My Friend Dahmer

New movie

Bubblegum Disney popstar Ross Lynch goes about as far from Austin&Ally as you can get in portraying a budding serial killer in My Friend Dahmer. The film is based on a book written by one of his acquaintences from high school whose character is played by Alex Wolff. Dahmer in his small town high school kid is seen as a loner and a misfit who would do all kinds of attention gettng things to try and fit in. He was also the child of a breaking and then broken home with pparents played by Dallas Roberts and Anne Heche. Both were wrapped in their own issues and hd time for him. This film is a chronicle of observed events, it offers no explanations, no whys and wherefores. It is a well cast pieceof work though it doesn't seem to have led to Ross Lynch being offered more serious roles. It may yet happen for him.

This was horrible. I mean it was a complete waste of time. NOTHING happened in this movie.

The true life serial killer genre isn't exactly over-crowded, just more that there's fictionalised ones that take more of a forefront - Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates, Freddy Krueger all for instance - and they always portray those characters with a certain degree of appeal. However, when I was watching this movie, I was thinking of a less violent but just as emotionally wringing version of the brilliant Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, based heavily on Henry Lee Lucas. My Friend Dahmer comes at the story of Jeffery Dahmer from an interesting angle; it follows Dahmer growing up at school, following from aged 17 to his first murder at 18 - the film stops just after he picks up Steven Hicks. The story as written by John Backderf, played by Alex Wolff in the film, follows him and his various friends as they both invite Dahmer into their group to use him in various pranks, but also try and be friendly with him - or as friendly as you can be to an asocial, seemingly asexual outcast who fakes seizures to get attention. The film does have certain benefits that I would say raise it above the bar of simply "good" to great. Firstly, the cinematography is first class; there is so much boldness and colourfulness that does associate it much more with a coming-of-age film - the sharpness of colours does remind me a lot of The Spectacular Now, and that type of look helps the movie have a groundedness to it and make you almost forget you're watching a film about one of the most infamous serial killers in history. The script is full of very interesting scenarios about both the characters and the town that we're growing up in. You get to see the individual disintegration of the lives of both Dahmer's parents, which are brilliantly realised by both Dallas Roberts and Anne Heche, you get to see the conflicting dynamic between Derf and his friends over their treatment of Jeffery and how their whole lives are currently going off course. The cast is strong - small, and full of little parts that still stick with you. Alex Wolff is kind of nerdishly charming as John Backderf, who views what him and his friends are doing as harmless fun and does seem to like Dahmer, really. There's a recurrent role of a doctor played by Vincent Kartheiser who Dahmer starts to fantasise over, played with a normalcy that makes the part stand out. However, BY A MILE, the best part of this move is Ross Lynch as the young Jeffery Dahmer. The thing that makes this performance as Dahmer so interesting is that he's not an overly awkward, nerdy, introverted guy at the start of the film - he's just someone who has problems but isn't overall bad. However, as the film goes on, you see this guy growing more and more dangerously in upon himself, and the few good qualities leave him overtime - his willingness to make people laugh, his academic interests, and even his acceptance of Derf's drawings for him are completely gone over the course of the film. I won't say the film made me feel sad for him, but more despair watching someone become more and more lost than anything else. From his graduation towards the end of the film, when he literally left entirely alone by his family, just left with a bottle of Vodka, the film's tone shifts from amusing to soulless, and it's a tone that Ross Lynch fully embraces, through an unbelievably tense scene with Derf, to the brilliant final scene where he picks up hitchhiker Steven Hicks, that felt me very emotionally shook. I really liked this film, a lot. It shows a great showcase of acting from Ross Lynch, who looks more than capable of shedding his Disney Channel image, and also Marc Meyers for directing such good material.

Originally I would have rated this film 7 or 8 stars but I had to bump it up to 9 because it absolutely haunted my memory after watching it. It's the true story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in his high school days as told by his friend who created a graphic novel about the experience etc. etc. , but that is not what makes this movie great although it is a part of the reason. It's just a gut-wrenching realistic portrayal of the horror of a young man not fitting in at high school and gradually losing himself to madness. Primarily I would have to say the screenplay is brilliantly written, but the cast is somehow weirdly perfect, young douchy-haired Disney child star Ross Lynch just proved himself an amazing actor on a par with any of the best, still surprising although it shouldn't be, there have been so many Disney Kids who have grown up to do seriously good adult stuff now. The rest of the high school cast is great too but who stands out is Anne Heche and Dallas Roberts in the roles of the parents. This is the best acting I've seen from Anne Heche. I've always thought she was an underrated and under-utilized actress capable of more and she brings the more here, and ironically-named-Houstonian Dallas Roberts is brilliant as the awkward dad trying to cope with his weird son (you will know him from the Walking Dead). More than anything, the soundtrack is just absolutely perfect for the subject matter.It's not your typical period-piece type of soundtrack, just throwing out the Top Ten list from that year, it has some songs that you will likely only find on dusty vinyl in some dusty Rust Belt garage. Hauntingly obscure and evocative of the time and place, it's one of my favorite soundtracks ever. On top of everything, this movie was filmed in the actual house that the real Jeffry Dahmer grew up in. It gives me chills just re-watching it. One of the beast horror movies I have ever seen, without any of the gratuitary violence or special effects. This is a masterfully crafted film and sure to be a cult classic many years from now.

I'm a fan of Derf's graphic novel about his teen experiences in the late '70s with Jeff Dahmer -- as a result I had mixed feelings about a film version. On the one hand, I was excited, but on the other was quite curious how the relatively brief story could be turned into a feature length film. In terms of storytelling, the movie works. Yes, as a reader of the graphic novel may have suspected, the pace ends up being a bit slow, but it's still compelling stuff -- the viewer is there just as Dahmer arrives at a fork in the road of his life. Which way will he take? Will he end up just being an eccentric, or will he take that other, infinitely darker road? We all know the answer, and of course the movie has a strong tragic element to it. It's all the more tragic -- for Dahmer's victims and their families, but also for Dahmer himself -- when we see that there was just enough to the guy ... just enough potential ... to make him possibly go the other way. At times watching the movie can be tough going, but not for the reasons you might think. Watching a kid as painfully awkward and then as deeply depressed as Dahmer go through the torture of Middle American high school can be truly excruciating, all the more so because it seems to be happening in slow motion, like watching a car crash. But make no mistake -- it is absorbing human drama, quite unique in our age of comic book heroes and lurid reality TV. Even if you don't particularly like slow-burn drama, see the movie anyway, for the performances. Lynch doesn't say a lot but he's truly engrossing to watch. Anne Heche is virtually unrecognizable as Dahmer's mother skating along the lip of sanity -- her manic performance is brilliant and unforgettable. And as usual Dallas Roberts impresses as Dahmer's father. Highly recommended -- but don't go expecting a serial killer flick.

source: My Friend Dahmer

Most of the negative reviews are reflective of what those viewers want the film to be. Unfortunately for them that isn't how art works. I see complaints of "disgustingly making him sympathetic" or it was boring. How exactly can the filmmaker make him a villain before he's a villain? The whole point of the film is what leads up to the very well documented atrocities he commuted. I don't think we are in any danger of forgiving him through the lens of history. People just want to be offended. As for it being boring, I would suggest folks taking ten seconds to see what a film is about before they watch it and rip it for being something else. Again, the viewers problem not the film's. The acting is superb and it appears everything is pretty spot on to what we know about his teenage years leading up to his plunge into depravity. Sorry it didn't make things up to entertain people or avoid other's indignation. If you're a rational adult with a grasp on the concept it's a rather well-executed indie adaptation of an interesting graphic novel. Worth a watch, unless you want to see the exploitation of 17 innocent guys being murdered of course. That's not here.

Every aspect of this movie is garbage. It's like the director took years and years of rumors and exaggerated stories, combined them and borrowed his neighbors to cast this movie. Don't waste your free trial with HBO .

Bubblegum Disney popstar Ross Lynch goes about as far from Austin&Ally as you can get in portraying a budding serial killer in My Friend Dahmer. The film is based on a book written by one of his acquaintences from high school whose character is played by Alex Wolff. Dahmer in his small town high school kid is seen as a loner and a misfit who would do all kinds of attention gettng things to try and fit in. He was also the child of a breaking and then broken home with pparents played by Dallas Roberts and Anne Heche. Both were wrapped in their own issues and hd time for him. This film is a chronicle of observed events, it offers no explanations, no whys and wherefores. It is a well cast pieceof work though it doesn't seem to have led to Ross Lynch being offered more serious roles. It may yet happen for him.