DAHMER

Jeffrey Dahmer is a young homosexual who works as a laborer in a chocolate factory, but in his free time, Jeffrey lures various boys with different excuses, takes them to his house, drugs them, then sexually abuses them and kills them. Having read the plot above, one might think "Ok, this is the beginning, but what happens next!". Instead, it must be immediately clarified that for 95 minutes, exactly what was told in the very short plot happens: more than an hour and a half of repetitive and boring pseudo-sexual and existential disorders and attempts at homosexual seduction. Enough! It would have been really very interesting if the option had been chosen to reconstruct the criminal life of the ruthless cannibal of Milwaukee who shocked the town of Wisconsin between the '78 and the '91, but the choice was made to simply narrate a couple of seductive approaches by young Jeffrey towards unfortunate young men and the consequent tragedy, focusing a lot on one of the victims in particular. What concerns Jeffrey's murderous formation and, therefore, his recent past, is hinted at through annoying flashbacks inserted poorly at totally inappropriate moments, often interrupting the tension of the scenes. A completely wrong approach, therefore, to the story of Dahmer, notably penalized, then, by a repetitive and clumsy screenplay, often filled with clichés and unintentional ridicule. Furthermore, it irritates the complete lack of personality of the characters that surround the protagonist, but it is not simply the lack of psychological construction, but rather characters that are completely idiotic who move as if they had not been provided with intellect: is it possible that whoever Jeffrey approaches immediately accepts going to his house to drink a beer and play ambiguous games without even asking themselves who the hell Jeffrey is and what he wants? Well, surely those poor guys who were victims of the murderous fury of the real Dahmer were not all nerd cerebrolesics. It is a bit disappointing to see that this film turned out to be so unrealistic and shabby, because the good premises were really all there and, in the end, "Dahmer" is not composed exclusively of negative points. We have a young Jeremy Renner (28 Weeks Later) in the role of the psychopathic protagonist who, in addition to being completely credible and physically suited to the role, demonstrates having good acting skills. The direction of David Jacobson (Dawn in the Valley) also appears solid and certainly functional, sufficiently realistic and sparse to perfectly adapt to the story. However, it also lacks that air of rot and madness that would have suited this type of film, as there is no disturbing element to save the operation; so much so that, if it were not for the theme treated, the film could have been quietly a product "For All". In conclusion, "Dahmer", despite using some winning elements, turns out to be the classic missed opportunity, a clumsy, boring, and completely avoidable product. Surely insufficient if you want to know some detail about the life of this ruthless serial killer.