Dahmer

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Dahmer

R

Released Jun 21, 2002

1h 40m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

73%

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41 Reviews

40%

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5,000+ Ratings

In this fictionalized, fragmented biopic of one of America's most notorious serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer (Jeremy Renner) contemplates his latest potential victim, a young man named Rodney (Artel Kayaru). As Dahmer considers the fate of his prey, we see flashbacks to the events that led to the evolution of a monster, from Dahmer's tortured relationship with his father (Bruce Davison), to his first kill, to his patrolling of the gay bars of Milwaukee.

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Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

It's a hellish, numbing experience to watch, and it doesn't offer any insights that haven't been thoroughly debated in the media already, back in the Dahmer heyday of the mid-'90s.

Rated: 1.5/4

Aug 9, 2002

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Tom Sime

Dallas Morning News

Renner's performance as Dahmer is unforgettable, deeply absorbing.

Rated: B

Aug 8, 2002

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Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

Less the sensational true-crime hell-jaunt purists might like and more experimental in its storytelling (though no less horrifying for it).

Rated: 3/5

Jul 28, 2002

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Joe Lipsett

Murder Made Fiction Podcast - Bloody Disgusting

A rough, hard watch about one of the scariest killers in the queer community, Dahmer is worth checking out for Renner's rich and complex performance alone.

Jul 1, 2022

Full Review

Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

Struggles a bit in the narrative department but Renner's career-best performance grounds the film, offering a unique take on one of the world's most notorious serial killers.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jun 21, 2022

Full Review

C.H. Newell

Father Son Holy Gore

More powerful than most give it credit for, and if this was your first time seeing Jeremy Renner, the quiet intensity of his performance is a massive part of that power.

Rated: 4.5/5

May 7, 2019

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Christian C

Seeing people reference other (fictional) depictions of Jeff Dahmer’s life as an indicator that *this* fictional portrayal is less accurate is painfully typical. This is - by far - the most accurate and least distracted portrayal of him, showing him as more than just a topic of debate or a series of personality traits come to life like an automaton. The decision to try to “avoid showing the series through Jeff’s eyes” - but then doing that exact thing - is one of the major flaws of the Evan Peters depiction. This was much cleaner and much less fixated on paraphilia and deviation than the other, more sensationalized depictions. That alone made it a better and more telling watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/04/24

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Tyler S

Thought they missed pretty big here. I knew a decent amount about Jeffrey Dahmer after watching the film from 2017 and the series with Evan Peters. So i came into this expecting to see the same stuff but maybe told in a different fashion. I did not get that. This did not feel like a Jeffrey Dahmer story at all. Just a film about people guessing what happened. Plus, it just felt very slow and the sequence of events were super jumbled. Even some of the acting was mid at best. Definitely my least favorite of the Jeffrey Dahmer projects I've seen.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

07/24/24

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Timothy T

Jeremy Renner gives a creepishly good performance as Dahmer.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/23/24

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B P

A story which fails to rise above its disgusting source material.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/28/23

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Sarah D

Renner does a pretty good job of coming off as the sick, pathetic thing that Dahmer was but just too sickeningly creepy for me. I gave it 3 stars only because I thought Renner did a pretty good job.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/06/23

Full Review

Jason M

Excellent depiction! This is an important topic, near and dear to my heart. It is difficult for people to understand the mindset. From the normal viewpoint outside, there is no ability to understand the psyche. 4-star rating - lost one star due to the eating - that wasn't necessary. -Andrew

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/20/23

Full Review

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David Jacobson

Director

Jeremy Renner

Jeffrey Dahmer

Bruce Davison

Lionel Dahmer

Artel Great

Rodney

Matt Newton

Lance Bell

Dionysio Basco

Khamtay

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Synopsis

In this fictionalized, fragmented biopic of one of America's most notorious serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer (Jeremy Renner) contemplates his latest potential victim, a young man named Rodney (Artel Kayaru). As Dahmer considers the fate of his prey, we see flashbacks to the events that led to the evolution of a monster, from Dahmer's tortured relationship with his father (Bruce Davison), to his first kill, to his patrolling of the gay bars of Milwaukee.

Director: David Jacobson
Producer: Larry Rattner
Screenwriter: David Jacobson
Production Co: DEJ Productions, Two Left Shoes Films, Peninsula Films
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 21, 2002, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 20, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $71.5K
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Surround

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