63
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Portland OregonianShawn LevyPortland OregonianShawn LevyIt's a triumph of the film that it manages to make Jeffrey Dahmer a human being -- at least a member of the species -- without ever bending toward empathy with or excuses for him.
- 70L.A. WeeklyChuck WilsonL.A. WeeklyChuck WilsonThe purest of horror films.
- 70Chicago ReaderChicago ReaderA low-key but hypnotic portrait of the infamous sex murderer.
- 67Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovThe whole of it plays like a dark and dreary tone poem, only marginally interested in explaining the ticking, bloody clockwork of the inner beast and only occasionally touching on his fractured humanity.
- 60New Times (L.A.)Andy KleinNew Times (L.A.)Andy KleinStar Jeremy Renner seems shorter than Dahmer, but is otherwise a look-alike and gives a convincingly intense and weird performance. Bruce Davison (as Papa Dahmer) and the rest of the cast also do nice work.
- 60The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenAs gamely as the movie tries to make sense of its title character, there remains a huge gap between the film's creepy, clean-cut Dahmer (Jeremy Renner) and fiendish acts that no amount of earnest textbook psychologizing can bridge.
- 50Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasDahmer moves with a slowness that's meant to be compelling but is largely merely glum. This becomes a hindrance to building suspense in telling a true story whose outcome is already well known.
- 50Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonA tasteful, intelligent, well-acted film about one of the most ghoulish serial killers in American crime history - and I'm afraid that's a good part of what's wrong with it.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleIt succeeds, occasionally.
- 50TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghRenner's performance as Dahmer is unimpeachable, fascinating without being charismatic, and Kayaru's Rodney is a marvel of complicated characterization under difficult circumstances.