The third instalment in Netflix's Conversations with a Killer docuseries is now out, having premiered on Friday, October 7 2022.
Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes is the latest addition to the streamer's serial killer biographical documentary series. It comes after Conversations With a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes, which debuted in April this year and Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, which premiered on January 2019.
The three-part series covers recordings of the cold-blooded serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, confessing his grisly acts. It features a collection of interviews, crime scene images, archival footage and re-enactments.
The synopsis has it that the Milwaukee police enter Jeffrey Dahmer's apartment on July 1991 to discover a gruesome scene that reveals the works of a psychopath, which includes a freezer of human body parts and barrels of more figures dissolved in acid.
The series’ trailer dropped a few weeks ago. Attorney Wendy Patrickus gives a background narration of her one-on-one experience with Jeffrey Dahmer. She says, “I felt like Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs.”
Wendie was a newbie attorney who had just moved to Milwaukee, and Jeffrey Dahmer was her first case. She had exhaustive conversations with him as she prepared for his defence, recording for over 32 hours from July to October 1991. Her tapes have never been revealed until recently.
'There were horrific things that he did, but Jeffrey Dahmer was a very complex person,' she says in the trailer. 'There were times when I felt like a mother to him. And I felt like his therapist. But hearing the graphic detail was more than I could stand. You can't help but become close to somebody when you spend many months with them. It was difficult to pretend like this isn't affecting me,' she continues.
The trailer hints at the disparity of whether the murderous acts were the works of an evil man or a sick man.
Jeffrey Dahmer mostly preyed on gay men of minority races, including blacks, Hispanics and Asians, with the law enforcement's negligence allowing him to silently terrorize Milwaukee's marginalized communities for over a decade, killing 17 known victims.
Conversations With a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes contains three episodes, each running for approximately one hour.
The first episode: Sympathy for the Devil, involves Attorneys, journalists and experts’ recollection of Jeffrey Dahmer’s arrest in 1991 and the genesis of the horrifying murders he attested to.
The second episode: Can I Take Your Picture? centers in the late 1980s, where Dahmer consistently preyed upon gay victims in Milwaukee’s gay joints while concealing his impulsive acts from everyone around him.
In the last episode: Evil or Insane? Dahmer faces trial against the backdrop of controversial issues regarding law enforcement and justice. Though Dahmer was proven sane at the time of the murders and given a life sentence, the impacts of his acts still continue to be felt to date.
Joe Berlinger is the director of the Conversations With A Killer biographical documentary series.
Ryan Murphy’s lurid series based on the notorious killer is earning rave reviews from the audience, scoring 94% on Google Ratings, 8.2/10 on IMDb, and 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a brink audience score of 85%.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story explores Jeffrey's background story and the points of view of his victims. It's full of horror, suspense, and emotionally-invoking scenes, as each subsequent episode adds a piece to the whole puzzle.
Primetime Emmy Award winner Evan Peters gives an applaudable impersonation of the infamous Jeffrey Dahmer, working again with Ryan Murphy in the wake of the anthology series American Horror Story.
Many in the audience are pouring praise and positive remarks about the series. Critics are, however, hell-bent on roasting Murphy for romanticizing Jeffrey Dahmer's story.
One fan commented,' In all seriousness, this show is likely the most accurate rendition of what happened. Evan Peters played the role extremely well, honestly, I can't see how anyone would give this less than 5 stars.'
“I rate it 11/10. Evan Peters did amazing. He was such a good fit for Jeff,” added another fan.
'It was so disturbing but so good at the same time. Like a train wreck, but you can't look away,' mentioned another.
Hopefully, Peters’ extraordinary performance in this series could award him more accolades.