Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story - Season 1

The limited series Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has been on Netflix since last September. Although successful, this thriller series was also quite controversial.Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (hereafter simply Dahmer, which makes a big difference in the number of words) is based on the life of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. That's where the controversy comes from. Some people felt that the series was more concerned with romanticizing the figure of Dahmer rather than focusing on his fifteen victims, some of whom were also children. Some thought it was impossible that the series would be made at all because it would be too painful for the relatives of the victims. Others took issue with the fact that the creators of the series, including creator Ryan Murphy (Ratched), had given themselves the freedom to exaggerate or completely change certain events in the interest of the series. As a result, the actual (horrific) events would no longer be correct and injustice would have been done to the victims. There is something to be said for all these reasons.

In order to understand exactly what went on in Dahmer's head, it is important to show how his history, from childhood to adulthood, works

But is a controversial series necessarily a bad series? In the case of Dahmer, I can only conclude that this is not the case. The series is exciting and binge-worthy, especially now that the fall season is approaching. Dahmer also has a very good cast, led by Evan Peters (Mare of Easttown) as the main character, and the series is excellently written, directed, and filmed. That makes Dahmer a very watchable series. Peters is great in his murderous role, which is never really romanticized, in my opinion.



When Dahmer is finally arrested, convicted and sent to prison, he receives letters and even love messages from 'fans'. Strange as this may seem, this really was the case at the time of his imprisonment, and (love) letters are very often written by many people who see a kind of 'hero' in a serial killer and make him or her extremely popular with this. Then as a director, you can also just show this in a series, I think.

In addition to focusing only on Dahmer, there is certainly room for others to excel as well

In addition to focusing only on Dahmer, there is certainly room for others to excel as well. Not all fifteen victims, of course, that's just too many. But one emotional episode focuses on one of Dahmer's victims, the deaf and extremely friendly and positive Tony. When Dahmer finally takes the life of this charming boy, while he does seem to have feelings for Tony, you feel this in every fiber of your body and hate Dahmer to the bone. So Jeffrey Dahmer is not portrayed at all as a man you could possibly admire or sympathize with, quite the contrary.



Besides Evan Peters and Rodney Burford in his acting debut as Tony, the rest of the actors are also well cast and play their parts very well. Badass Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) plays Dahmer's father, a man who is genuinely confused and shocked when officers inform him of what his son has been up to over the years. He blames everyone and everything for Jeffrey's beastly behavior at one point and eventually ends up blaming himself. It's no one's fault, except Dahmer's, of course.

Dahmer is a fierce series, that much is clear. Some scenes go far and can be shocking, but not something that has not been seen before in other series. I forgive them that certain events have been changed or made up by the directors. This is not a documentary, this is fiction and based only on a real character and a true story. I do not share the opinion that this kind of series should no longer be made. In the past and still today countless films and series have been made, books written and songs released that are in one way or another based on true characters or (emotional) events. Moreover, it is not a recent event, but it took place in the early nineties, so more than thirty years ago.

There will undoubtedly be relatives in the US who find this painful to watch or to be confronted with, something I can very well understand. I, therefore, hope that these people receive good guidance with this. But I think banning this kind of series is going a step too far. Dahmer, the series and certainly not the person, gets an 8.5 from me because, again, from a qualitative point of view, it is simply an excellent watch.