The obsession with serial-killer biopics has typically been relegated to flimsy Lifetime movies and straight-to-video bargain bin productions. My Friend Dahmer, while it may find itself in the VOD realm, looks to be something of higher quality and more chilling atmosphere than any of those disposable movies.
Ross Lynch steps out of Disney Channel stardom and right into the role of a teenage Jeffrey Dahmer, who would grow up to kill and partially eat 17 victims in Wisconsin. This attempts to explore his early years, his troubled home life, and his struggle to find friendships. Check out this trailer:
“Jeff Dahmer is an awkward teenager struggling to make it through high school with a family life in ruins. He collects roadkill, fixates on a neighborhood jogger (Vincent Kartheiser), and copes with his unstable mother (Heche) and well-intentioned father (Roberts). He begins to act out at school, and his goofball antics win over a group of band nerds who form The Dahmer Fan Club, headed by Derf Backderf (Alex Wolff). But this camaraderie can’t mask his growing depravity. Approaching graduation, Jeff spirals further out of control, inching ever closer to madness.”
This won’t find the multiplexes alongside Justice League and Thor when it opens in November, but for fans of the macabre – and fans of Dallas Robert and Anne Heche (right here) – My Friend Dahmer will be worth your time.
