Written by Deanna Moody. Image courtesy of Madisyn Welborn.
The stories of serial killers are a lot of people’s guilty pleasure. It’s not wrong to wonder what could drive someone to commit such heinous acts of violence, and Netflix consistently capitalizes on this fact. The company has produced many different movies and limited series of serial killers’ lives, most recently Jeffery Dahmer’s. While watching the series, I often found myself forgetting that the events shown on screen were events that happened to real people. Director Ryan Murphy presented these events in a way that was overly dramatic and did not honor the victims.
When a series like this is made, the victims’ families’ must be considered. Actors portraying these families’ deceased sons is bound to make them re-live their traumas, and the romanticization of the murders on the internet is no help. It’s horrific, especially considering the families of the victims were not consulted before, during or after the making of the show.
It seemed to me that the viewer is supposed to root for Dahmer throughout the series, which is one of my main issues with the show.
Casting Evan Peters was an interesting choice. As a fan of his previous works, I was curious to see how he would play this part. Overall, he did well. His mannerisms are awkward and uncomfortable, how you might imagine the real Dahmer. Peters is convincing. I found that many of the scenes in this series were suspenseful and dramatic, but most notably, they were gaudy.
The series starts off with Dahmer being arrested, a unique place to kick things off compared to other adaptations. For those who aren’t familiar with the story, it causes people to watch with bated breath. As the show continues, the portrayal of Dahmer’s interactions with the victims becomes confusing. It seemed to me that the viewer is supposed to root for Dahmer throughout the series, which is one of my main issues with the show. The cinematography makes Dahmer’s crimes seem fictional. More specifically, the scenes between Dahmer and Tony are heavily romanticized. I felt that these scenes were alarmingly artistic and graphic, completely glossing over the fact it’s based on true events.
Dahmer is not a cool villain to fantasize about. He was a man who took people’s lives from them and caused their families indescribable pain and irreversible damage. He targeted homosexual men of color because he knew the police would overlook their disappearances. It’s not art — it’s murder. He’s not your friend. He’s a monster. Yet, this series told the story in a way that encouraged sympathy toward Dahmer, or at least a sense of understanding, which is a mistake that has not been overlooked by viewers or the victims’ families. The families affected by Dahmer’s heinous acts did not give consent, nor did they receive any financial compensation. This is the true crime of Netflix’s “Dahmer.”
