Dahmer (film)

Dahmer
Original movie poster
Directed by	David Jacobson
Written by	David Jacobson
Produced by	Larry Ratner
Starring	Jeremy Renner Bruce Davison Artel Kayàru Matt Newton
Cinematography	Chris Manley
Edited by	Bipasha Shom
Music by	Christina Agamanolis Mariana Bernoski Willow Williamson
Production companies	Blockbuster Films DEJ Productions Two Left Shoes Films
Distributed by	Peninsula Films
Release date	June 21, 2002 (2002-06-21)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$250,000
Box office	$144,008

Dahmer is a 2002 American biographical true crime horror film directed by David Jacobson. It stars Jeremy Renner as Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial killer in Wisconsin. There are two timelines in the film. The "present" runs in ordinary chronological order covering the period of one-to-two days; the flashbacks are in reverse order, as Dahmer is seen as successively younger until the film arrives at his first murder and the aftermath.

Plot

Jeffrey Dahmer is a shy and socially awkward man in metropolitan Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Troubled by a turbulent childhood and his religious father's denial of his homosexuality, Dahmer lures attractive young men at home, where he conducts experiments and kills them, trying to create a living zombie who will never leave or judge him.

Flashback to Dahmer's past revealed that he killed his first victim, a hitchhiker he picked up in his hometown of Bath, Ohio, when he was a teenager. The flashbacks also reveal his troubled relationship with his father and Jeffrey's alcoholism. In the present, he rationalizes his crimes in Milwaukee over the divorce of his parents and his emotionally isolated childhood. Dahmer keeps inviting men home from bars and clubs, then he rapes and kills them.

Jeffrey invites a young man named Rodney, intended to murder him, but as the night goes on and the conversations get more personal, Jeffrey is faced with an emotional crisis. Rodney confesses his romantic feelings for Jeffrey, but finds him evasive. During the course of their evening together, Jeffrey nearly strangles Rodney with a belt, but Rodney escapes from the apartment. The film ends with a flashback to Jeffrey as a teenager, going to a therapy session at his father's behest; when he arrives at the therapist's office, however, he turns away from the door and walks off into the woods. A title card then explains that Dahmer was found guilty of murdering 17 men, and killed in prison.

Cast

The real-life counterpart to the fictional victim is in parentheses

• Jeremy Renner as Jeffrey Dahmer
• Bruce Davison as Lionel Dahmer
• Artel Kayàru as Rodney (Tracy Edwards)
• Matt Newton as Lance Bell (Stephen Hicks)
• Dion Basco as Khamtay (Konerak Sinthasomphone)
• Kate Williamson as Grandma Dahmer
• Christian Payano as Letitia
• Tom'ya Bowden as Shawna
• Sean Blakemore as Corliss

Production

The film was promoted using the longer title "Dahmer: The Mind is a Place of its Own" but shortened to Dahmer in most cases.

Although the script recreates actual events, the names are changed out of respect for Dahmer's victims. In reality, the escapee who led to Dahmer's capture was Tracy Edwards, portrayed by Artel Kayàru as Rodney, and Dahmer's first victim was Stephen Hicks, portrayed in the film by Matt Newton as Lance Bell. Production took place in Los Angeles, with one scene in Milwaukee. The mask special effects were created by Christien Tinsley and Kelley Mitchell, who were involved two years later in the makeup for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.

Reception

Box office

Dahmer began a limited release in the United States on June 21, 2002, opening in two theaters and grossing $16,093 during its first weekend. The film later expanded its release to five theaters, and remained in theatrical distribution for 27 weeks. By the conclusion of its run, it had grossed a total of $144,008 domestically.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 69% based on reviews from 39 critics. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 63 out of 100, based on reviews from 18 critics.

Stephen Holden of The New York Times gave the film a mixed review, praising Renner's performance and the supporting roles, but saying the film "falls headlong into the trap of imagining that it can somehow rationalize the monstrous." Robert Koehler of Variety wrote: "Jacobson produces a remarkably creepy piece of cinema that disturbs by suggestion, nuance and ambiguity." Carla Meyer of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film a middling review, writing, "Filmmaker David Jacobson doesn't seem to know where to go with his version. He approaches crass exploitation by juxtaposing scenes of carnage with shots of chocolate spilling into a vat (Dahmer worked in a candy factory). Other moments carry real suspense and emotional weight." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praised Renner's performance, stating that he "imbues Jeffrey Dahmer with a very solemn desolation that looks just enough like "normal" pain to let you in on the way that this repressed, lonely freak could pass himself off as just another sad-eyed outcast."

Shawn Levy of The Oregonian gave the film a positive review, noting, "Writer-director David Jacobson and his star, Jeremy Renner, have made a remarkable film that explores the monster's psychology not in order to excuse him but rather to demonstrate that his pathology evolved from human impulses that grew hideously twisted."

Accolades

Institution	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Independent Spirit Awards	Best Male Lead	Jeremy Renner	Nominated
	Best Newcomer	Artel Kayàru	Nominated
	John Cassavetes Award	David Jacobson	Nominated

Legacy

Kathryn Bigelow said that she cast Renner in The Hurt Locker because of his performance in Dahmer.

External links

• Dahmer at IMDb
• Dahmer at Box Office Mojo