The film does have certain benefits that I would say raise it above the bar of simply 'good' to great. The story as written by John Backderf, played by Alex Wolff in the film, follows him and his various friends as they both invite Dahmer into their group to use him in various pranks, but also try and be friendly with him - or as friendly as you can be to an asocial, seemingly asexual outcast who fakes seizures to get attention. My Friend Dahmer comes at the story of Jeffery Dahmer from an interesting angle it follows Dahmer growing up at school, following from aged 17 to his first murder at 18 - the film stops just after he picks up Steven Hicks. However, when I was watching this movie, I was thinking of a less violent but just as emotionally wringing version of the brilliant Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, based heavily on Henry Lee Lucas. The true life serial killer genre isn't exactly over-crowded, just more that there's fictionalised ones that take more of a forefront - Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates, Freddy Krueger all for instance - and they always portray those characters with a certain degree of appeal.
Reviewed by paulmcuomo 8 / 10 A brilliant addition to the serial killer genre, and also the coming-of-age genre
