Is "MONSTER" an accurate look at Jeffrey Dahmer's life and crimes, or does it
sensationalize beyond recognition? Here's the verdict on Netflix's latest true-crime hit.
The "true" in "true crime" is sometimes a bit misleading. Yes,
the stories are based on real events, but the people behind the stories often
use some dramatic license to make it more engaging for the viewer, listener, or reader.
This was very likely on the mind of Ryan Murphy, the writer, director, producer,
and creator of countless hit TV shows, as he was developing Netflix's most recent foray
into dramatized true crime, "MONSTER: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story." Online buzz around
the show is already electric, but viewers may be wondering how much of the story actually happened.
Murphy allegedly has a spotty track record regarding accuracy in his projects, many of
which skew toward retelling real events. Whether chronicling the court cases of O.J. Simpson,
the impeachment of former president Bill Clinton, the "feud" between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford,
or the murder of Gianni Versace, the filmmaker is clearly attracted to real-life
events that involved lots of drama. While he definitely sometimes embellishes reality for
artistic effect, some have accused him of stretching the truth beyond recognition.
According to Rose Law Group, actor Olivia de Havilland filed a lawsuit against FX and Murphy,
alleging that her portrayal in "Feud" tarnished her reputation and put words
in her mouth. And the Halston family called the Ewan McGregor-led drama "Halston," which
chronicled the titular real-life fashion designer, "inaccurate" and "fictionalized"
in a statement. If Murphy's detractors are to be believed, it may be challenging to
take his most recent project at face value. Yet Decider has fact-checked "MONSTER," and
their findings draw a unique conclusion for the true crime genre, proclaiming
that it "May Be One of the Most Accurate True Crime Dramatizations Brought to Television."
Decider asserts that most of the series' outrageous and disturbing
events actually did occur. This seems to be especially true for the specter
of institutional malpractice haunting this case. Glenda Cleveland's ignored police call
and the failure to save 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone are both noted as accurate,
right down to a gross joke made by one of the police officers.
"It'll be a minute. My partner's got to go get deloused at the station."
Decider argues that the show is actually more compelling by sticking to actual events,
even to the point of showcasing an empathetic side of Dahmer, depicting him as someone who
was ultimately failed by the system. Still, they report that "MONSTER" resists the trope
of glorifying Dahmer, presenting him in as realistic and unattractive a light as
possible. While the show explores the societal causes and implications of Dahmer's actions,
the victims whose lives were destroyed by those very actions are always of paramount
importance. Actor Evan Peters, who plays Dahmer in the series, said,
"It felt important to be respectful to the victims, to the victims' families."
Decider does note some small inaccuracies. The real Dahmer did not drink blood from a
bag while working at a plasma center; he consumed it from a vial. Similarly,
Dahmer's own killer, Christopher Scarver, is shown to attack fellow inmate Jesse
Anderson before going to Dahmer. In reality, Scarver stated that he attacked Dahmer first.
Historical accuracy feels especially important when
dealing with such a well-known subject as Jeffrey Dahmer. It's all too easy to
forget his victims and conjure a distracting image of a cinematic criminal mastermind. But
mythologizing Dahmer would be failing to learn the lessons of this horrific story.
The most recent film about the killer, "My Friend Dahmer," followed the killer's last years in high
school and took a deliberately accurate approach as well. The graphic novel the film is based on
was autobiographical. Its writer, John Backderf, began writing the story of their friendship after
news about Dahmer's crimes became public. The idiosyncrasies he and others had seen
and bushed off were suddenly missed signals. In a 2012 interview with Publishers Weekly, he said,
"It just seems to me that at every crucial point on his march to the edge of the abyss,
it was an adult's failure that propelled him along the way."
These themes of institutional failure and the consequences of
societal neglect are likewise found in Murphy's "MONSTER."