paulmcuomo The true life serial killer genre isn't exactly over-crowded, just more that there's fictionalised ones that take more of a forefront - Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates, Freddy Krueger all for instance - and they always portray those characters with a certain degree of appeal. However, when I was watching this movie, I was thinking of a less violent but just as emotionally wringing version of the brilliant Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, based heavily on Henry Lee Lucas.My Friend Dahmer comes at the story of Jeffery Dahmer from an interesting angle; it follows Dahmer growing up at school, following from aged 17 to his first murder at 18 - the film stops just after he picks up Steven Hicks. The story as written by John Backderf, played by Alex Wolff in the film, follows him and his various friends as they both invite Dahmer into their group to use him in various pranks, but also try and be friendly with him - or as friendly as you can be to an asocial, seemingly asexual outcast who fakes seizures to get attention.The film does have certain benefits that I would say raise it above the bar of simply "good" to great. Firstly, the cinematography is first class; there is so much boldness and colourfulness that does associate it much more with a coming-of-age film - the sharpness of colours does remind me a lot of The Spectacular Now, and that type of look helps the movie have a groundedness to it and make you almost forget you're watching a film about one of the most infamous serial killers in history. The script is full of very interesting scenarios about both the characters and the town that we're growing up in. You get to see the individual disintegration of the lives of both Dahmer's parents, which are brilliantly realised by both Dallas Roberts and Anne Heche, you get to see the conflicting dynamic between Derf and his friends over their treatment of Jeffery and how their whole lives are currently going off course.The cast is strong - small, and full of little parts that still stick with you. Alex Wolff is kind of nerdishly charming as John Backderf, who views what him and his friends are doing as harmless fun and does seem to like Dahmer, really. There's a recurrent role of a doctor played by Vincent Kartheiser who Dahmer starts to fantasise over, played with a normalcy that makes the part stand out.However, BY A MILE, the best part of this move is Ross Lynch as the young Jeffery Dahmer. The thing that makes this performance as Dahmer so interesting is that he's not an overly awkward, nerdy, introverted guy at the start of the film - he's just someone who has problems but isn't overall bad. However, as the film goes on, you see this guy growing more and more dangerously in upon himself, and the few good qualities leave him overtime - his willingness to make people laugh, his academic interests, and even his acceptance of Derf's drawings for him are completely gone over the course of the film. I won't say the film made me feel sad for him, but more despair watching someone become more and more lost than anything else.From his graduation towards the end of the film, when he literally left entirely alone by his family, just left with a bottle of Vodka, the film's tone shifts from amusing to soulless, and it's a tone that Ross Lynch fully embraces, through an unbelievably tense scene with Derf, to the brilliant final scene where he picks up hitchhiker Steven Hicks, that felt me very emotionally shook. I really liked this film, a lot. It shows a great showcase of acting from Ross Lynch, who looks more than capable of shedding his Disney Channel image, and also Marc Meyers for directing such good material.

andieiscritical I would personally not call this a horror movie, more of a drama and biographic movie, but with quite a lot of suspense. I watched the movie before I read the graphic novel but I was mesmerized on how accurate the book was transformed into the movie, mainly with locations and the personalities of the characters. Most of the characters are well developed both in the book and the movie, the problems are a few characters in the movie which are just thrown in, they don't really fill a purpose, only taking attention from the actually important characters and the storyline. Of course theses characters with no follow ups could be a product of the modern days director's fear of making movies too long but rather a well developed story which are a few minutes longer than a short movie with a chopped up story.The look of the movie is exceptional though. I really enjoyed the 70's aesthetic of the movie, with a few exceptions such as the pen and car mistakes which are mentioned in Goofs part in the Did You Know? section here on IMDb. But the over all look is really, really great. The sound was very well mixed and the lightning was for the most parts really well lit and suited the scene, on a few occasions the scenes were a bit dark but also had many scenes with really great lightning. The characters are, as mentioned earlier, for the most part really well developed. The main characters are amazingly portrayed by the actors and they do a really good job at transferring the characters in the book into the movie. On of the scenes which struck me the most is the scene when Dahmer and Dave are watching TV. And their personalities are very well mirrored in their movements and facial expressions. Over all I would definitely recommend this movie to someone who would be interested in the back story of Jeffrey Dahmer's cruel crimes. I would recommend the graphic novel over the movie though to someone who is interested in a story which values the actual occurrences rather than a story which values entertainment. The movie is still following the graphic novel pretty closely though, it is a good movie but it is not a horror movie.

Asif Khan (asifahsankhan) At first glance, Marc Meyers' My Friend Dahmer looks like another serial killer movie playing into our morbid fascination with these incomprehensible figures. Set during the months leading up to notorious killer Jeffrey Dahmer's first murder, the film seems to promise an 'explanation' for his actions.Sure enough, Meyers faithfully reproduces known details of Dahmer's youth, in what can feel like little more than an adaptation of the 'early life' section of his Wikipedia profile. Raised by a mother with mental health issues and a father who did the best he could, Dahmer was unpopular at school, an awkward teen who chose to dissect roadkill rather than socialise with his classmates.Things get more interesting when Dahmer abruptly finds himself with three new friends, including the easy-going John Backderf (played by the transcendent Alex Wolff), the boy who went on to write a graphic novel upon which the film is based. Far from pursuing sordid fame with juicy stories about the killer's youth, Backderf's work is animated by a need to grapple with a nagging sense of remorse: did his treatment of Dahmer contribute to his becoming a killer? Was there anything he could have done to stop him?Dahmer's new friends do not appear in a particularly positive light. Their interest in him does not stem from genuine concern or sympathy. Rather, the weirdo attracts their attention when he simulates cerebral palsy in class, a disturbing joke which the kids latch onto as a last rebellious prank before college. They soon nickname this type of class-time disruption as 'doing a Dahmer.'Following the boy, we are powerless witnesses to his frustration when he ultimately fails to get the sympathy he craves. His friends push the joke too far and then abandon him, and Dahmer's sense of alienation is a deeply relatable example of adolescent emotion. We've all felt how sadness can take on an existential dimension in the summer months, and when Jeffrey finds himself home alone in the middle of a warm afternoon while everyone else is preparing for graduation with their family, it is difficult not to feel his heartbreak.But empathy has its limits. When Dahmer decides to turn his resentment into violence - and it is presented as a decision, not an impulse - we cannot follow him there. The pain we felt for his hopelessness becomes the sorrow of knowing that a kind word or gesture might have delayed his crimes, but not stopped them.This profound sadness is the bedrock of a growing sense of fear, which reaches fever pitch intensity in an impressively executed set piece near the end of the film. After not speaking to him for weeks, Backderf offers Dahmer a ride back to his house, one last encounter before he goes to college and forever out of his friend's life. Almost unbearably terrifying, the confrontation restores to Dahmer the stomach-churning dread and misery that reading about serial killers often induces, but watching movies about them rarely does.Although My Friend Dahmer does not resolve the impossible question of 'nature vs nurture', it approaches it with a humanity that is too often missing from such stories.

jkresak101 I've always have been interested in serial killers and true crime. I've never really dove into Dahmer as much as every one else. This film though close to boring, was interesting enough to keep my attention. I liked the back story to the killer, the shots and acting were both beautiful. I would only recommend to true, true crime fans.