Give the gift of roadkill in acidic mason jars this Easter with a copy of My Friend Dahmer!
For the past 20+ years, we’ve encountered several films based on the nefarious lover of refrigerated human heads, Jeffrey Dahmer. While a personal favorite of mine, The Secret Life, stands as one of my favorite flicks based on the lunatic who murdered 17 (that we know of) men and boys between 1978- 1991 before his capture, My Friend Dahmer focuses on the psychopath’s teenage years.
And it’s fantastically brilliant with just the right amount of unsettling disturbance that serves as a precursor to the lunatic’s active years of murderous insanity.
Based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Derf Backderf, its screenplay landed a spot on the coveted ‘Black List’, ranking it as one of the best-unproduced screenplays (at the time) before becoming a hit movie. With a theatrical release in 2017, My Friend Dahmer grossed over $1,300,000 in select theaters. It played extensively on the festival circuit, premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival and going on to play at LA Film Festival, Deauville Film Festival, American Film Festival. The film features an all-star cast that includes Emmy Nominee Anne Heche (Donnie Brasco), SAG Award winner Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men), Former Disney star Ross Lynch (Austin & Ally), Alex Wolff (Patriot’s Day) and Dallas Roberts (3:10 To Yuma).
Jeff Dahmer (Lynch) is an awkward teenager struggling to make it through high school with a family life in ruins. He collects roadkill, fixates on a neighborhood jogger (Kartheiser), and copes with his unstable mother (Heche) and well-intentioned father (Roberts). He begins to act out at school, and his goofball antics win over a group of band-nerds who form The Dahmer Fan Club, headed by Derf Backderf (Wolff). But this camaraderie can’t mask his growing depravity. Approaching graduation, Jeff spirals further out of control, inching ever closer to madness.
Nightmare Nostalgia 