Main Cast: Jeremy Renner, Bruce Davison, Artel Kayaru, Matt Newton, Dion Basco
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A low-key glimpse into the life and crimes of one of history's most notorious serial killers, Dahmer doesn't concern itself with the gruesome nature of its protagonist's horrific crimes, but rather the troubled mind of the man who committed them. Focusing on the later years in the life of Jeffrey Dahmer (Jeremy Renner), David Jacobson's film follows the troubled killer from department store to gay nightclub as he stalks his prey and battles his inner demons, all the while providing contrast to current events with flashbacks from the days during which madness finally gained an inescapable grip on his already unstable mind. From his days in a Milwaukee chocolate factory to nights spent haunting the streets in search of prey, the viewer peers cautiously over the edge of an abyss so deep and so far-stretching that most minds will never fathom the truly monstrous nature of Dahmer's heretofore unprecedented crime spree. As he befriends and brings home yet another potential victim in the form of an outgoing young man named Rodney (Artel Kayaru), Dahmer is forced to confront his past as the two grow increasingly close over the course of the evening. Will Dahmer have a glimmer of humanity during a night of intimate and revealing conversation, or is it already too late for the unassuming young man who has fallen into the same trap as so many before him? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Kelley Wright - Art Director, Ricki G. Maslar - Casting, Susan R. Rodgers - Co-producer, Dana Hart - Costume Designer, Anthony J. Nahar - First Assistant Director, David Jacobson - Director, Bipasha Shom - Editor, Leonard Shapiro - Executive Producer, Timothy Swain - Executive Producer, Matt R. Brady - Line Producer, Christina Agamanolis - Composer (Music Score), Marianna Bernoski - Composer (Music Score), Willow Williamson - Composer (Music Score), Renee Travis - Musical Direction/Supervision, Tinsley Transfers - Makeup Special Effects, Eric J. Larson - Production Designer, Chris Manley - Cinematographer, Larry Rattner - Producer, Mark Linden - Sound/Sound Designer, Phillip W. Palmer - Sound/Sound Designer, Gary Gelfand - Sound/Sound Designer, David Jacobson - Screenwriter
Jeffrey Dahmer kills young men. He photographs them, masturbates afterwards, and conducts sadistic experiments on them before he murders them. He killed 17 men in this way in Bath, Ohio and the metropolitan area of Milwaukee.
At the same time, he examines his crimes and rationalizes them with the divorce of his parents and his emotionally isolated childhood.
Nevertheless, he can't stop inviting more and more young, mostly gay men from bars and clubs to his home, where he kills them.
Only when the young African-American Rodney escapes from Dahmer's apartment are the authorities able to arrest him.
Background information
Although the script recreates actual events, the names are changed out of respect for the victims. In reality, the escapee who led to Dahmer's capture was Tracy Edwards, and Dahmer's first victim was a man named Stephen Hicks. Certain details are also changed, as is the nature of films based on true stories. For example, Tracy Edwards (Rodney) was in his early thirties, rather than his early twenties as depicted in the film. He was also a heterosexual who was troubled by Dahmer's advances.
Production of the film took place in Los Angeles and one scene in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The mask special effects were created by Christien Tinsley and Kelley Mitchell, who were involved two years later in the makeup of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.
