On Sept. 21, Netflix released the first season of “DAHMER-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” The series is a thriller and crime drama based on the life of the Milwaukee Monster, Jeffrey Dahmer, as well as the lives of his victims. 

Dahmer was an American serial killer who murdered 17 young men between the years of 1978 to 1991, where two of his youngest victims were 14 years old and the oldest being 33 years old. Dahmer preyed on Whites, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asians, but the majority of his victims were African-American. Whatever their age, race, or sexuality, each victim met the same or a similar fate in the hands of the devil, where they would be drugged, strangled, raped, cut up in pieces, and consumed by the man that took their lives. Dahmer was also homosexual, and would often find his victims at gay clubs and malls. 

Although the series isn’t an actual crime documentary, it does an amazing job covering everything from the Netflix documentary “Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes.” The cast looked almost exactly like his family, the victims, and their families. They also made sure to include just about every single detail, from Dahmer’s interest in taxidermy as a child to the uncanny coincidence of his baptism being on the same day of John Wayne Gacey’s execution and a solar eclipse. 

Another thing that the series covers is giving the audience a glimpse into the lives of each of Dahmer’s victims, such as Tony Hughes and Konerak Sinthasomphone. This series is not just about Dahmer, the Milwaukee Cannibal. It’s also the story of several innocent people who had fallen or nearly fell into Dahmer’s trap. It’s a story that shows how underserved the LGBTQIA+ Community, and Black Community was at the time, where these people were willing to follow a stranger home with the idea they would be paid for sexual favors, and would meet the end of their life as a result. 

“DAHMER-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is disturbing and almost nauseating in terms of how gruesome the murders are depicted. However, it does a fantastic job telling the story of not only the making of a monster, but the lives that were tragically lost due to the heinous and revolting crimes of another American psycho.

If you’re into thrillers and crime fiction, this is definitely a series for you to check out. If you aren’t a huge fan of crime drama and being on the edge of your seat for ten one hour long episodes, but you’re interested in learning about the despicable and heinous crimes of Dahmer, I recommend watching the series with a friend or watching the “Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes” before watching the series. 

Sources:

https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/serial-killers/jeffrey-dahmer/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13207736/

https://www.elle.com.au/culture/jeffrey-dahmer-victims-timeline-27731