It seems the most savvy criminals are hiding right in front of us. And the story of Jeffrey Dahmer is no exception to that rule. While Dahmer’s life has been explored through countless movies and TV specials, the 2012 documentary Jeff also titled The Jeffrey Dahmer Files, attempts to shed a new light on the topic by angling the perspective to the everyday people who were involuntarily weaved into the web, such as the local medical examiner, police investigator, and even Dahmer’s neighbor.
For those who don’t know, between the years of 1978 and 1991 Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys. His killings involved rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism. What Jeff attempts to explore is Dahmer’s unfortunate yet amazing ability to blend in and maintain a facade of normalcy.
However, director Chris James Thompson makes the film more complicated than necessary by adding reenactments which may or may not be fictionalized. Nevertheless Thompson benefits from the fact that frankly, Jeffrey Dahmer will never NOT be interesting. So much so that just having interacted with him now merits a lifelong career in the true crime world. This idea comes full circle when Detective Pat Kennedy is recounting the now infamous interrogation. Upon telling Dahmer that police were in the process of searching his apartment, Jeff replies “I might as well tell you now, but once I do, you’ll be famous.” What foresight!
We even learn that Dahmer used the same fridge for his severed skulls as he did for his ketchup, which is oddly compelling. Yes, even Jeffrey Dahmer’s condiments are interesting.
Rating: A very personal look into the mind of a pyschopath and the facade he was able to maintain. (8.5/10)
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