Director: Marc Meyers
Writer: Marc Meyers (Screenplay) John Backderf (Book)
Starring: Ross Lynch, Vincent Kartheiser, Anne Heche, Alex Wolff, Dallas Roberts
Plot: A young Jeffrey Dahmer struggles to belong in high school.
Tagline – Based on the Acclaimed Graphic Novel
Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Unsettlingly, but Not Disturbing
Story: Mr Friend Dahmer starts as outside Jeff Dahmer (Lynch) is getting through high school by avoiding people while performing experiments in his house. When he starts hanging out with John ‘Derf’ Backderf (Wolff) he brings in a routine to pretend to be special around the school making him more confident.
With his own problems at home with his mother Joyce’s (Heche) mental health getting worse and his father Lionel (Roberts) moving out, it is up to Jeff to keep himself busy, which see him become more attracted to killing and dead bodies.
Thoughts on My Friend Dahmer
Characters – Jeff Dahmer is the awkward teenager at high school, an outside who enjoys studying bodies of animals, he doesn’t get bullied, but soon starts getting used by a group of high schoolers that see his ability to act out enjoyable for them. He plays along believing he has been accepted, only to see his own desires to see about biology become a more focal point in his life. Derf is one of the high school kids that befriends Jeff, he ends up using his ability to act mentally handicapped as some form of enjoyment pushing him to become more forward with what he is doing. Joyce and Lionel are the parents of Jeff’s they are going through a difficult time which makes Jeff’s life even harder.
Performances – Ross Lynch is easily the star of this film, we are left feeling uneasy with his performance at times, while other times we can see him looking like a normal teenager, he makes us worried about what his characters actions will be. Alex Wolff, Anne Heche and Dallas Roberts gives us great supporting performances with each one doing everything that will leave to the problems Jeffrey ends up doing.
Story – This is a story about the high school time for serial killer Jeffery Dahmer, we see how he never truly fitted in and even when he was accepted he is only ever used for a performance to entertain. This does tease that he could just be awkward, but also clearly shows how he is going down the darker path with his obsession with killing animals. Now from a show of decline in nature, this is good, but for the fact this is real you can’t help but to question this idea for a story because of what he went on to do, like always, we focus on the killer not he victims.
Biopic/Horror – This does show the early years of Jeffrey Dahmer, how he was an outsider at school, how his desires for blood went unnoticed and how he become the killer we sadly all know today.
Settings – The film is set in the same town in which Jeffrey grew up, giving the film an authentic look at his early years.
Scene of the Movie – The ending.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The animal scenes are not easy to watch
Final Thoughts –This is an interesting look at one of the most famous of all the modern day serial killers youth in America, it shows how he started off uneasy and only became more disturbing as he grew older.
Overall: Unsettling throughout.
Rating
