By Dee Richardson//
“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is Netflix’s new series that was released on Sept. 21. It’s one of many works directed by Ryan Murphy and stars big names like Niecy Nash-Betts and Evan Peters, who plays Jeffery Dahmer. It has held the No. 1 spot in TV Shows Today on Netflix since its release, and for good reason.
The series follows Jeffery Dahmer, one of America’s most notorious serial killers, throughout his life, his murders, his arrest and sentencing. The story simultaneously follows the stories of his victims, most of whom were people of color within the LQBTQ+ community. The series has 10 episodes with each being around an hour long.
Overall, I’d rate the series a 9.5 out of 10. The acting, storytelling, and videography were out of this world. Ryan Murphy has outdone himself with this series, as it’s probably his best work since the American Horror Story franchise of course.
Casting Evan Peters was both a great and terrible decision, as many people began to sexualize the serial killer because of Peters’ attractiveness, which is problematic and one of my biggest criticisms.
This is definitely one of those roles that I think put Evan Peters at the top of my best actors list, as he has proved himself worthy of earning another Emmy for his performance as Dahmer. Peters was able to mimic Dahmer in such a way that if I ever had the pleasure of meeting him in real life, I would stay 10 feet away at all times.
Peters not only had perfected the Midwestern accent that Dahmer had but also his breathing patterns, and even his infamous walk. He was able to embody Dahmer so much that it physically made me uncomfortable to watch the series at times. Let’s hope he receives some type of counseling for this, as being in the mind of a serial killer doesn’t sound the healthiest mentally. Like, at all.
Peters’ performance wasn’t the only one that caught my attention. Niecy Nash-Betts put her all in her role as well, playing Glenda Cleveland. Glenda Cleveland was the woman who pleaded with law enforcement to investigate Dahmer but was ignored until it was too late.
At the time of his arrest, Dahmer claimed the lives of 17 young men and boys. Most of these murders could have been avoided had law enforcement listened to Cleveland’s many warnings of Dahmer. Nash-Betts’ acting helped portray the helplessness and desperation that Cleveland and many others in unserved and unprivileged communities felt.
You could feel these hard-hitting emotions so deeply that it almost makes you want to jump into the series to help her, the victims, and most importantly, the community. Her character best represents the outcry of injustice, which is the theme of the series.
While I will always dislike the dramatization and glorification of serial killers in entertainment, I had to give this series a pass. This series has done such a wonderful job of capturing the invisibility of the victims, as most of the publicity at the time was focused on the insane mind of Dahmer rather than the innocent lives he selfishly took.
I will warn you all that there are times when it’s hard to watch, especially for marginalized communities, so please watch with caution, as it was a lot to digest and unpack. There are also scenes of cannibalism and graphic sounds such as bones breaking. So, if you’re queasy, this series may be a hard pass for you. But otherwise, I say check it out.
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