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Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Review

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is a biographical crime drama limited series created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan and starring Evan Peters in the titular role. All ten episodes were released on Netflix in 2022.

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“I want to hear your heart ’cause I’m gonna eat it“

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Jeffrey Dahmer was one of the most notorious American serial killers, certainly one of the worst who targeted gay men. From 1978 until 1991 he killed seventeen boys and young men. There is an obvious connection between Ryan Murphy and this project. He is a gay man himself and a creator of horror/thriller shows, so it was only fitting that he would take on this project. The end result is one of his best and most memorable works.

There has been a lot of discussion about the show’s supposed “exploitation” with critics going so far as to proclaim that the series somewhat glorifies the man and his actions. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. It’s one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated of recent shows as it is first and foremost meant to be homage to all the victims.

You’d think that a show that honors black gay (and one deaf) victims would be more respected in today’s political climate, but you’d be mistaken as Murphy’s shows often get neglected even when he is operating at his fullest capacities. Here, he outdid himself with a few caveats that I will touch upon later. Yes, the show is very dark and disgusting, but it’s also nowhere near as brutal as it could have been as thankfully the camera pans away from the worst actions that Dahmer did. Had they showed that, the show would frankly be unwatchable, but thankfully they didn’t.

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In what was the best move by the creators, the show honored the victims by mostly focusing on their experiences and the experiences of the survivors and the neighbors who went through all those horrendous crimes. Two standout arcs emerged from this approach. One is the story of Tony Hughes, a deaf guy who was very positive in his outlook on life, thus his death felt even more tragic. Dahmer had more of a relationship with him than with others, so this death really hurt. This episode was told from his perspective, so it was particularly powerful in that regard.

Another highlight is Glenda, who is a fusion of a couple of different women who were Dahmer’s neighbors. Niecy Nash was amazing in this role and Glenda’s story is deeply heartfelt. The main strength of the show was its emphasis on police inadequacy in handling this case and how their homophobia and racism helped Dahmer prolong his kills as otherwise he could have been caught much earlier. It’s one of the biggest travesties of the police system in America and it shows just how vulnerable these minorities once were and still are to a degree.

This urgent, activist tone really worked for Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. It made it more emotionally powerful and more sophisticated than if it had been just a regular psychological thriller. Structurally, the show is very interesting as it was told in a disconnected manner, which really worked as this approach made it more unique and more unpredictable for those who already know this real-life story such as myself.

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The only problem with the structure arrived in that final stretch with the last three episodes being way too slow in pace as suddenly the series lost all momentum. The courtroom drama elements and the family stuff worked for sure, but this easily could have all been trimmed to one episode instead of three.

Evan Peters was brilliant as Jeffrey Dahmer. He clearly studied his mannerisms and accent from his interviews, but he also excelled at those conflicted emotions and at just being straight-up menacing and disturbing. He has always been a good actor, but it is this role that should elevate him as an actor as he showed some genuine acting prowess on this show.

I appreciated that the show did not excuse his behavior on his troubled family life, though we do get a glimpse into his parents’ stories, especially his father, who was this weak man who would stop at nothing to protect his son. Richard Jenkins was terrific as this highly unlikable, extremely problematic man.

The editing is absolutely fantastic as is the cinematography. The series was filmed in a very cinematic, artistic manner with the editing techniques being particularly strong as the creators really knew when to focus on something and when to pull away, especially in the much better first half of its run. The show is very intense in those horrific sequences and it’s particularly adept at sophisticated, realistic dialogue. I just wish that the conclusion were stronger.

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