Directed by Chris James Thompson
Starring Andrew Swant, Pat Kennedy, Pamela Bass
Written by Chris James Thompson, Andrew Swant, Joe Riepenhoff
The Jeffrey Dahmer Files was represented by Josh Braun of Submarine Entertainment and premiered at the SXSW film festival before screening at BFI (London) and Hot Docs (Toronto).
The film was acquired by IFC Films and premiered commercially at the IFC Center in New York before rolling out to theaters across the US. It was featured as a New York Times Critic’s Pick and was called “one of the greatest serial killer movies ever made” by Movies.com.
Available at: iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube Movies, and AMC+. Previously available at Netflix, Hulu, Shudder.
Synopsis
In 1991 Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested in Milwaukee and sentenced to 957 years in prison for killing 17 people and dismembering their bodies. The Jeffrey Dahmer Files explores the impact on Milwaukee through those surrounding Dahmer during and after his hidden spree. Recollections from the lead police detective, medical examiner, and Dahmer’s next door neighbor are interwoven with everyday scenes from Dahmer’s life, working collectively to disassemble the facade of an ordinary man leading an ordinary existence.
Reviews
“The movie features dramatic reenactments of Dahmer buying his infamous equipment, and Andrew Swant plays him with a dead-on creepy perfection.”
– Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
“Stands apart from the true-crime pack … Swant’s performance is eerily convincing.”
– John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter
“A meditation on perversion as hypnotic as it is repulsive.”
– Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
“Creepy… and chillingly effective. We follow Dahmer (well portrayed by Andrew Swant) shopping … or checking in and out of a hotel. These somewhat fictionalized scenes with Dahmer are surprisingly creepy, surreal and even darkly comic. Yet they ring true.”
– David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle
“Mesmerizing and haunting.”
– Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times
“Sprawling but terse … Feels unnervingly fresh, evoking a lean and loaded gut punch.”
– Slant
“The #1 documentary about serial killers that’ll scare you shitless.”
– BuzzFeed
“One of the Top 5 Most Chilling Documentaries About a Serial Killers.”
– Paste Magazine
“Unconventional … A brooding docu-fiction hybrid.”
– Salon
“One of the best damned documentaries of the year.”
– Dread Central
“I was so surprised at how engrossed I was … I couldn’t look away from this pseudo-documentary from start to finish. The vivid stories of the actual people felt honest, as if they weren’t performing for the camera for a quick buck … It’s definitely worth seeking out.”
– Ain’t It Cool News