It takes six episodes of “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (yes, that’s actually the series’ full name) to meaningfully expand beyond the realm of a serial killer or his portrayal of Evan Peters. In that episode, “Silent” directed by Paris Barclay and written by Janet Mock and David Macmillan, the story of Dahmer victim Tony Anthony Hughes comes to the fore. Tony (played with warm charm by alum Rodney Burford “Deaf U”) was an ambitious socialite with a big heart. He was deaf, black, gay, and a wonderful dancer. His friends and mum (animated Karen Malina White) loved him so much. With each moment Burford obtains a new life for Tony, the inevitable end of Silent becomes more and more terrifying, and the policemen’s inaction in discovering the truth only grows more infuriating. But as the series’ nonsensical title maze suggests, this episode is the exception rather than the rule. Other than that, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s new Netflix series is a grim, dark-colored mantra that rarely justifies its existence.
On the surface, Murphy’s casting Peters as one of the most famous serial killers came as no surprise at all. Together with long-time collaborator Ian Brennan, Monster Murphy gives the opportunity to combine elements of “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (also about a gay predator who violently pursues loneliness) and “Ratched” (“One Flew Over”). The gruesome prequel series for Cuckoo’s Nest’ that gave an origin story to a notorious villain). Peters, who disturbingly affects his flat Wisconsin accent, could deliver another disturbing performance. But two years after the project was first announced, the release of “Monster” surprisingly…is muted, to say the least. There were no episodes available to view prior to the premiere; No stars are present for the interview, from Peters to Nessie Nash to Molly Ringwald. There was no premiere, no party, no pomp, no circumstance. Not even the accompanying “Jeffrey Dahmer tapes” — the follow-up to Ted Bundy’s previous Ted Bundy series on Netflix — “Conversations with the Killer” — along with “Monster” had previously been expected. As Murphy’s massive deal on Netflix appears to be fading into the ether, so too do his final projects for the streaming device.
Then again: Even if we took all the attention in the world, a Monster movie wouldn’t have gotten that much hype. Like Versace, it begins at the end of the story before being rewound to show how Jeff came, in scattered memories. Murphy and Brennan’s scripts bring up the show’s most obvious themes with such blunt force, and surprisingly, some scenes are past the first draft stage. Jeff’s parents (Richard Jenkins and Penelope Ann Miller, doing their best) fight in tears clichés. Jeff his victims in every episode constantly pleads with them not to leave because he is “tired of everyone leaving me”. (Abandonment issues, got it?) In fact, given the history of Murphy’s work, perhaps the most surprising element of “The Beast” is its relative restraint when it comes to bloodsucking. The details of Dahmer’s crimes are largely left to the imagination, otherwise the creepy score does everything in its power to build a proper suspense.
While he knows (or at least hopes) that Murphy and Brennan aren’t trying to generate sympathy for Dahmer, it’s horrible that so much of this show is dedicated to watching Dahmer Peters whip himself for being “weird” as if he were reenacting a serial killer version. Jughead’s now infamous ‘Riverdale’ speech. (Dahmer: “I’m no ordinary guy; I’m weird; I don’t get along with that”; Jughead: “I’m weird; I’m not fit.”) Then, having spent six episodes (of 10) detailing the psychological profile of Dahmer’s crimes and murders The back half of the series turns to the aftermath of his arrest and the righteous anger inspired by the sheer terror of his transgressions.
This includes many attempts to underscore how exactly Dahmer got away with so many staggering crimes while the marginalized communities he traded with – especially the black spaces – protested the apparent discomfort surrounding him. If there was a story worth telling here — and that’s a big deal, given the onslaught of true crime that has swept over television these days — it was this. However, despite a “silent” inflection, these crucial moments are rendered largely in two-dimensional trifles that rarely go as deep as the subject requires. Not even the formidable Nash, as good as Dahmer’s suspicious neighbor, could do much to change that. As much as ‘The Beast’ makes moves to demote in its final episodes, it’s still the ‘Jeffrey Dahmer Story’, after all.
If you want to see Peters fight inner homophobia by fondling a mannequin, masturbating to damaged animal memories, or officially flipping a human kidney, I think this show is here for you. Beyond that, though, she simply cannot live up to her own ambition in explaining both man and the societal inequalities that exploited his crimes without becoming exploitative in their own right. Jeffrey Dahmer’s story has been told over and over again. This version, despite its more prestigious decorations, does not have much to add.
“Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is now available to stream on Netflix.
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