Review of Dahmer (2002) by Michael C — 23 Jul 2011

A better-than-average direct-to-video film; I only ventured to watch this because I saw Jeremy Renner of "Hurt Locker" and "The Town" fame played the lead role, and not surprisingly he is the best part of the film.

Renner's talent is evident even this early on in his portrayal of Dahmer, and what basically adds up to substandard directing and a mediocre script is ultimately elevated by this strong performance.

I also though Artel Kayaru was pretty strong as the one victim of Dahmer's that esecaped, playing it cocky but with sure signs still that something menacing was on the horizon for him. A lot of these films feel very hastily put together with not a lot of focus, and while the filmmaking is still below par for one of the better studio serial killer films, it is ultimately very watchable.

Renner has done very well for himself since this, and his skills were very noticeable even this early in his career.