My Buddy, Mr J. Christopher Wilson is reviewing some movies and series. He has agreed for us to post his reviews here.
DAHMER—MONSTER: THE JEFFREY DAHMER STORY on Netflix is discombobulating. The exposition and the acting are both eerily calm amongst the chaos of dismemberment. Yet, the story is not gory. DAHMER is psychological rather than startling. It is what happens when one pushes all their emotions down into their toes and walks on the hurt for years.
In fourth grade, I teach my students about the protagonist (main character and hero) and antagonist (villain). While Dahmer is the main character he is certainly not a hero or an antihero. This show doesn’t follow the typical format. His neighbor is the hero who fought for the rights of the victims from the start. Her acting was superb. Despite the sounds and smells emanating from his apartment and her frequent phone calls to the police, no one believed her and the police even sent a 14-year-old lobotomized boy who escaped to the street back into Dahmer’s apartment despite her objections and questions.
Part horror story and part social commentary about, DAHMER is an amazing story. The writing, acting and directing are as good as it comes. The tone is strikingly powerful and upsetting making this incredibly disturbing without gore or jump scares. I’m fact, the calmer the story the more unsettling the story becomes.
Beware: many viewers have struggled with this series. For our part, we had to watch it in 1- to 2-episode blocks as it was so intense and disturbing. This is not for everyone as all the social media attention should clearly indicate. The person with serious history of domestic abuse, trauma, or PTSD should obviously stay away.
Grade A
Available on Netflix
