If you’re a fan of true-crime biopic’s there is no doubt ‘My Friend Dahmer’ has crossed your radar. Jeffrey Dahmer shocked the world with his horrific actions and I can still remember the news on the night of July 22, 1991. I was fourteen-years old and what the reports said were something from a horror movie, and seemed unreal.
So naturally I was intrigued in what this film would provide in terms of exploring the foundations of who this guy was. Overall I liked the film. It was interesting and did maintain a compelling progression as it dove into who Dahmer was. It was intriguing to see the evolution of Dahmer from his very early years. Seeing more of what his home-life was like. How his social-life impacted his mentality. As well as exploring possible genetic instincts that may have just been in him from birth. The story-line did a great job of portraying all of that.
The performance from Ross Lynch was honestly fantastic. It was clear Lynch researched the role and poured effort into bringing the most realistic version of Dahmer to the screen as possible. He was eerie, awkward, and equally intense. All under a subdued demeanor that created an effective element of unpredictability. This film relied on his performance for its success, and Lynch knocked it out of the park.
The settings and backdrops were all detailed and did a great job of pulling me into the time-period of the story. It was interesting to see the home, and school life of a young Dahmer, and his escape to mutilating animals and keeping parts of them like trophies. This film really was a riveting portrait of a serial-killer.
But it also may have hindered itself with the high level of intrigue it delivered. The end of the film felt somewhat un-fulfilling. It left me wanting more. Almost like a fantastic first part of a mini-series. I think it would have provided more closure if it had went slightly further in his life. Yet as it is, the result it still a great origins story of the evil that was, Jeffrey Dahmer.
Grade: 85%
