realistic way. If this was a major motion picture, I can almost guarantee you that Jeremy Renner would win an Oscar.
If you are worried about the content of the film, don't be. It does show some blood, but nothing compared to Silence of the Lambs. Also, don't be worried about scenes of canibalism or necrophilism---it only shows enough to get the point across. The film also contains NO nudity.
If you like Dahmer, you'll like Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon, Manhunter, Ted Bundy, Ed Gein, The Deliberate Stranger, and Psycho.

The movie was tasteful, but to tasteful. I understand that it wasn't intended to be a "horror flick" and that wasn't what I was expecting. I believe that the movie was to show some insight to Dahmer's motives and they were somewhat successful on that (of course we'll never be able to completely understand). The most important thing was left out, the cannibalism. Jeffrey Dahmer had bizzare murdering and raping rituals, but I believe peoples curiosity of this infamous man was the cannibalism. The subject doesn't even get touched in the movie. Aside from that, I thought the movie was very good. Casting Jeremy Renner as Dahmer was a good call. He's attractive in a understated way just as Dahmer was. He potrays the quiet, mousy, friendly, and semi-normal personallity that Dahmer was said to have. Some of the supporting actors weren't very good ones, but Artel Kayru (Rodney) was quite skillful in his preformance. The cinematography was lovely and Jeremy Renner's transformation between young and old "Jeffrey" was flawless. All and all a good movie. It's worth watching.

This is one of those strange films that people are afraid to say they have seen, that by showing interest in such a film will leave them permanently branded as deviant. Actually this exploration of the bizarre life of Jeffrey Dahmer is more an exploration of a mind descending into serial killing, mutilation, and cannibalization - a mind that just happened to be housed in a gay man- than it is a Hollywood Horror movie. Jeremy Renner surveys this tough role with all the little nuances that bring us into the mechinations of the serial killer's psyche, never making him win our approval, but at the same time offering a canvas of life incidences that somehow make us approach understanding of why this could happen. If we never study horrific deeds, we will never be able to treat or prevent them. Renner makes Dahmer a rather straight forward, obsessed young man, a youth who craves physical affection yet can only find it by relying on drugging his love interests. Pathetic on all levels. Much of what this film reveals is that the beginnings of Dahmer's illness were confined to the available sex clubs which are actually out there. Then the seductions broaden and we are shown how he gradually overcame his conquests and descended into mayhem. The victims we meet are likeable young men and the acting level is rather high in these difficult cameos. We are spared most of the sick and grizzly details of these murders and it is to the director's credit not to inundate us with that. The filming and the music and the lighting is all macabre and in keeping with the subject matter. In short, this is a 'psychobiography' of one of the last century's gruesome serial killers, but it is presented in a way that encourages thought rather than repulsion. Maybe more people will see it now that it is available on DVD.

I don't know what video company put these out but it seems last year or so, there were suddenly tons of these serial killer movies in the video stores.

I don't follow serial killers at all. This movie was extremely disappointing because despite not knowing much at all about Dahmer, I think I knew 10 times as much about him as this movie presented.

It's terrible acting and we don't see any motivations for his actions and there aren't much details of his crimes except that he met gay guys and killed them in his apartment.

The details of the time one escaped, was questioned by police, and was returned by the police to Dahmer due to his drugged up nature are widely known and the movie didn't even demonstrate the things that are pretty common knowledge let alone show anything about him that isn't already known.

See the ones about John Gacy and Ted Bundy instead. I can't speak about their accuracy but they are more entertaining than this one.

I found the movie to be very insightfulI live in milwaukee went to school just a few blocks from where everything happened the movie was good the only problem the black guy that Dahmer tis talking to throughout the movie does get away with the handcuffs on but when he returns to get the handcuffs off he is alone and what really happened is that is the guy that brings the cops to Dahmers apartment. but otherwise the movie was a good movie

Having worked on several independent films myself, as well as being a student of criminology in college, I am in a unique position to review this film.
As far as indie films go, this is one of the better quality ones I've seen in a while. The art direction was excellent, giving the film an eerie dreamlike feel. Considering the content, that was probably a good choice.
This is not a psychological thriller, though it does have moments of suspense. I thought the actor who played Dahmer brought very interesting and insightful characteristics to his character. If you watch the "featurette" or follow the director/actors commentary on the DVD, you will benefit from knowing how some of the content choices were made. Knowing that made it a little creepier, actually.
The most vivid sequence for me was Dahmer's first victim. The mixture of amazement, horror, fear and curiosity that Jeremy (who played Dahmer) portrayed when he killed his first victim, then dismemberd and bagged him, and ended up being stopped by the police on his way to dispose of the bagged body parts; that was the part of the film I imagine must have been the most difficult to act out. I mean, who really knows WHAT that first murder was like for Dahmer. How do you possibly imagine what it must have been like? Bearing in mind the fact that the actor had to come up with and convey a mixture of horror and fascination that the "average" person would never have reason to even comprehend, I think he did an excellent job.
All in all, the film kept my attention throughout, didn't gross me out too much, and made me stop and think.
For an indie, that's quite an accomplishment.