I've heard it said from those who were already familiar with Jeffrey Dahmer that this film is dull and makes little of its potential given the subject matter. I was in the privileged position of knowing only that Dahmer was a serial killer and nothing of the specifics of his acts when I stumbled this DVD cover depicting a young Jeremy Renner's menacing stare cast in shadow. This sold the film to me as a sinister slasher, maybe a little cheesy. So I picked it up for a bit of morbid evening entertainment. The film sparked my interest in the case so much so that I have now watched four documentaries, some archive news coverage, the DVD of the trial and two prime-time television interviews with the man himself. This is the most interesting serial killer case I have ever come acrossAfter surveying the available material, and I think I've surveyed all there is – Dahmer survived only two years after his sentence to 937 years in prison – this film on second watch is still worth viewing. The film explores not the gruesome details of his methods, it prefers to focus on the bleak mental state of the man behind the deadpan face and emotionless voice that is Jeffrey Dahmer. The gore that actually surrounded the crimes occupies only two short scenes and is done so well it made me cringe at the physical and psychological damage being done to the victim. This is when violence moves away from action-packed punch-ups to casual mutilation. Reminiscent of a Korean horror such as "Chaser". The film delivers accuracy whilst also changing names and minor details for tact. Apparently Kathryn Bigelow cast Renner in "The Hurt Locker" based on this performance and I can see why. This is an example of an actor being able to portray an established character with painstaking accuracy. Dahmer is an intriguing person who exudes intelligence and bamboozling likability. His face is motionless, his eyes dead and his attitude to killing unnervingly nonchalant. Renner pulls the portrayal off with uncanny mannerisms and an amazing ability to look just like Dahmer using only hairstyle and line delivery. Amazing. This film is haunting. The mark of a good film for me is one that makes you think back to it frequently. This succeeds. So if you're new to the case I recommend this movie as an introduction to spur your interest. If you are not I recommend it for some insightful suggestions as to Dahmer's motives and mental state. Not to mention an opportunity to witness the vast talents of Renner who slips into the role as if channelling the man himself.

There's just something about serial killers. When I first saw this, it was a couple of years after it had come out and was being broad-casted on television. I think there was a theme of broadcasts from all sorts of media about serial killers that week; having watched a good chunk of them, because they were morbidly fascinating, I found myself enthralled without really understanding what I was watching. Back then, I was just a typical, angry teenager-searching for some kind of identity-and finding myself relating to the emotions being portrayed. Years after my initial viewing, I rediscovered Jeremy Renner through the recent films he has made over the past 5 years. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was his acting that made me so compelled to finish "Dahmer", even knowing about the crimes the real Dahmer committed. After watching it a second time, now that I'm older and wiser, I feel like I truly appreciated what the film was trying to give the viewer. Some have said that the film is lacking in true expression of Dahmer's crimes; I disagree. Just because we don't see a full on display of what he did, we can still see the emotions in Renner's face; we can still see the human being. I gave this a 10 out of 10 because it is an excellent study of human emotions coming from a less than mainstream plot.

if I had not read so much about J, Dahmer than I think I would have enjoyed this movie far more. It wasn't badly acted or dull but the portrayal of Dahmer wasn't really that factual, you can tell by documentaries and reports that he was a quiet and shy man that wanted to be liked and didn't want to be alone, however this film almost see's him as arrogent. Also many of the details of when Dahmer was younger were wrong (first killing) and this almost made you think that what he was doing wasn't as shocking as what really had happened. Dahmer was a teenage alcoholic and it would have been good to see some of them factors that made him the way he was, also the fascination with road kill. the film wasn't boring but I felt that the portrayal wasn't what I expected and that made me some what frustrated at times. It is defiantly worth watching but if you have read/watched anything about Dahmer than you will understand the vast difference in interpretation.

I sympathize with the victims of this monstrous man.A look into the lifestyle of Jeffrey Dahmer a serial killer. The film does not show his cannibalistic acts, necrophilia, capture, court trial and death which I believe should have made it the most complete film of him.The film portrays the sexuality of Dahmer, who was a homosexual, but who hated his own sexual identity. This caused him to commit the foul murders shown in the film. He thought that homosexuality was a perversion in the eyes of his peers and family. However he indulged himself without limit with sex of this sort with prostitutes and with his helpless victims.He enjoyed dominating his victims during intercourse as we see in this film. After sex he usually dismembered his victims keeping their heads in his fridge. He enjoyed collecting human bones as well. He had made a fetish with human bones as well. And that is the bizarre part of his persona. Not only content with indulging in sex with his helpless victims, he has to butcher them as well? He could have indulged himself with gay sex freely with willing men without the need to kill.The only thing that fits here was that he was a sadist, a necrophile and of a deceptive turn of mind. He would lie to his victims, spiking their drinks with drugs to paralyze them, and then rape them at his leisure.Similarity here with John Wayne Gacy a notorious serial killer who similarly employed domineering sodomy to his hand-cuffed victims.Arrest and Death: On July 22, 1991, Dahmer lured another man, Tracy Edwards, into his home Dahmer struggled with Edwards in order to handcuff him, but ultimately failed to cuff his wrists together. Wielding a large butcher knife, Dahmer forced Edwards into the bedroom, where Edwards saw pictures of mangled bodies on the wall and noticed the terrible smell coming from a large blue barrel. Edwards punched him in the face, kicked him in the stomach, ran for the door and escaped. Running through the streets, with the handcuffs still hanging from one hand, Edwards waved for help to a police car driven by Robert Rauth and Rolf Mueller of the Milwaukee police department. Edwards led police back to Dahmer's apartment, where Dahmer at first acted friendly to the officers. However, Edwards remembered that the knife Dahmer had threatened him with was in the bedroom. When one of the officers checked the bedroom, he saw the photographs of mangled bodies, and called for his partner to arrest Dahmer. As one officer subdued Dahmer, the other opened the refrigerator and found a human head. Further searching of the apartment revealed three more severed heads, multiple photographs of murdered victims and human remains, severed hands and penises, and photographs of dismembered victims and human remains in his refrigerator.His arrest in 1991, subsequent court trial and imprisonment, and his death at the hands of by fellow inmate Christopher Scarver. with a bar from a weight machine on November 28, 1994. Dahmer died of severe head trauma while on his way to the hospital in an ambulance. Brilliant direction by David Jacobson. Superbly acted by Jeremy Renner as Jeffrey Dahmer and Bruce Davison as Lionel Dahmer.