“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is another product of Netflix detailing the story of a real-life serial killer and cannibal, Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer was convicted in 1991 for the murders of 17 men and young teenagers. Since then, Dahmer has been labeled as one of America’s most notorious serial killers who has garnered attention even after his death. His crimes have created lengthy amounts of multimedia projects from entertainment companies, continuously failing to tell the stories of the victims, including Netflix’s new show.
Evan Peters, known for portraying disturbing characters such as Tate from “American Horror Story,” brings Dahmer back to life in an unsettling manner. Peters does an excellent job of playing the passive and detached serial killer who preyed on young men in the POC community. His portrayal does deserve praise for his acting abilities and dedication to the role, yet it’s disappointing to applaud him over a show that misleads its viewers.
The show is well-directed, including smooth transitions that evoke the pain and suffering many victims and their families underwent. Its daunting soundtrack vibrates in low, ominous hums, elevating the tension between every scene Dahmer is in. Glenda Cleveland (Niecy Nash) who was Dahmer’s neighbor for the duration of his murders, is depicted hearing every faint sound and tortured cries of victims losing their lives a few feet away from her door. Flashing back to these sounds and Cleveland revealing her story to Reverend Jesse Jackson (Nigel Gibbs) creates a gut-wrenching feeling of sorrow for Cleveland who was an implicit witness to Dahmer’s crimes.
The series first explores Dahmer’s adolescent life while living in a tumultuous household of endless parental fights. Seeing his on-screen character being rejected by high school classmates and eventual abandonment by his mother feels like a cheap attempt to humanize Dahmer. It is interesting to see the backstory of a killer’s “origin story” and how the actor taking on the role represents it on-screen, but the show lacks depth in representing POC communities who suffered an onslaught of injustice because of one man and his privileges.
One of the few victims to receive an episode dedicated to their life was 31-year-old Anthony “Tony” Hughes (Rodney Burford). Hughes, who was mute and non-vocal, aspired to be a model after moving to Madison, Wisconsin to begin his future. Visiting his loving family while also beginning his modeling career, Hughes went out into the world despite having a disability that many during the time discriminated against. His episode, “Silenced,” shows how Hughes excelled in life with his positive view of the world and charismatic nature— that is, for the first 18 minutes. Dahmer is quickly placed into Hughes’ episode as if his screen time were insufficient for the past five episodes.
Rita Isbell, sister of Errol Lindsey who was killed by Dahmer in 1991, said “The episode with me was the only part I saw. I didn’t watch the whole show. I don’t need to watch it. I lived it. I know exactly what happened” from an interview with Insider. At a certain point, the show seems that it is trying to enlighten audiences’ view of the impacted families, but every episode revolves around Dahmer. We get to see him grow up, and how he explores his youthful freedom while the victims are hidden away until it is time to insert them into a gruesome or sad scene.
Even when the victims are put on screen, their stories remain unknown. We don’t know who these victims were or what their families were like. The scenes where victims are shown either depict their deaths or minutes before they are killed. The subtitles on the show also lack the name of the victims, resulting in many of them being labeled as just “Man” with a number on the side. All that is shown about the victims is that they were young men from minority communities whose lives were unjustly ripped away, and unfortunately, misrepresented in popular media.
Verdict: “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is binge-worthy, well-directed and contains praiseworthy acting with exemplary shots of Evan Peters in his most grisly role. Despite that, the series lacks attention to the victims whose stories are the only ones worth being told and resulted in the revival of pain that was unnecessary.
