I have always been interested in Jeffrey Dahmer: I have read about him, and watched documentaries. I remember seeing this movie cover, but wrote it off as exploitation trash. Something, something about judging books by their cover.
This may be the best movie I have ever seen that tackles the subject of serial killers. We have a movie that is a dead-serious character study, starring a young Jeremy Renner. This is made in 2002, but is a period piece set in the '80s, and '90s... the look and feel give this movie an authentic quality of the time that make it seem as though it were filmed years earlier, then later released. The harsh red, and yellow light give the film an almost dreamlike warmth, which reminded me of _Manhunter_ (1986).
The story follows Dahmer as an adult, mostly at his apartment, but jumps into his past as well. If you are looking for exploitation and gore, you're in the wrong place; we do see one severed head, the bloody aftermath of a dismembering, and one moment that felt like a nod to _Videodrome_, aside from those, what we have is an understated look at the life of a deeply troubled person.
I realize the urge to really play up the violence when making a movie about a monster like this, but the reality is there are no monsters, and that may be the scariest part of all; Dahmer was just a human, and the best way to tell his story is to be honest without glorification or shying away.
Even with the moments of violence and given the subject matter, I wouldn't call this a horror movie. It's a very dark drama. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes serious indie dramas, and anyone who enjoys true crime stories.