Jeff

2012

1h 16m

Documentary

List

65%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

41%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Filmmaker Chris James Thompson uses archival footage and fictionalized scenarios to tell the story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer as seen by a detective, the lead pathologist and Dahmer's neighbor.

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Audience Member

A poorly-put-together combination of talking heads and cheap re-enactments that offer no real insight into the mind of a serial killer, basically telling what many of us already know and not being that interesting for those who know nothing about the case.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Lackluster reenactments with many anachronisms- e.g., nobody had their ears dilated in 1990. Dahmer was the only one doing body modifications in Milwaukee back then. Oof

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

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Audience Member

presentation was awful. neat to hear about the lady that lived acrossed from him.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

This is the worst documentary ever created. The interludes that are recreations make no sense and I'm more scared of the detective than the cannibal.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

Could have been interesting. Does reenactments of various parts of Dahmer's day to day life which really don't add anything to the story but are just filler. The interviewees aren't that interesting, which pretty much can derail any documentary. The neighbor, detective, and scientist don't add any interesting tidbits, just do a very basic overview of the case. I could read Wikipedia on Dahmer and get more information in a fraction of the time. That's not good for a documentary.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Audience Member

Dull, uninsightful. I hate coming down on it because of the interviews with real people, but there are too few interviews, the presentation is awful, but worst of all there is no insight in this documentary. It's not even creepy despite the horrific material. How did they make Dahmer boring!?

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Rene Rodriguez

Miami Herald

Pulls off the seemingly impossible feat of making this horrific crime seem dull.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 22, 2013

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David Lewis

San Francisco Chronicle

Different - and chillingly effective.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 28, 2013

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Mark Olsen

Los Angeles Times

Mesmerizing and haunting, "The Jeffrey Dahmer Files" is an inside-out serial killer movie, lacking in gore or cheap psychology and made in part for those who think they never want to see another serial killer movie.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 22, 2013

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Jason Buchanan

TV Guide

Thompson does a commendable job of making his points without overstaying his welcome. Given a bigger budget and better resources, it would be very interesting to see his take on some other controversial cases.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 11, 2014

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Rebecca Onion

Austin American-Statesman

This approach to a true-crime documentary departs significantly from the sensational, and is all the more moving because of it.

Jul 11, 2014

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Scott Weinberg

ScreenAnarchy

While Jeff is certainly no ray of sunshine, it is a strong example of how you can still find the truth in a story that everyone knows by now.

Jul 11, 2014

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Chris James Thompson uses archival footage and fictionalized scenarios to tell the story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer as seen by a detective, the lead pathologist and Dahmer's neighbor.

Director: Chris James Thompson
Producer: Barry Poltermann, Chris Smith
Screenwriter: Chris James Thompson, Andrew Swant, Joe Riepenhoff
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 27, 2016
Runtime: 1h 16m

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