9 Jeffrey Dahmer Documentaries, Movies, & TV Shows To Watch ASAP

According to Deadline, the latest dramatization of Dahmer’s life became Netflix’s second-biggest series of all time within three weeks of its release. The series follows Dahmer from his childhood to his imprisonment and all of his crimes in between — including several moments where he was nearly caught before ultimately being arrested in 1991.

If you prefer to learn about Dahmer in a documentary, the latest Conversations with a Killer installment may be worth watching. The three-part series combines Dahmer’s own recollection of events from present-day interviews with people familiar with his crimes.

Another recent documentary, Jeffrey Dahmer: Mind of a Monster, approaches the serial killer’s history starting with his childhood — and even includes an interview with his father, Lionel.

This 2017 adaptation of a graphic novel by John Backderf, who attended high school with the serial killer, focuses on Dahmer's high school years. It stars Disney Channel favorite Ross Lynch as the murderer and cannibal and received positive reviews, with The Hollywood Reporter describing it as “exceptionally moving,” and Variety calling My Friend Dahmer “a serious and audacious attempt to dramatize the inner life of a sick puppy when he wasn’t quite so sick.”

This true crime film is all the more horrifying for focusing on the serial killer a year before Dahmer was murdered in a Wisconsin prison. It stars Carl Crew in the titular role.

This one is for viewers who'd like to understand the Milwaukee Cannibal in the context of other serial killers. The hour-long documentary isn't just focused on Dahmer; it also tells the tales of Ted Bundy, Albert Fish, John Wayne Gacy, and Andrei Chikatilo and compares these very real serial killers with the fictional cannibal Hannibal Lecter.

Starring Jeremy Renner (aka Hawkeye from the Marvel Cinematic Universe) in the titular role, this drama focuses on the serial killer’s later years and his inner life. As Entertainment Weekly reported in their review of Dahmer, "It lets you brush up against the humanity of a psycho, without making him any less psycho." The film also outlines a theory as to how he was able to murder unnoticed for so long, stressing the fact that his victims were usually young people of color.

The Los Angeles Times calls The Jeffrey Dahmer Files a "hybrid of documentary and fiction," with the film staging scenes and weaving them in with real footage. The Jeffrey Dahmer Files interviews people who came into contact with the serial killer, including his neighbor Pamela Bass, the detective who took his confession, Patrick Kennedy, and the medical examiner at the time, Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen. The movie contrasts the grotesque details of Dahmer’s crimes with his everyday facade, depicting how the murderer appeared innocent to many who had daily contact with him. As TV Guide observes, this leads to the conclusion about Dahmer "...that evil can pass right before our eyes on a daily basis."

This isn't a documentary, but it is equally compelling. Dahmer’s full 1992 trial is available to view on YouTube.