Hmmm. How can I start this review? Well, I have always been intrigued with the way people think and how it contributes to their actions, so naturally I would be curious with the way a serial killer thinks and looks – they all seem to have a certain look. Don’t they? So, when “The Jeffrey Dahmer Files” was put on my desk, I of course jumped at the opportunity to write this review and couldn’t wait to get home to watch the DVD.
The movie was not what I expected; it is far from gory and maybe slow at times. The film is an independent film, but aside from that it still looked VERY low budget, but that may be the look the director was going for. I enjoyed watching neighbor Pamela Bass and Detective Patrick Kennedy, they are very interesting and kept me glued to the movie; however the same could not be said for Andrew Swant, the actor portraying Dahmer. Swant, playing Dahmer, basically kept running around, never saying too much – but always paying for stuff with checks. This made me curious was there a connection with Dahmer only using checks or maybe I was trying to pull more from this creepy re-enactment. Jeffrey Jentzen, the medical examiner assigned to the case is a subject also interviewed in the film.
If you’re looking to learn about the gory details, or see pics of his victims, this is not the movie for you. Director Chris James Thompson leaves the victims at peace and with dignity by not exploiting them again, instead he focuses on the community and how Dahmer took advantage of the community and used it as an opportunity to feed his desire to kill and go undetected while he worked on creating a zombie that he could use for sex.
In this film you will feel terrible for the community after the authorities decided to demolish the apartment buildings where Dahmer lived and also murdered his victims. As a result the neighbors lost their homes and they had to leave. My stomach curled as neighbor Pam spoke about how she would sit with Jeff and drink beers and share a sandwich with him, only to find out she too may have eaten some of his victims. While in jail he requested to see Pam but she refused, she said she felt used and violated; however the night she heard of his death and as everyone around her were cheering, she actually cried.
Detective Kennedy made a connection with Dahmer and even dressed him for his hearing. The relationship the Detective Kennedy built with Dahmer was really interesting, but at the same time I wondered if Detective Kennedy used Dahmer to catapult his career.
All being said, on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest, I would give “The Dahmer Files” a 2.5, mainly for its sometimes slow pace.
The Jeffrey Dahmer Files opened February 15th, 2013 at the IFC Center, NY, available nationwide on VOD on February 15th, 2013, and opening in LA at the Downtown Independent February 22nd, 2013