Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)

[The2Omicronnies]

Has anyone started watching this? I’ve just watched the first episode and found it utterly chilling. It’s been a long time since a TV show has impacted me so much; I felt myself physically recoiling. Excellent acting from both the chap playing Dahmer, and his victim, Tracey.

Also lolling at those having to turn it off. What were you expecting? It's not going to give the same vibes as little house on the prairie

It's also not gory and there's no jump scares

We are loving it! 5 episodes in. Superb acting....highlights how many lives could have been saved if police had acted.

Yes, there's a lot of emphasis on this as the series goes on, looking at how the hell this was allowed to continue despite several warnings. The absolute racism and homophobia and complete lack of protection that black and brown people and gay men had. It's an interesting angle. I hadn't realised that JD targeted black communities so that was interesting (and shocking) to learn.

JD deserves no credit whatsoever, he was a damaged individual who was shaped by many factors. Inherently evil? I don't know that anyone is, but certainly he was made evil. He admitted that he's to blame for what he did - not his parents, not society, not pornography etc. And it sounds like, once he was arrested, he told police everything, including where to find the remains unlike some offenders who hold onto power by refusing to disclose that information. I suppose we wouldn't know half the details of what happened to his victims if he hadn't disclosed them. That's not an attempt to give him credit, just saying it like it is. Though it must be awful to have a family member's story told from the mouth of their killer.

For those who want to watch but turned off at the first episode: it is, by far the worse (imo). Eps 2+3 are heavy but don't have as much of the ominous, claustrophic feeling of Ep 1.

After that, for the most part, you're into snippets of everyone's childhoods and the impact of the murders on the families and other people in the community. Still as harrowing, but without the feeling of dread the first episode conjurs up.

I struggled with the first couple of episodes but it got easier to watch.

For those lolling, I am reminded of a conversation I often have with a friend of mine: we both watch horror but are both kept awake by totally different things. She cannot stomach anything with possession or religious iconography which I personally don't find at all troubling. I was disturbed by the first episode of Dahmer because I struggle with the terror of knowing death is coming and not being able to do anthing about it. And of 'safety' being just a few feet away on the other side of a door.

I think it is just different things hit different people in different ways.

I completely agree LadyFromage. I'm similar to your friend about possession and religious iconography, in fact, you reminded me that I had to mute Dahmer when it showed him watching The Exorcist.

I don't "lol" at people who are uncomfortable with it, but I do question what they were expecting when tuning inti a classified 18 dramatisation of a serial killer whose horrific actions are widely known about.

Unbelievable how quickly Glenda's daughter was arrested for the camera, as a privileged white boy complained about her.
And yet Glenda's own complaints were ignored time and time again

Omg this drove me CRAZY.

Glenda called the police a hundred times because there was a man chopping up bodies and noone came but her daughter smashes a white boys camera and she's arrested same day?!

I wonder what the man who escaped thought of the portrayal of himself, Tracy.

I watched the real court video last night. He says he isn't gay he just needed the money Dahmer offered for photos, he didn't say anything about Dahmer actually taking photos of him... It seems they never got round to that (but the series have him seductively posing) , he didn't mention trying to kiss him or seduce him to distract him, he says he just tried to talk to him as a friend.

He was a very 'straight appearing /talking' male.

I wonder if he's upset being cast as a very effeminate 'out' male.

He also said Dahmer repeatedly 'zoned out and Chanted'... I wonder why they left that out? I think that would have been an incredibly scary element!

@Iggyp those two points are very interesting. In the first instance, it was part of my worry with this series, creative choices made in a drama (and truly great dramas will usually make these liberally to help the flow of the narrative) could end up framing the lives and behaviours of the living in very different but potentially life changing ways.

In the second instance I agree this chanting element feels both scary, and therefore contributing to the feel they are presumably going for, and potentially an intriguing reflection on a sort of pseudo religious motivation. In the real life interviews Dahmer does talk about how he was planning to make an alter of the skulls of his victims.

I can understand that the victims' families would find this uncomfortable but I think it's an important part of history, if you like, that society should be aware of and learn from. The homophobia, racism, mysogyny (how the doctor treated his Mum, how her husband treated her, the way the women who reported him were treated etc.) and police ineptitude. I don't think all of these lessons have yet been learned in society OR the police/authorities.

Absolutely agree!

I’ve just watched this. Some bits were very difficult to watch, indeed. However, the acting from nearly all concerned was incredible. What I liked about it was the way the series highlighted the inequality which led, and still leads to black and brown people being more vulnerable to any crimes and also not listened to or respected the way white people are. And how black people are seen as less valuable if they are missing.

I also liked how time was focussed on the victims, on exploring their their lives, their ambitions and on their families so that they are not forgotten. That they were real people, not just faces of people murdered by Dahmer.

At various times I found myself wondering what was real and what was artistic license. For example, did Dahmer’s father really think about killing people too but did not act on it?

I was also pleased that the violence was mostly off-screen after the first episode. I would have found that harder to watch I think. The focus was on the things that we don’t know.

I watched snippets of the Stone Phillips interview with Dahmer and his father on YouTube. Yes, Lionel does admit to these feelings in his book, and it's brought up in the interview.

I finished it last night, watched it over 3 sittings. I know some people have binge watched it in a day, but there is no way I could.

For those upthread who said they fast forwarded to the end of an episode etc, I'm not sure I would have been able to do that as I felt the small details were important to the story.

I found it for worse as it went on, not only for the gruesome bits of what he had done, but the mindfuck of those police. I don't want to give spoilers but there is an incident involving officers that I just cannot get my head around.

I've been thinking about this all day. As I say not just the murders themselves, but just the whole situation. Including his parents. And his grandma.

It's one that sticks with you is what I will say.

I've decided not to watch the Netflix show because I've read the book and seen his interviews.

Just curious...in the NF series did they put in the part where when the police finally investigate they find little miniature ARMY soldiers in the fridge freezer set up like they were having a battle?

No! 😳

They just find a head

Yeah, unfortunately a head was in there, too.😭

Back then there weren't video games as such like now that adults play, so it really stuck out that he was playing with toys meant for a child.

I was saying to DH last night that Evan Peters just keeps getting better & better. It's like he dimmed the light in his eyes to play Dahmer if that makes sense?

The Tony episode is very moving

That's an interesting observation, I usually find he has a dead look in his eyes, like he's disconnected.

Love him, but I do think he looks zoned out a lot in interviews

The first episode was so tense! I had to google the victim to find out his fate before i could continue

I vaguely remember hearing about Dahmer in the 90s and remember he was a serial
Killer/cannibal but it's interesting to learn
The bavk story

I did wonder if he was less creepy in real
Life. He seems dirty, creepy, odd. Hard to understand how he managed to pull so
Many men. Suspext he had more
Charm and was better looking than the show
Portrays

Did anyone else notice that in one of the earlier episodes (sorry I can't remember which one) when he was about to kill one of the men, his eyes went lighter, like to a light green. But I didn't see that again, he only very dark brown eyes.

I watched ITV Des and thought it was excellent all round - acting, directing etc

I don't usually watch this sort of thing

I was chatting with a neighbour and she said, "whatever you do, don't watch anything about Jeffrey Dahmer - you have coped with Des, but you won't cope with Dahmer stuff".

I don't know how long this show has been on but perhaps she means this Netflix one.