Dahmer (2002)

Director:

David Jacobson

Writer:

David Jacobson (written by)

Release Date:

13 March 2003 (Sweden)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The mind is a place of its own.

Plot:

Based on the true crime story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, this movie tells the emotionally riveting story of a man who turned his darkest fantasies into a horrifying reality. |

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Grandmother Grandson Relationship | Dumb Bell | Red Light | Clothing Store

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Renner	...	Jeffrey Dahmer
Bruce Davison	...	Lionel Dahmer
Artel Great	...	Rodney (as Artel Kayàru)
Matt Newton	...	Lance Bell
Dion Basco	...	Khamtay
Kate Williamson	...	Grandma
Christina Payano	...	Letitia
Tom'ya Bowden	...	Shawna
Sean Blakemore	...	Corliss
Mickey Swenson	...	Officer Phillips
Julius Branca	...	Officer Powell
Pierson Blaetz	...	Officer Martin
Vincent Zangari	...	Ohio Officer
Xavier Lawrence	...	Young Man in Bar
David Manis	...	Shop Steward

Also Known As:

The Mind Is a Place of Its Own (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for aberrant violence, sexuality, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:R | Canada:18A | Germany:18 | Norway:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38948)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Blockbuster Films

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The film depicts Milwaukee Police in a black and white car. Milwaukee police at that time drove solid white cars and did not go to black and white until 2008.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Title Card: On February 15, 1992 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was convicted of 15 counts of murder and sentenced to 937 years of federal prison. The following story was inspired by events from his life. Certain characters and events are fictional.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You're Movin' Me

It was NOT boring

I did hear a lot of bad buzz about this movie; mainly people were complaining that it was boring. The movie starts out with Jeffrey living alone in his apartment ready to kill his next victim, an Asian boy and meeting another one at the same time, Rodney. We get many flashbacks of when he was young and when he committed his first murder.

So was it boring? Hell No! Well for me it was never boring because from the beginning we are captivated by this lonely and troubled man. The reason behind this was due to Jeremy Renner's real and absorbing portrayal that should stand out as one of the best performances of 2002. Another reason it was never boring was because of its catchy dialogue. Jeffrey had some really though provoking things to say. The best conversations were between Jeffrey and Rodney who was played by Artel Kayaru. He was magnetic and he gave the second best performance.

People who thought that this movie was boring were probably expecting more scenes of Jeff killing all his victims. We don't see all of the crimes and that's because this film was more of a character study than a gore infested horror film. There were some creepy and disturbing scenes but nothing intensely frightening. Only one particular scene that caught me by surprise---oh,that really freaked me out. Great scene, I loved it because it didn't have any music and it was very well directed. It's really weird to feel sorry and be moved by a killer and it's the first time I ever felt that way.