Dahmer

Rating:
Summary: Best for what is not said or shown
Review: This is one of those strange films that people are afraid to say they have seen, that by showing interest in such a film will leave them permanently branded as deviant. Actually this exploration of the bizarre life of Jeffrey Dahmer is more an exploration of a mind descending into serial killing, mutilation, and cannibalization - a mind that just happened to be housed in a gay man- than it is a Hollywood Horror movie. Jeremy Renner surveys this tough role with all the little nuances that bring us into the mechinations of the serial killer's psyche, never making him win our approval, but at the same time offering a canvas of life incidences that somehow make us approach understanding of why this could happen. If we never study horrific deeds, we will never be able to treat or prevent them. Renner makes Dahmer a rather straight forward, obsessed young man, a youth who craves physical affection yet can only find it by relying on drugging his love interests. Pathetic on all levels. Much of what this film reveals is that the beginnings of Dahmer's illness were confined to the available sex clubs which are actually out there. Then the seductions broaden and we are shown how he gradually overcame his conquests and descended into mayhem. The victims we meet are likeable young men and the acting level is rather high in these difficult cameos. We are spared most of the sick and grizzly details of these murders and it is to the director's credit not to inundate us with that. The filming and the music and the lighting is all macabre and in keeping with the subject matter. In short, this is a 'psychobiography' of one of the last century's gruesome serial killers, but it is presented in a way that encourages thought rather than repulsion. Maybe more people will see it now that it is available on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant performance by a talented young actor
Review: Jeremy Renner portrays the infamous serial killer/cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer and he does a tremendous job of humanizing this real life monster. Now before I go into a review of the DVD let me first warn all the viewers who are expecting a gorefest that you will be disappointed. THere are no references to cannibalism or any real vivid murders and very little blood. WHat this movie is really about is Jeffrey Dahmer the person. The film starts with Dahmer in Milwaukee picking up a young Asian. By this time Dahmer is already a serial killer. Then the film shifts back to the teenage Dahmer and his relationship with his father. Renner is convincing in both roles. The film brilliantly focuses on Dahmer's first murder which is the high point of the movie. Dahmer's first murder was as a teenager and his victim was a college wrestler who is hitchhiking his way to school. Dahmer jokes with his victim, feeds him, drinks with him, but then when the victim decides to leave Dahmer kills him because he can't bear to be alone. I think that basically is why Dahmer was a killer, he just didn't know how to fit in socially. One scene in particular really is heartbreaking. After his first murder he just breaks down sobbing. Renner's performance in this scene is simply incredible. He just breaks down and bawls like a child who has just lost his mom. As a viewer I felt crushed by this scene and it made me understand a little about what was behind this heinous murderer. The film ends with the teenage Dahmer simply walking off into the woods alone. His first murder complete, his future atrocities in front of him. But it is Jeremy Renner who makes this movie great, I can't think of another actor who could have done as good a job portraying Jeffrey Dahmer. Buy this DVD, don't expect blood but do expect a great performance by a very talented actor in Jeremy Renner.

Rating:
Summary: this movie sucks
Review: This film will disappoint most viewers.There isnt much graphic imagery in this film.Mostly it shows Dahmer with a young black man he befriends at a knife shop.They spend all night talking.No action.Jeremy Renner isnt bad as Dahmer though.Bruce Davison is not believable as Lionel Dahmer.

Rating:
Summary: Why leave the most interesting parts out?
Review: I read a book on Jeffrey Dahmer before I watched the movie because I wanted to get a clearer insight on what had happened since I was younger around the time it took place. Unfortunately, that left me feeling disappointed. I know that movies based on real life still have a fictional element to it, but there was so much that could have been captured on film that didn't even make the screen!

The movie tends to flash back and forth from the time Jeff was a teenager, to the last night he killed, and was then caught. The reason that I gave it some stars was because the flashbacks were very interesting, and gave insight into his home life and how controlling and suspicious his father was. I also liked the conversation Jeff had with the "hitchhiker" after they smoked out. He was trying to convince the guy why you should be open-minded and not just follow what everyone else does. (Get a job, marry some woman, resent each other, be bored the rest of your life.) He was being very manipulative and trying to convince the guy there would be no difference in sleeping with a man than with a woman if the lights were out.

Sadly, the movie was not well focused. It mostly concentrated on the times Jeff went to gay clubs and drugged men to have sex with them. Also, it seemed that some of the information was wrong. The reason the public seemed so interested in this case was because of the cannabilism. There was only one part of the movie that included it, but it showed nothing, he just had a head in a box.

The ending was also bad.

So much could have been done with this movie!! Some parts were enjoyable because of the acting ability and the flashbacks. But other than that, not really worth it. Read the books instead.

Rating:
Summary: a mixed bag of tricks.
Review: First, if you're wanting to learn the true story of the Milwaukee murders don't use this movie as a reference. Read "An American Nightmare" by Don Davis, There you will get the cold hard facts. To be blunt, this movie is 85% inaccurate. the only thing this movie does (and does very well I might add) is to show Dahmer's personality. Jeremy Renner plays Dahmer to a T from his odd slur in his speach all the way down to his insucure hunch in his posture. While watching you may feel like your really watching Dahmer in his redlight lit bathroom ploting his victims demise. It makes your skin crawl to wonder what's running though his head as he lurks around his apartment waiting for his drink to paralyze his "guest". Impartial viewers may find this movie enjoyable but students of criminal psychology who have read up on Dahmer might find his scenes with Tracy Edwards alittle bizarre and way off the mark from the facts. Tracy Edwards was not a homosexual and what this film shows happened between him and Dahmer is completely false. So! this movie gets three stars for Renner's acting and the flims insight into Dahmer's past but loses two for being historicly inaccurate. thanks for reading.

Rating:
Summary: GOD AWFUL PIECE OF TRASH
Review: THIS IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE WORST MOVIE EVER TO DISGRACE CINEMA. ITS 2 HOURS OF NO GORE AND A GUY SEDUCING AND RAPING MEN!!!!!!! I THREW THE DVD AS SOON AS I GOT DONE VIEWING IT I WA SO DISGUSTED.

Rating:
Summary: insightful
Review: I found the movie to be very insightfulI live in milwaukee went to school just a few blocks from where everything happened the movie was good the only problem the black guy that Dahmer tis talking to throughout the movie does get away with the handcuffs on but when he returns to get the handcuffs off he is alone and what really happened is that is the guy that brings the cops to Dahmers apartment. but otherwise the movie was a good movie

Rating:
Summary: A dark, unexpectedly thought-provoking surprise
Review: I had zero interest in seeing this movie. I don't like the subject and, frankly, the DVD's cover art screams "don't rent this movie."

But I stumbled onto it on TV one night without realizing what it was (during the scene in which the crow gets loose in the house) and quickly became absorbed.

No, the movie offers no answers about the real-life serial killer, it doesn't present a straight-forward biography and it's relatively light on gore.

But what it does have is a thoughtful script and restrained-but-intense direction by David Jacobson, a challenging structure (it's basically a relay race of flashbacks and flashforwards) and great performances by Jeremey Renner, Bruce Davison, Matt Newton and especially Artel Kayàru as a deceptively simple boy toy.

I love a good horror movie but few contemporary films scare me. I'd much rather be creeped out than grossed out. This one got under my skin in weird ways -- especially the scenes in which we know a murder is about to happen but... when???, or the sequence in which Dahmer's father demands again and again to know what's inside the locked box in his son's closet (and we *don't* want him to open it).

Many reviewers here seem disappointed by what this movie is. And perhaps Jacobson should've called the movie and his main character something else if he wasn't going to make a detailed portrait of an actual person. But that shouldn't overshadow the fact that this is a well-made, intense, well-balanced little pressure cooker of a movie.

Rating:
Summary: Very few facts, little gore and tons of confusion...
Review: Jeffery Dahmer was a sex-serial-killer that I had read a lot about. I was eleven when Dahmer was found. I had remembered little about him -- other than he murdered and ate humans. I had read a book about him, so when 'Dahmer' was released straight to video I absolutely had to see it. After watching it, I felt sick. The film was done tastefully, gore-wise, but as far as fact-based, it wasn't really there. The story skips around back and forth, if I hadn't read the book 'The Millwauke Murders,' I would've been lost. One of my stars goes to actor Jeremy Renner (National Lampoon's Senior Trip) who did a fabulous job with the characterization of Dahmer, but the script is what fails. I understand that you can't have a picture (especially fact-based) with all the gore, due to the tragedy the families went through, but you've got to come up with something better than this. The film mostly focused on Dahmer's homosexuality and him drugging and raping innocent men. Another star goes to the plot evolving around a loving father -- who supported his son even after all that happened. Two stars is all I'm giving this film -- and even at that, I'd still avoid the film and read a book on the psyche of a serial killer. I couldn't make it through the entire film (I missed the last ten or fifteen minutes) but I'm sure it didn't include his murder in prison.

Rating:
Summary: Do yourself a favor: Rent this instead of Ted Bundy.
Review: Jeremy Renner plays Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the most infamous serial killers of the 90's. Not only is he an amazing actor and I loved how he portrayed him, he also looks alot like the real-life Dahmer. Great acting, and the movie just had a subdued feel to it. If you're looking for blood and guts, this isn't the place. Much more of an in depth look into the mind of a serial killer. We all know the things he did, but few of us knew who he was. See http://dahmerfim.com for more information on the movie. It didn't show Dahmer as the monster the media portrayed him as, it showed him as a real person. That's all he was: some regular guy who did monsterous things. Plain and simple. We all see these killers as grandiose misfits of human nature. They're just human nature that took a wrong turn, or a nature that we abandoned long ago. On another note, most people who aren't into the psychology behind serial killers probably won't think this movie is that good. I'd recommend this movie to people with an interest in the darker corners of the human mind. It didn't get the total 5 stars because some of the dialogue later in the film I thought was lacking. But with the incredible acting, incredible accuracy, and just how it was all put together: I think it was a great film.