Dahmer, el carnicero de Milwaukee

"Dahmer" tries to tell one of the most horrific stories of recent years. But the whole story of Jeffrey Dahmer does not get told in this movie. There are some shocking moments, but most of the movie gets bogged down in flashbacks (and even flashbacks-within-flashbacks). At some points, you cannot tell if you're watching another flashback or the present moment in the story. Jeremy Renner plays the title character, with an adequately creepy air. Some of his ghastly crimes are shown, while the gore is kept to a minimum. And Dahmer's homosexuality is mentioned, but much of it is kept just off-camera, as evidenced by the montage of Jeffrey's date rape drug-fueled sodomy marathons. This movie does not try to present Jeffrey Dahmer as Dr. Hannibal Lecter. (How could anyone glamorize this murderer?) But I would have preferred some kind of analysis as to why he became a killer. The strange and tragic story of Jeffrey Dahmer left a lot of people sad and wanting answers. But this movie left me wanting satisfaction.

Let's face it: people who will watch this to see violence or some of the acts of the most notorious serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, will be disappointed.

The reason?

That's because the film doesn't at all emphasize in Dahmers sadism or cruelty - it's a human look into the mind of an inhuman psycho. Well, I suppose the film is trying to be objective. Not to merely shock, but then again there's too few of Dahmer's unspeakable acts, that one might wonder what the writer/director was trying to do?

Anyway, watch this if you like serial killer films, but don't expect too much. Give it a try, it's quite decent and serious film.

Movies based on real life serial killers tend to get a lot further under my skin than those with fictional maniacs—films like Dahmer, which details the nauseating activities of gay serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who drugged and dismembered his unlucky victims, concealing their body-parts in and around his home(s). The fact that these events actually happened (I can remember the discovery of Dahmer's victims in the news) and are portrayed so convincingly makes Dahmer seriously chilling viewing.

Jeremy Renner, as the titular killer, is simply superb, effectively playing the character as both a teenager and an adult. Director David Jacobson shoots in a non-linear fashion, which adds a further dimension of interest, yet he also avoids sensationalism, the gore quotient kept relatively low and other unsettling details of Dahmer's lifestyle thankfully obscured in a drug and alcohol infused haze. It's a wise move: this study of Jeffrey Dahmer's life is disturbing enough without matters getting too graphic.

Jacobson's film shows little violence. That's a point I'd like to stress because there is a certain audience I think will appreciate this film but who may not give it a chance because they expect graphic nastiness. Against the film's interests, the marketing tries to sell the film to the cheap horror-movie audience and I think this is a pity.

Instead of depicting violence, Jacobson's film discomforts you using dramatic means - principally writing and acting. All of which are used with enough skill to distinguish the film from cheap horror movies. It would be wrong and unfair to dismiss Dahmer because of its packaging. It is a well-written and performed character drama.

It's subject matter is too horrible for the general drama audience to welcome, but at the same time its serious approach makes it too straight for the entertainment market. By that I mean the Hannibal Lecter/Seven audience, who prefer their serial killer tales abstracted (and therefore made safe) by the presence of movie stars.

Dahmer is more akin to Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer in being low budget, filled with unfamiliar faces, and focussed so much on the killer that there is no awareness of the authorities or justice in the story. There is no hero cop or FBI agent in pursuit.

Dahmer is very unlike McNaughton's infamous film because, as already mentioned, it's low on violence, but also because it's a technically better-executed piece of work. The photography and editing, the use of music, the already-mentioned acting and writing, make this a surprisingly good-quality film considering the expectations stacked against it. One technical achievement I find worth noting is how well it recreates period. Sequences set in the 80's have a visual authenticity that puts big budget studio attempts to shame.

Obviously, you know what kind of film you like. If what I've said above sounds interesting to you, then I recommend giving it a look. I repeat that you will not see much in the way of gore or violence. There are plenty of films with more graphic content dressed more commercially. Dahmer won't make you feel good. It isn't a fun movie. But if you are looking for something with more substance you may find it.

I did hear a lot of bad buzz about this movie; mainly people were complaining that it was boring. The movie starts out with Jeffrey living alone in his apartment ready to kill his next victim, an Asian boy and meeting another one at the same time, Rodney. We get many flashbacks of when he was young and when he committed his first murder.

So was it boring? Hell No! Well for me it was never boring because from the beginning we are captivated by this lonely and troubled man. The reason behind this was due to Jeremy Renner's real and absorbing portrayal that should stand out as one of the best performances of 2002. Another reason it was never boring was because of its catchy dialogue. Jeffrey had some really though provoking things to say. The best conversations were between Jeffrey and Rodney who was played by Artel Kayaru. He was magnetic and he gave the second best performance.

People who thought that this movie was boring were probably expecting more scenes of Jeff killing all his victims. We don't see all of the crimes and that's because this film was more of a character study than a gore infested horror film. There were some creepy and disturbing scenes but nothing intensely frightening. Only one particular scene that caught me by surprise---oh,that really freaked me out. Great scene, I loved it because it didn't have any music and it was very well directed. It's really weird to feel sorry and be moved by a killer and it's the first time I ever felt that way.