High school can be an awkward and challenging time for people — even for a serial killer.
My Friend Dahmer offers a glimpse into the psyche and life of infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer (Ross Lynch) during his high school years. Dahmer is known for killing 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. The film is based on the graphic novel by Derf Backderf, one of Dahmer’s high school friends, who is portrayed by Alex Wolff in the film.
Like every teenager, Dahmer struggles to fit in — he has problems at home and secretly questions his sexuality. The only difference between him and a “regular” high schooler is that Dahmer ventures into woods to kill and gut animals, which could have been a possible starting point for his psychopathic nature.
In his senior year, Dahmer becomes friends with Backderf and his posse, but they only want to be his friend to make a spectacle out of him, like a sideshow act in a circus. When he starts to lose attention, his behavior becomes even more questionable, and Dahmer contemplates moving on from harming animals to people.
Lynch’s performance as Dahmer is polarizing, especially for those familiar with his roles on Disney Channel. He ditched his overall bubbly attitude that was a big part of his characters on Austin and Ally and Teen Beach Movie, and it’s replaced with a solemn, quiet demeanor that can make anyone feel uncomfortable. Lynch doesn't need dialogue to make audiences squirm in their seats; instead, he does that through his stalker-like actions. Lynch is easily the best part of the film, and it’s too bad the production doesn’t match his performance.
My Friend Dahmer isn’t a bad movie by any mean — it’s just not a great movie. The film feels a lot longer than 1 hour and 47 minutes. The pacing was slow, and the scenes were all the similar. They showed Dahmer getting bothered at school, him lurking in the woods and his parents fighting. It falls into that pattern of redundancy early on in the film, and it fails to fully capture the attention of the audience.
The film does succeed in one aspect though. The goal of the film was not to conceptualize why Dahmer started killing people. His situations did not make him a serial killer, and the film shows his psychopathic tendencies started before his first kill. People did notice his behavior in high school, but no one said anything about it.
The film is more about Backderf justifying his behavior toward Dahmer. Backderf was a complete jerk to Dahmer, and his character doesn’t admit it in the film. Backderf does point out that he saw some of warning signs in Dahmer, making him out to be the smartest person in the film. Backderf was a false friend, and claiming him as his friend seems like a tactic to make himself feel better about the situation.
My Friend Dahmer isn’t worth the theater experience. For those who feel inclined to see the movie, wait until the digital version is released, or take a pillow to the theater and pay $10 for a ticket just to take a nap.
Rating: 2/5
