Jeffrey Dahmer is considered one of the most notorious serial killers in the USA of the 20th century. Now Netflix has filmed his life as a series. “Dahmer” is currently even leading the charts there. There is a lot of criticism from the relatives of his victims.
With “Dahmer – Monster: The Story of Jeffrey Dahmer” Netflix seems to have landed its next big hit. In many countries, “Dahmer” is currently in the top 10 of the most streamed series – including in Germany and the USA.
The true crime series focuses on Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the most notorious serial killers of the 20th century. Between 1978 and 1991 he molested and murdered at least 17 young men. He performed cannibalistic acts on some victims. In 1994, a fellow inmate killed him in prison, where he was serving a multiple life sentence. Despite a diagnosed borderline disorder, court experts considered him sane.
“Dahmer” tells the murders from the point of view of the “Milwaukee Monster”, as the press dubbed the serial killer. But the perspective of the victims also plays a role. Incidentally, “Dahmer” also deals with the incompetence of the police – and with structural racism in the USA. The majority of Dahmer’s victims were African Americans, who were allegedly often not taken seriously by the authorities. Police escorted a victim who had fled back to Dahmer’s apartment.
Ryan Murphy is the mastermind behind Dahmer: Monsters: The Story of Jeffrey Dahmer. The producer behind hit series like “American Horror Story” or “Glee” has already proven himself as a specialist for true crime formats with “American Crime Story”. The title role is played by Murphy’s regular actor Evan Peters, who has starred in almost every season of “American Horror Story.”
The supporting roles are also well cast. Richard Jenkins plays Dahmer’s father, Lionel. His stepmother, Shari, plays Molly Ringwald, the ’80s teen idol in movies like The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink. The music for the series was created by Nick Cave and his longtime Bad Seeds band member Warren Ellis.
The critics have so far been divided on “Dahmer”. On the Rotten Tomatoes review collection site, the series only gets 46 percent good ratings. Kayla Cobb of Decider, for example, praises the series for avoiding the threatening glorification of a killer and instead focusing on systemic failure. Caroline Framke from “Variety” holds against it. It attests to the staging’s tendency to exploit the deeds. The series excels in trying to be both a psychograph of a killer and a study of his social environment. On the other hand, “Dahmer” is well received by the viewers. They gave the series an 86 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Criticism of the format comes from the relatives of a victim. “My family (the Isbells) are pissed off about this show,” a relative of the murdered Errol Lindsey wrote on Twitter. “It’s traumatizing over and over again, and why? How many more films/shows/documentaries do we need?”. His cousin Rita Isbell was the sister of Errol Lindsey.
The series recreates Rita Isbell’s testimony at the court hearing. In doing so, she attacked Jeffrey Dahmer in the courtroom and was held back by bailiffs. Isbell has also commented on the series. “It was like reliving it all again,” she writes on Insider. “It brought back all the emotions I felt at the time.”
