“Dahmer--Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” has set the standard for true-crime dramas.

DAHMER -- MONSTER: THE JEFFREY DAHMER STORY
Creator: Ryan Murphy
Rating: 8/10

The thing that I love about this series is that it doesn't go overboard. The whole series does not try to romanticize the murderer but rather shows his human side, Dahmer's insecurity, and his troubled past while displaying his monstrosity. The show was able to balance everything, they were so careful to make sure that they would not disrespect the victims and not try to glorify the killer, and this is what lacking in most of the crime series we have today. The whole show was well-acted, well-directed, and well-written. I never really liked Ryan Murphy's filmography, but with Dahmer, he was able to showcase what a crime drama should be like, where we stop romanticizing and glorifying the killer, but rather point out the failure in our system and social injustices.

If I were being honest, when it was announced that Evan Peters would play Dahmer, I was worried, not because he's not a good actor, but because Dahmer is a well-known monster, that people who love true-crime dramas can easily point out what's missing, and I always thought that Tobey Maguire would be a perfect fit as Dahmer.

I was wrong, Evan Peters was as terrifying as Dahmer. This is another award season for Evan Peters, I have loved him since Mare of Eastown. He was as phenomenal as Jeffrey Dahmer.

Also, we cannot not talk about Neishy Nash and Richard Jenkins's performances, they complimented the whole show. Especially, Neishy Nash was so great as Glenda, Dahmer's neighbor, and I cannot imagine myself being in her situation, having to witness all the screaming from the victims, the smell of blood, and the fact that she's living next to a serial killer.

The smartest thing that this show has done and I love so much is that all the killings and murders are not shown on screen, but rather we get to witness them in Glenda's POV, which I think makes it more terrifying and grotesque. The subtlety was done impeccably. From the first episode alone, the level of tension is already on the roof. What I liked so much was how subtle the tension was.

My only problem with the whole series is the use of time sequence, it was a bit jarring and confusing to follow, there are scenes that it would take me minutes to be able to recognize that I am currently watching the present because there was not much of distinction from the present and past. Aside from that, the show was able to effectively build tension while balancing the morality displayed by our main character.

Dahmer--Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is now showing on Netflix