"But Dear Impostor", I hear you cry from around a mouthful of partly-masticated Rattus Rattus; "how is one to obtain ones Quality Entertainment both legally and freely?" Turn to your mother, your helpmeet, your GOD; YOUTUBE! Yes, I said legally; hard to believe, but among the 9 minute 'videos' consisting of a still with a "go to www.jjfxnotarussiantrojansitereallyhonest7jw for the full version of this still-in-cinemas-hot-film" message, there are full, free (frequently out-of-copyright) gems. Of course, there's a large amount of dreck, but that is true of any given B****B**st*r rental shelf (Such a 20th-century concept!), and nothing is better than the opportunity to riff a bad film, save it be the opportunity to riff one FOR FREE.
So, for Instalment One:
It's Dahmer!
No, not Dahmer: The Secret Life, or the Trial of Jeffrey Dahmer, or another daft Ulli Lommel film (as Uwe Boll is to video games, Ulli Lommel is to true crime, and oh my word Tenderness of the Wolves was a long time ago and another country - literally - and besides the wench is dead. Though, if it stops him making another blasted Boogeyman film...). Unlike most surnamed serial killer films, this is actually good. Starring (Oscar Nominee ooh-la-la) Jeremy Renner as Hungry Jeff, and Bruce Davison as his buttoned-up dad Lionel (and why isn't Bruce Davison in many more films, eh? And why is Willard not out on DVD yet? Did the remake bomb THAT badly that it put a black pox on every version? Questions for another day...), real names are used for the Dahmer family, though the victims tend to have names and biographical details fudged; not too surprising, since this looks like an indie film without room in the budget for name-brand coffee at the cast's lunch table, never mind for lawsuits from aggrieved relatives.
I'll level with you now; if you're looking for human-thigh sandwiches, and skull-fucking, then this will NOT be the film for you; odd as it sounds, it's more of a character piece...It just happens that the character is a cannibal serial killer, and a serious challenger to Travis Bickle as God's Lonely Man. Renner is very good as the Loneliest Man on Earth, and we're with him all the way from his awkward late teens, to his attempts at disconnected sex with drugged strangers in gay bars and saunas; to his hamfisted attempts to get people to come home with him, to stay, and then to never, ever leave. To which end he almost succeeds, thanks to the unwitting assistance of the local police, who seem very willing to sign off a naked, blood-covered, incoherent (very) young man as a domestic dispute; implausible as it seems, this incident's straight from the police reports, much to the police's embarrassment after Dahmer's arrest when they had to face a lot of hard questions about exactly how concerned they were about the (mostly young, predominantly black or Asian) victims.
As far as psycho performances go, Renner's more Tony Perkins than Hopkins; scenery (and longpig) goes unchewed, there's not a one-liner to be heard, and the tensest moment is a confrontation between Dahmers Junior and Senior over the key to an old medicine box. This is Dahmer, not Lecter; not a droll intellectual with a penchant for chianti and opera, but a sad, lonely foul-up with a boring job and a drinking problem; that odd fellow at the bus stop, or in the supermarket who tries to make conversation with the checkout girl, that messageboard commenter who gets angry about odd things, or your strange downstairs neighbour, or your cousin, or you...or me.
It's not a perfect film; the flashback-flashforward structure is tricksy, and for not much effect; a very little of some of the supporting actors goes a long way; and good Lord there is a LOT of red light, and low light, that makes some scenes hard on my old pair of eyes.
This film is not for you if:
- You think 'low-key' means 'boring'
- Male-male sexuality makes you squirm, or titter
- You want every serial killer film to have a body count; nubile coeds for preference
- You work for, or have a relative in, the Milwaukee Police Department.
- You have poor night vision,
BUT; if you'd like a little something different, and for free, come and see here:
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