It’s a case that most true crime enthusiasts know well but Ryan Murphy offers us a deeper, darker, and more disturbing look into the crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer than we’ve ever seen before. Now that we’ve seen it, we will never, ever unsee it.
Overall, I found the new Dahmer series the best thing to hit Netflix since Mindhunter and easily the gritiest and most vile western production the streaming company has ever produced.
There’s no doubt about it, it was just masterful, a hard watch…even for people like us who tend to like the more twisted side of cinema.
When we hear of people commiting to roles and going through some sort of physical transformation to get into a character, Evan Peters not only had a physically demanding role but he also had a dangerously dark and mental role to prepare for. If we take Christian Bale”s transformation in The Machinist; yeah, he was a bag of skin and bones and of course that would have its toll on mental wellbeing too, but Damn, Peters’ Dahmer was some of the darkest shit ive seen for a western production. This is not only the best portrayal of Dahmer, but one of the best portrayals of a serial killer I’ve ever seen. SO, Mr Peters, thanks for that insane commitment, I hope you escaped unscathed.
Before we get into Dahmer, I must say after this mini-series I am now a fan of Ryan Murphy. I’ve tried so hard to like American Horror Story but they just ain’t for me. What I’d love to see is a mini-series from Ryan Murphy focusing on the serial killer featured in Mindhunter, Ed Kemper and starring Cameron Britton (who played Kemper). This a lesser-known case but just like Dahmer, the actor playing the killer seemed to totally embody the character – so much so, it was fkn frightening.
It’s easy for us to sit there and binge this series – a case that most of us are more than familiar with. There’s been so many movies, Docs, books, interviews throughout the years .Dahmer reached rock star status. But what ain’t talked about is how the families of the victim’s have to re-live their loved ones getting brutally murdered each time anything new comes out. You can’t help but think that people are profiting off of their misery. I think families should be compensated in the same way that Dahmer’s father was ordered to when he wrote the book about his son. I mean, has Netflix even contacted them and offered them anything…even free Netflix for life? Probably not but I sure hope they’re able to get something because it just doesn’t seem right.
I also thought a few scenes and shots were unnecessary. We know this guy was a monster but I still thought he was over-sexualised and glorified for the series. I found this the same with any Bundy production we’ve got. They are monsters, show their ugliness throughout the series.
It makes me happy to be thinking that we’re getting over this period of PG-13. This year is a tremendous year for horror and we’re not only seeing tonnes of violent bleakness from streaming services, we’re also seeing 18c Theatrical horror releases. As someone who has worked in the movie retail business for decades, this has been a long time coming around again. Long may it continue.
As always, thanks for reading
