My Friend Dahmer

2017 • 107 minutes

About this movie

Disney’s Ross Lynch stars as the awkward, adolescent Jeffrey Dahmer – before he became one of America’s most infamous serial killers. Based on the acclaimed graphic novel, this is the haunting, sad, funny, true story of Dahmer in high school.

Ratings and reviews

Wow, I had very low expectations for this film. Alot of movies like this are extremely bland, and give no insight into the mind of the killer. However, in this film it almost made you route for the serial killer as you almost sympathize for his roller coaster of an awful life. Than towards the end your like, "Annnnd this is why you shouldn't be all sappy over a serial killer". I also think that Ross Lynchs performance was incredible, and really was the cherry on top of a really strange creepy movie. The only reason I rated this 4 instead of 5 is because some parts were slower than I would have hoped

A brooding look at the adolescence of a serial killer from someone who knew him first-hand. Slow-paced and sad. I read that the filmmaker asks himself what people could have picked up on and helped Dahmer with in his mental illness. If the old classmate's memories are true, there were many signs. The 1970's background is perfect. They captured the spirit of the decade as well as the dress sense. There is a prom scene that channels Carrie in the reverse for me. You need to watch it to see what I mean.

Spooky and chilling, this drama humanizes the notorious serial killer as a lonely young man with strange sense of humor and a kind of eccentric bravery while also revealing his early obsession with dead animals, his struggles with his homosexuality and the severity of Dahmer's alcoholism before even having graduated high school. Aside from having a mentally ill mother though nothing in this movie really indicates why he started killing - no weird beatings, rapes, ritualistic abuse, head injuries ...I was expecting more clues tbh. I would guess that the military was what screwed him up but it's made clear that Dahmer's first victim was murdered while the serial killer still lived at his parent's home in the suburbs. I just have more questions.