Jeffrey Dahmer: Autoportrait d'un tueur

After the more than excellent dramatization of the Dahmer murders in Netflix' release in september 2022 - which I rated with an exceptional 9 stars - any follow-up documentary will have a difficult time to even come close to the experience of that dramatization.

The documentary makers however were able to get not only on board the prosecutor and defense attorney, but also the more than renowned psychiatrist dr. Park Dietz. The latter one is not only famous for his link with the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI, but also for his interviews with several serial killers. Apart from Dahmer, he is known for his very excellent interview of the "iceman killer": i.e. Richard Kuklinski. I have seen those interviews several times already.

What makes this documentary also interesting, is that it explains some things that I couldn't explain after watchting the dramatization of the Dahmer murders. It for instance explains why Dahmer decided to buy and use yellow contact lenses.

Overall, I think this documentary may come a little too soon after the release of the Dahmer show. Many events are still so fresh in my memory that the documentary is in part just a repeat of events. Instead of two weeks, I would have preferred this documentary to be released at least one year after the drama show was released. Watching the documentary in one year would surely trigger me to again watch (part of) the drama show.

Overall, I still think this documentary deserves 6.8/10, which I round up to a 7 star IMBd rating. This documentary would have scored way better if they had included more of dr. Park Dietz.

Excellent review of the horrific events unfolding. Even though i liked the series DAHMER now i understand some of the backlash about glorification.

In some way after seeing CWaK seems the series feel like My Little Pony........

The events are unfolding are told in an excellent way. And this is all about the terror this man committed and the sick**** that he was. There are many more details here then in the series. I felt Dread throughout all the way, and sometimes i really got nauxious. Also had a few moments of total goosbumps.

The, pace, narrative, interviews, audio score, cinematography, details and time line are top notch 10 stars here.

Also they really made me feel much more attached for the victims and made me see Dahmer as much more of a monster that he was.

Stuff of nightmares right here..

Excellent documentary making though.

One word to describe this man: insidious. This documentary is thorough, perhaps even too thorough. Arguably the only documentary you'll need to see about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer but proceed with caution. It's rough to even watch. What sets this apart from other documentaries and re-enacted versions is the never-before-released videos, newscasts, photos, testimonials and actual interview recordings. Documentary also describes each victim's unfortunate demise one by one. It's a lot to go through visually and mentally. Definitely not for the faint hearted. Wish I could unsee it. The depravity of this man was too much to take.

Netflix's "Dahmer - Monster" that aired before this documentary is an effective dramatization of this shocking moment in history. It garners curiosity as to just how a person could wind up like this, with a hodgepodge of paraphilia and personality disorders. So you might end up finding and watching both the Stone Phillips and Inside Edition interviews done in the early 90s. Those are a chilling watch, as you get to hear from the horse's mouth and witness just how calm his demeanor is despite his heinous crimes and depravity. As much as "The Dahmer Tapes" documentary is excellently put together, it would have been more fascinating to hear the raw audio of the interview, all 32 hours of it, conducted by the defense lawyer Wendy. Instead, we get snippets and carefully curated sound bites to match the narrative from the experts, all condensed into a measly 3 hours, which is not as effective as a straight continuous interview which is what a viewer might expect from the title "Conversations with a Killer."

Truly touching and devastating tale about the human monstrosity. It gives us a look into the mind and life of Jeffrey Dahmer, even though they could have done a much deeper dive into the psychology of it all. Some things were poorly explained, including his potential diagnosis and the cannibalism aspect. It was interesting to hear different perspectives from various people about the story. Labelling these tapes as "unheard" was surprising because Dahmer didn't say anything particularly new or unknown to the public. I'd say it's a very well-edited and thought-provoking series that's mostly skilfully constructed, but it lacks depth in some parts.