Monster

The origin and fall of the Milwaukee monster. Ryan Murphy has found himself in these waters and made a big hit for Netflix that is garnering praise and satisfaction on all fronts. It's got a big Mindhunter vibe to it (but that one was still a class above), but the bottom line is that the series nicely shows how someone can become a serial killer. Evan Peters as Dahmer is absolutely breathtaking, a terrific performance (an instant contender for this year's awards), the viewer trusts him completely and he pulls the whole series, but he doesn't get as much space in the final episodes and that's where the series loses points slightly. Dahmer is in my opinion one of the most twisted serial killers ever (maybe Gacy was even higher), the guy did and was simply everything: cannibal, necrophile, sexual predator, gay, freak – the essence of pure evil. What the police found in his apartment was an unbelievable carnage, second to none! The series moves at a slower pace, but the great actors, great dialogue, dark and uncomfortable atmosphere and disturbing music make this top notch filmmaking that will leave few cold. Personally, what puzzled me the most is the lack of any significant gore, explicitness and proper violence, here Murphy surprisingly kept his head down a bit too much (when I remember the gore from AHS I was hoping he would venture there too); unfortunately, violence and gore lovers are in the minority so Murphy gambled on safety to be able to lure in the weaker characters, and I understand that and can probably get over it. I liked the retrospective narrative from the victims' point of view as well, which was very unconventional and interesting, and I was surprised how many people could have prevented it from the start. The police in particular committed so many fatal mistakes that it was unbelievable, but of course luck was on Dahmer's side as well. I enjoyed the two cameos on similar freaks Ed Gein and Gacy, and ironically the best filmed death was Dahmer's – it was over the top. An excellent miniseries and, along with Black Bird, the best thing to come out of the genre this year. The unfulfilled potential of proper violence is a pity, I think I would have gone crazy and popped champagne with excitement. 8/10 (28.09.2022)

I was expecting this show to make a greater impression on me. While it couldn't surprise or shock me, as Jeffrey Dahmer's story is well-known, I was hoping to be blown away by the story’s execution, which just didn’t happen. It did have a very decent atmosphere overall, but it was slightly spoiled by the slow pace and Netflix politics. The biggest problem turned out to be the number of episodes, which made the story drag on. I can't help but feel that eight episodes with a more condensed plot would have been enough. I’d be more satisfied and give a higher rating. / Lesson learned: It does hold true that less is more. (25.10.2022)