Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is not only a haunting true-crime drama, but it does an excellent job of honoring the victims & failures in our crime system. Check out the details in this parents guide review.
Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story dropped on the streaming service this week on September 21st. The series stars Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer, best known for his roles in American Horror Stories, and not only tells the story of his heinous murders, but also some backstory on his victims and neighbors. The series was created by Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy, who is also a producer of American Horror Stories. Check out the details in my parents guide series review.
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Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Quotes
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Parents Guide
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story – Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer gruesomely took the lives of seventeen innocent victims. DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is a series that exposes these unconscionable crimes, centered around the underserved victims and their communities impacted by the systemic racism and institutional failures of the police that allowed one of America’s most notorious serial killers to continue his murderous spree in plain sight for over a decade.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Age Appropriate Parents Guide
Let’s take a look at what parents need to know before letting their kids watch Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Language: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story contains very strong language, with profanity used throughout. Lookout words include: f*ck, b*tch, a**, sh*t, f*&&ot, d*mn, g-d d*mn, and more.
Violence: The series revolves around the serial killer and cannabil Jeffrey Dahmer and the murders he committed, so as expected, the biggest issue for parents in the series is the violence it contains. Characters are shown being murdered by strangulation, having their heads beaten in, stabbed and more. Some characters are also shown attempting suicide. Scenes include blood and gore, and show body parts being dismembered. There are also scenes that include dismembering animal parts. The scenes are extremely graphic and disturbing.
Sexual Content/Nudity: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story contains scenes that show characters engaging in sexual acts. Some nudity is shown, and bare bottoms are in view. Along with showing sexual scenes, there is discussion of things Dahmer has done to his victims, which includes kidnapping and raping children and having sex with dead corpses.
Drugs/Alcohol: The series shows characters being drugged in a plot to kidnap them and eventually murder them. Jeffrey Dahmer was also an alcoholic, so scenes included characters drinking and being intoxicated.
Overall Thoughts
Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story not only takes a detailed look into the life and gruesome murders of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, but it also pays homage to the victims he murdered, the lives he destroyed, and the racist police system that allowed him to commit these murders for so long. Series creator Ryan Murphy is masterful at telling these sorts of haunting stories, having produced shows such as American Horror Stories, and not surprisingly, he easily taps into the dark and very disturbed mind of Dahmer. Murphy is not one to hold back on the blood, gore, and overall ghastly details of the horrific events that took place behind Dahmer’s closed doors. What is shocking, however, is the turn the series takes while re-telling Dahmer’s life, and instead of glorifying the murders, Murphy instead makes the brilliant decision to highlight the murder victims, their families, Dahmer’s family, and even Dahmer’s neighbors, who also experience trauma as a result of what took place.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story stars Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer, and the casting could not have been more perfect. Evans is a master in this domain, having played many psychotic roles like this on American Horror Stories, and is phenomenal in his portrayal of Dahmer. He effortlessly depicts the damaged, twisted, and unempathetic parts of Dahmer’s persona and makes audiences forget any other roles he might have played in the past, as he embodies the psyche of the serial killer. Everything about his performance will make viewers feel uncomfortable and, at times, their skin crawl, which is a true testament to Evans’s portrayal.
While the name of the series is, in fact, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, the series doesn’t just tell the story of the serial killer, but instead takes a turn to investigate the lives of those caught in his wake and how the system failed them. As a result, the series is lengthy, with ten episodes each lasting approximately an hour. It also has a tendency to veer off in different directions, and the pacing can be slow at times. However, this story is not about sensationalizing the cannibal, but taking a very detailed look at how and why he was able to commit these crimes for so long. Niecy Nash plays Dahmer’s neighbor, Glenda Cleveland, who has reported smells and strange noises coming from Dahmer’s apartment for years. Her performance is compelling, dramatic, and painful, as it not only shows the turmoil that she experienced living next to Dahmer but also the police system that failed her, Dahmer’s victims, and the community.
All in all, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is extremely good storytelling, with terrific performances and a gut-wrenching realization of the atrocities committed and the system that allowed them to go on for far too long. Rarely does a serial killer series get so much right and also give you so much more than you thought you needed. This may be the new mark to which all others in the genre are measured.
