I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good concept, poorly executed.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This is a chilling and interesting insight into the case of Jeffrey Dahmer - a man who committed unbelievably appalling murders. It chooses to focus on the people who surrounded his life leading up to, and after the horrific discovery of the murders. The documentary is able to convey the absolute horror of the situation through interviews with neighbours and detectives. Most of the footage contains interviews with Detective Pat Kennedy - who was initially with Dahmer after his arrest - and you can still feel Pat's utter bewilderment as he recalls the events. You can still sense his adrenaline as he recalls the aftermath and there is a clear sense of excitement within him as opposed to the utter horror one would expect. It's also interesting to see how it affected his life after, in both positive and negative ways. Where I think it falls a little short as a documentary is the lack of clear narration as to what was happening. Due to a lack of actual footage hypothetical re-enactments were used that did well to convey Dahmers apparent alcoholism - but didn't offer much more of an insight into his character and his motivations. I know that this was not the aim of the documentary - but I think it would have added more to help the viewer to try and begin to make sense of witnessing the re-construction of a situation that was inhumanely senseless.

Not a bad documentary here, considering I've pretty much exhausted the Jeffrey Dahmer informational breadth at this point. Having seen every movie and documentary on the Milwaukee killer, and read my share literature, I think I've learned it all, for the most part. Still, "The Jeffrey Dahmer Files" isn't a total wash, despite it's flaws.You're basically getting the Dahmer story through first-hand accounts with the detective who got the initial confession, the forensic guy and a crack head neighbor who goes over some of her casual interactions with him around the apartment complex...Again, I wasn't getting a whole lot that I didn't already know about the Dahmer case, but the interviews were okay. That said, it seemed like they were a little "light" on the more 'pertinent' material so a lot of the doc is padded out with some pretty pointless dramatizations of Dahmer's day-to-day life. No murders are reenacted - the closest being Jeff dragging a body in a suitcase out of a hotel and into a cab. The rest of this type of stuff is just bland filler, showing Dahmer making a beer run and checking out a gay pride parade. I just didn't see the point in any of this so, in turn, I firmly believe that "The Jeffrey Dahmer Files" would've made for a much better short doc - consisting of, maybe, 15 minutes worth of the interview material.So, as I said, you're not getting a whole lot of new and interesting facts on the Dahmer case, but I kind of enjoyed hearing from the retired detective.More Gorepump horror reviews at http://swinesewage.blogspot.com/

The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (2012)*** (out of 4) Good, if at times uneven, documentary taking a look at three people who were close to Jeffrey Dahmer at the time he was arrested for what turned out to be one of the most shocking crimes in American history. This documentary features interviews with the neighbor Pamela Bass, the medical examiner Jeffrey Jentzen and most interesting is Pat Kennedy, the detective who talked with Dahmer after his arrest and got the confession. The film also has actor Andrew Swant playing Dahmer during a few scenes as we see him on a day-to-day basis as he carries out certain acts of his crimes. THE JEFFREY DAHMER FILES isn't your typical documentary and perhaps that's a good thing. I will admit that at first it was a little strange seeing how the film went back and forth between the documentary aspect and the docu-drama but once you got comfortable with it the film flowed much better. At just 76-minutes the thing never wears out its welcome and in fact I think that a longer running time probably would have helped matters as there are all sorts of questions that aren't answered. I think the highlights of the film involve the detective as he gives a first-hand account of how Dahmer was acting after being arrested and what it finally took for him to realize that his days were over as a free man and that he might as well start talking. I thought the relationship the two men formed was quite interesting and these stories are certainly the best in the film. The neighbor aspect wasn't nearly as interesting but she does answer a few good questions like what it was like having someone like this murdering people just feet away from her.

THE JEFFERY DAHMER FILES (dir. Chris James Thompson) A startlingly original dramatization and documentary about infamous Milwaukee serial killer, Jeffery Dahmer. The film features conversations with three interviewees; the detective who had first contact with Dahmer, the middle- aged, Afro American woman who was Dahmer's neighbor in the apartment building where his crimes were committed, and the medical examiner on the case. The fictionalized sections of the film augment and enhance the interrogative segments, and make this an authentic dramatic production and not just a series of interviews with 'talking heads'. The film is not even eighty minutes, but it is superbly edited and a brilliant example of documentary film-making. Well Worth a Look.