My Friend Dahmer (2017)

America has always had a fascination with serial killers and it's been ingrained in Hollywood for a long time now especially with horror films. One of the strangest cases in America has always been that of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer who was convicted in 1991 of 17 murders I believe that he did some strange things to. Not a lot was known about his early life until his former best friend released the book My Friend Dahmer which was turned into a film and that is my choice for today. The film stars Ross Lynch (The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina) as Jeffrey Dahmer, but Jeffrey is in high school and he is struggling to make friends while also dealing with his messed up family situation. From advice from his father to make friends, Jeffrey acts out during his senior year and this is the account of his decent into madness. The film also stars Vincent Kartheiser (Alpha Dog) as Dr. Matthews, Alex Wolff (Jumanji: The Next Level) as Derf, Anne Heche (Donnie Brasco) as Mrs. Dahmer, Dallas Roberts (Mayhem) as Lionel Dahmer, Tommy Nelson (The Good Sheppard) as Neil,  Harrison Holzer (Better Living Through Chemistry) as Mike, Cameron McKendry (I'm Not Ashamed) as Moose, Liam Koeth as Dave Dahmer, and the film was written, directed, and produced by Marc Meyers (We Summon The Darkness).

You hate to make excuses for serial killers because at the end of the day, they did the deed and no matter what they have to face the consequences, but this film was very telling. You could almost tell right from the start that there was something wrong with him especially before he joined up with those kids. He just always seemed a little off and his family definitely did not help him either as all he felt was pain and he journeyed into drinking and such to mask the pain. I don't hold his friends accountable for what he became, but I don't think the situation was right because they may have had the best intentions, but Jeffrey was off and it didn't help at all his journeyed down the downward spiral. I thought Ross Lynch did a fantastic job playing Dahmer to the point that he was really creeping me out. He was the focal point of the film to me because the film was all about him after all and the tones just matched the mood of the film which was dark and gray. I definitely think that if you want to see what psycholgists are always talking about when it comes to serial killers then this film is a great case study for sure. Anne Heche was great as his bat shit crazy mom who has lost grip severely on reality to the point that she takes off on Jefferey during his most vulnerable time in his life. I definitely think this is a film worth checking out for the performance so if you want you can find the film on Kanopy and on Tubi for free right now. I am going to give the film an B+/A- (somewhere in there) for a final grade.

Mayhem (2017)

There are so many different ways to watch films these days from your television, DVD's, Redbox, Netflix, Disney Plus, and so many more. If you are a fan of horror then one app you will definitely want to check out is Shudder which is a reasonably priced app. The film I chose for today is featured on the app and it stars one of my personal favorites in Samara Weaving (The Babysitter) and it called Mayhem which was directed by Joe Lynch (Chillerama). The film stars Steven Yeun (I Origins) as Derek Cho, a rising star in a huge law firm that is about to find out that he was just framed for something he didn't commit and he is about to be fired. Before he can get the boot, the building is put on lock down due to a virus that causes it's victims to act out their wildest urges and with the help of Melanie Cross (Weaving), he'll get the revenge he craves because of the virus no one is held accountable for their actions. The film also stars Steven Brand (The Scorpion King) as The Boss, Caroline Chikezie (Supernatural) as The Siren, Dallas Roberts (Dallas Buyers Club) as The Reaper, Mark Frost (Faust) as Ewan, Claire Dellamar (Dick Pic) as Meg, and André Eriksen (Vikings) as The Bull.

This was an excellent film from beginning to end and I say that because there was non stop bloody action and mayhem (pun intended). I loved the concept of the film where because Derek found that legal loophole, you can do whatever you want and not be held accountable as long as you are infected. Remember, they are acting on pure impulses because of what the virus does to you. It kind of has the feel of 28 Days Later without them being zombies and at the work place like Fight Club. I thought some of the acting was a little over the top, but it actually worked for this situation because this is a satire of ruthless no good coke snorting lawyers and the crap they get away with. We are supposed to be rooting for Derek and hope that he catches up to his jerk boss before the quarantine time is up and they succeed in accomplishing that. The acting from Steven Yeun and Samara Weaver was fantastic and Samara is growing to be one of my favorites as she carried The Babysitter, Ready Or Not, and definitely helped with this one. Yeun does an amazing job as the films main character and protagonist as I said before you root for him to make it to the end. If you love the right kind of insanity to go with your comedy and horror then this is definitely the film to watch and you can do so on Shudder. Remember, the film has lots of action, great comedy, some nudity, and some bad ass scenes which is why I am going to go ahead and give the film an A- for a final grade.