Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- disturbing
- melancholic
- awkward
- true crime viewing
- serious film night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film empathetic yet deeply troubling, praising its tonal control and central performance while finding its narrative less forceful.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The story concentrates on Jeffrey Dahmer's final year in high school rather than his later criminal notoriety.
Dahmer's awkward school life and interactions with classmates gain disturbing significance from the known trajectory of his life.
Jeffrey struggles to belong while the film presents his troubling behavior empathetically but without excusing it.
The high-school setting, Ohio suburbia, and 1970s period frame Dahmer's isolation within an apparently ordinary community.
Films like My Friend Dahmer, and why
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
shared true crime subject matter, psychological unease, and morally troubling portrait of criminal pathology
The Clovehitch Killer
shared coming of age drama, alienated adolescent protagonist, and gradual exposure of disturbing behavior
The Good Nurse
shared biographical crime drama, suburban isolation, and examination of a young killer before notoriety
Elephant
shared bleak adolescent alienation, uncomfortable intimacy, and restrained psychological tension
Movie Details
- Director
- Marc Meyers
- Release Date
- 2017-11-03
- Runtime
- 107 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (663)
Cast
- Ross Lynch
- Alex Wolff
- Anne Heche
- Dallas Roberts
- Liam Koeth
- Nancy Telzerow
- Tommy Nelson
- Harrison Holzer
- Brigid Naughton
- Cameron McKendry
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is My Friend Dahmer about?
- A troubled Ohio teenager’s struggle for belonging becomes an unsettling portrait of the isolation and warning signs preceding a serial killer’s emergence.
- What is My Friend Dahmer like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of My Friend Dahmer as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is My Friend Dahmer violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in My Friend Dahmer as graphic.
- What did critics think of My Friend Dahmer?
- Critics broadly found the film empathetic yet deeply troubling, praising its tonal control and central performance while finding its narrative less forceful.
- Which films are like My Friend Dahmer?
- Films with a similar feel include Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, The Clovehitch Killer, The Good Nurse, and Elephant.
- How long is My Friend Dahmer?
- My Friend Dahmer runs 107 minutes.
- Where can I watch My Friend Dahmer?
- In United States, My Friend Dahmer streams on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel.
