10 Films Based On Real Life Serial KIllers

7. Dahmer (2002)

11.03.2013dahmer 1 Jeffrey Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender. He murdered 17 men and boys between 1978-1991. His murders involved rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism. In 1994, Dahmer was beaten to death by a fellow inmate in jail. Jeremy Renner is a fantastic Jeffrey Dahmer. The film focuses on a couple of key points in Dahmer's life and it is more of a psychological study of the man than a chronological sequence of events in his life. There are only two kill scenes in the movie and they are quite restrained. We see Dahmer interacting with family in a disconnected manner, drinking lots of alcohol throughout the movie, trying to come to terms with his homosexuality. We get a sense of Dahmer's alienation and shyness along with his desperate desire for intimacy. The film doesn't focus on necrophile-cannibal-pervert killer Dahmer. It focuses on Dahmer the emotional human being. This could be disgusting and offensive to the relatives of Dahmer's victims but it makes a change from chop happy serial killers that are usually portrayed on the screen.
 
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Contributor

My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!