TV - Movies
How Accurate Is
Netflix's
Monster: The
Jeffrey Dahmer
Story?
By RUSSELL MURRAY
Ryan Murphy, writer, director, producer, and creator of countless hit TV shows ("American Horror Story," "The People Vs. O.J. Simpson," "Glee"), just released his most recent foray into dramatized true crime, "MONSTER: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story." The online buzz around the show is already electric, but how much of the story actually happened?
Allegedly, Murphy has a spotty track record regarding accuracy in his projects, as he occasionally embellishes reality for artistic effect, some have even accused him of stretching the truth beyond recognition. However, according to an article published by Decider, most of the series' outrageous and disturbing events actually came to pass.
Decider does note some smaller inaccuracies. In reality, Dahmer did not drink blood from a bag while working at a plasma center — he consumed it from a vile. Similarly, Dahmer's own killer, Christopher Scarver, is shown to attack fellow inmate Jesse Anderson before going to Dahmer — in real life, Scarver stated that he attacked Dahmer first.
It would be tough to make the case that these changes sully a story that goes to great lengths to preserve the reality of Dahmer's case. Themes of institutional failure and the consequences of societal neglect appear alive and well in Murphy's "Monster" — and with a victim-focused approach, perhaps this adaption is best crafted to deliver the vital lessons of this tragedy.