Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes

Netflix's "Dahmer - Monster" that aired before this documentary is an effective dramatization of this shocking moment in history. It garners curiosity as to just how a person could wind up like this, with a hodgepodge of paraphilia and personality disorders. So you might end up finding and watching both the Stone Phillips and Inside Edition interviews done in the early 90s. Those are a chilling watch, as you get to hear from the horse's mouth and witness just how calm his demeanor is despite his heinous crimes and depravity. As much as "The Dahmer Tapes" documentary is excellently put together, it would have been more fascinating to hear the raw audio of the interview, all 32 hours of it, conducted by the defense lawyer Wendy. Instead, we get snippets and carefully curated sound bites to match the narrative from the experts, all condensed into a measly 3 hours, which is not as effective as a straight continuous interview which is what a viewer might expect from the title "Conversations with a Killer."

This is another well produced crime documentary from Netflix, again from Joe Berlinger who did the Ted Bundy Tapes. Hearing Dahmer's voice recount all of the horrific acts he committed was obviously disturbing but fascinating as to how completely open he was about it, with no deflection like other serial killers, and that he seemed to be just unsure of why he did these things as everyone was and wanted answers.

It works really well, whether intentionally or not, as a companion piece with the very recent Dahmer Netflix show starring Evan Peter's and reinforces just how incredibly accurate that show was in it's telling of the Dahmer story. It could've maybe been another episode longer but perhaps that's just me..

No pun intended - Dahmer seemed to be looking for someone ... because he felt alone. And if you are bleak about life (or realistic), we are alone! Well mostly - hopefully you can find someone that you want to spend your time with. And the same goes for the person when it comes to you. Something that Dahmer was unable to get - or unable to sustain. At least he never felt he could.

There was way more and he was complex on some levels. He was also quite evil - and evil in a sense that he didn't even seem to care. Apart from what it would do to him. He was always in the center of everything. That's why he was not taken aback by the fame he garnered or gathered.

The docu series is ok and works as a companion piece to the show Dahmer - Monster. Which is really good. If you only want to watch one of those two - I'll say watch the other one. Even if it is way longer ... it is worth it, believe me!

One word to describe this man: insidious. This documentary is thorough, perhaps even too thorough. Arguably the only documentary you'll need to see about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer but proceed with caution. It's rough to even watch. What sets this apart from other documentaries and re-enacted versions is the never-before-released videos, newscasts, photos, testimonials and actual interview recordings. Documentary also describes each victim's unfortunate demise one by one. It's a lot to go through visually and mentally. Definitely not for the faint hearted. Wish I could unsee it. The depravity of this man was too much to take.

After the more than excellent dramatization of the Dahmer murders in Netflix' release in september 2022 - which I rated with an exceptional 9 stars - any follow-up documentary will have a difficult time to even come close to the experience of that dramatization.

The documentary makers however were able to get not only on board the prosecutor and defense attorney, but also the more than renowned psychiatrist dr. Park Dietz. The latter one is not only famous for his link with the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI, but also for his interviews with several serial killers. Apart from Dahmer, he is known for his very excellent interview of the "iceman killer": i.e. Richard Kuklinski. I have seen those interviews several times already.

What makes this documentary also interesting, is that it explains some things that I couldn't explain after watchting the dramatization of the Dahmer murders. It for instance explains why Dahmer decided to buy and use yellow contact lenses.

Overall, I think this documentary may come a little too soon after the release of the Dahmer show. Many events are still so fresh in my memory that the documentary is in part just a repeat of events. Instead of two weeks, I would have preferred this documentary to be released at least one year after the drama show was released. Watching the documentary in one year would surely trigger me to again watch (part of) the drama show.

Overall, I still think this documentary deserves 6.8/10, which I round up to a 7 star IMBd rating. This documentary would have scored way better if they had included more of dr. Park Dietz.