My Friend Dahmer tells a very different kind of Jeffrey Dahmer story, but the psychological drama is no less chilling for it.
Based on the 2012 graphic novel of the same name, My Friend Dahmer was originally released in late 2017, but it's now had a second lease of life on Netflix UK where it's among the most-watched movies on the service.
Instead of focusing on Dahmer's murders of at least 17 men between 1978 and 1991, the movie takes place before his first murder and centres on his teenage years. At high school, Dahmer (played by Ross Lynch) meets aspiring artist John 'Derf' Backderf (played by Hereditary's Alex Wolff) and his friends, who soon form "The Dahmer Fan Club".
But did this all really happen and how accurate is My Friend Dahmer to the true story? Let's delve into it.
Is My Friend Dahmer a true story?
As unlikely as it seems, My Friend Dahmer is a true story and it's based on the real-life experiences of John 'Derf' Backderf, who did really know Dahmer at high school.
The movie even took the accuracy a step further by filming in Dahmer's actual childhood home in Bath, Ohio and its surrounding areas.
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Backderf turned his experiences into the graphic novel My Friend Dahmer and while, like most stories based on real life, there are creative liberties taking in telling the story, the broad strokes remain the same.
"There was always a darkness about him that was really kind of repellent," Backderf told The Independent in May 2018. "I was OK with hanging out with him, if there was other people around. I was never going to be alone with him."
The "Dahmer Fan Club" was a real thing too, including the attempts by the group to sneak Dahmer into school club group photographs.
One alteration for the movie though was that, in real life, Dahmer "inserted himself" into the group, rather than Backderf and his friends inviting him into their close circle.
"We were bored stiff and just looking to get through the day, and Jeff was entertainment. He was a little bit dangerous, he was a little bit unpredictable, and that was fun for us," he recalled.
There are some other changes from real life in the movie, notably Backderf being in scenes that he wasn't actually involved in, such as the school trip to DC.
Where it matters though, My Friend Dahmer is accurate to the true story of Dahmer.
This is especially the case in its chilling final scene. It sees Dahmer pick up 19-year-old hitchhiker Steven Hicks, who ended up being Dahmer's first victim.
My Friend Dahmer is available to watch on Netflix UK.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
