Raising Jeffrey Dahmer

2006
R
1h 40m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Based on the true story of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, the events within the family behind, and leading up to his capture.Based on the true story of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, the events within the family behind, and leading up to his capture.Based on the true story of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, the events within the family behind, and leading up to his capture.

Director
- Rich Ambler
Writers
- Wood Dickinson
- Christopher Ryan
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

4.0/10

469

YOUR RATING

Director
- Rich Ambler
Writers
- Wood Dickinson
- Christopher Ryan
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
The film takes place in 1960, 1969, 1973, 1978, 1988 and 1991.

Goofs
When Lionel returns to his mother's house, he turns on the television to see his son, Jeffrey Dahmer's mugshot on the news. In the mugshot, he has a handlebar mustache without glasses. This is a mugshot from his 1986 arrest (another mugshot from 1982 has him with the handlebar mustache with glasses, both arrests for indecent exposure). When Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested for murder in 1991, he did not have a mustache in his mugshot, and wore a windbreaker jacket.

Connections
Referenced in Only Murders in the Building: Two for the Road (2024)

User reviews16

Review

Featured review

6/10

Psycho Killer

RAISING JEFFREY DAHMER is a poorly executed film, well below the level of Student Film, yet it does manage to touch on some provocative issues. RAISING JEFFREY DAHMER is not really concerned with the heinous murders and kidnappings that Dahmer committed, but seeks to examine his relationship with his family. The film forces the viewer to consider a few extremely difficult positions. Can a parent continue to love a child who is a convicted sexual predator, murderer, and cannibal? Also, Dahmer's behavior could be viewed as someone who was deeply repulsed, yet morbidly attracted to men. Dahmer did admit that the reason he killed and dismembered was to reassemble the parts, and then, create sexual slaves for his personal ratification. I wonder if this psychotic sexual identity might have been caused by something in his upbringing, and had his family encouraged and accepted his latent homosexual nature, could the killings have been avoided? Did his parents ever consider this? These questions are not really answered in the film, however they are certainly areas worthy of inquiry.