The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (2013)

The greatest movie ever made..!

Excellent, a Must See

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

A riveting and quietly unsettling blend of interviews and fictionalized re- enactments of his daily life (not the murders), The Jeffrey Dahmer Files take a look at the quiet neighbor whose apartment became an abattoir of horrors.Therefore, Overall it's an incredibly well-made documentary about one of America's most infamous serial killers. Not only do the three interviewees have extremely interesting stories to tell, the narrative is filmed in such a chilling way that it is the most disturbing form of simple film-making I have ever seen. This documentary makes the story of Dahmer feel even more gruesome by leaving many things up to the viewer's imagination, even though the story is well known.

This sad excuse of a documentary is a confusing combination of pointless and boring reenactments and interviews with people who seemingly have not one bit of useful information to offer and yet they talk on and on for an hour and a half of your life. One sourest is a fame driven cop who considers this case his glory days and proceeds to talk about this issues he had when the case ended because he lost his "fame and recognition" WHAT?! Half of what this guy says has nothing to do with the case and the other half sounds embellished or simply made up. The other extremely CREDIBLE source is a crack head neighbor he had.... Enough said. I learned way more about this guy and his case by reading the Wikipedia page. Do NOT waste your time.

Experimental Jeffrey Dahmer documentary which actually focuses more on the Milwaukeeans during and after his hidden spree. The reenactments are beautifully shot; and Andrew Swant (also the film's co-writer) slides into the monster's skin so smoothly, ultimately humanizing Dahmer without becoming charming or remotely likable. Unfortunately, the three interviewees are not overly appealing, and you can't help but remember that there are many more interesting people who had a thing or two to say about Dahmer. Archival footage included, but is used somewhat minimally. Originally premiered simply as JEFF and was later changed to THE JEFFREY DAHMER FILES when picked up by IFC.**½ (out of four)

The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (2012)*** (out of 4) Good, if at times uneven, documentary taking a look at three people who were close to Jeffrey Dahmer at the time he was arrested for what turned out to be one of the most shocking crimes in American history. This documentary features interviews with the neighbor Pamela Bass, the medical examiner Jeffrey Jentzen and most interesting is Pat Kennedy, the detective who talked with Dahmer after his arrest and got the confession. The film also has actor Andrew Swant playing Dahmer during a few scenes as we see him on a day-to-day basis as he carries out certain acts of his crimes. THE JEFFREY DAHMER FILES isn't your typical documentary and perhaps that's a good thing. I will admit that at first it was a little strange seeing how the film went back and forth between the documentary aspect and the docu-drama but once you got comfortable with it the film flowed much better. At just 76-minutes the thing never wears out its welcome and in fact I think that a longer running time probably would have helped matters as there are all sorts of questions that aren't answered. I think the highlights of the film involve the detective as he gives a first-hand account of how Dahmer was acting after being arrested and what it finally took for him to realize that his days were over as a free man and that he might as well start talking. I thought the relationship the two men formed was quite interesting and these stories are certainly the best in the film. The neighbor aspect wasn't nearly as interesting but she does answer a few good questions like what it was like having someone like this murdering people just feet away from her.