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Toronto After Dark Review: ‘My Friend Dahmer’ is a Dark, Troubled Tale

Published

7 years ago

October 14, 2017

My Friend Dahmer is probably the scariest non-horror film you’ll see all year. It’s the story of Jeffrey before Dahmer, and it weaves a stunning cautionary tale of a youth in peril.

I had the chance to see My Friend Dahmer as part of this year’s Toronto After Dark lineup, so naturally I jumped at the chance. We’ve been eagerly anticipating this film for quite some time here at iHorror, and it certainly did not disappoint.

via Ain’t It Cool News

A friend of mine has a theory that whenever a scene in shown in a school classroom, the topic of the lesson acts as a general theme or thesis of the film. Director/writer Marc Meyers includes such a scene in a history class, where the teacher pointedly asks “why is history so important?”.

He calls on young Jeffrey Dahmer who avoids the question by what is later referred to as “doing a Dahmer” – a class clown act of putting on a voice or making disruptive noises. His classmates respond with laughter, and the camera focuses on Jeffrey’s surprised, secret smile as he discovers the rare approval of his peers.

The teacher continues on to explain that history is important because we will never truly know ourselves until we study our past. This, truly, is the point of the film. To study Dahmer as he was, the person behind the monster, and the painfully present signs that hid in plain sight.

via z103.5

Jeffrey’s bouts of disruption gain him a group of friends who revel in his oddity, but their relationship quickly grows stale. Like they’ve adopted a pet that grew too fast, or chewed on the furniture a bit too much. Jeffrey’s actions in the film are that of a troubled teen screaming for help, but he is simply pushed further into isolation.

You’re shown a side of teenage vulnerability that makes you begin to empathize with Jeffrey, but there’s still the constant reminders of the darkness that was always there and the terror of what he will become.

via Filmrise

Former Disney star Ross Lynch knocks it out of the park with his performance as the titular Dahmer. His dead-eyed expression, hunched shoulders, and stiff shuffle convey the guarded physicality of a young man who struggles with his own existence.

My Friend Dahmer is a well-balanced meal; there are side portions of humor and horror that compliment the bloody, meaty steak of the character’s future. It will remind you of a story you’ve seen before – the potential danger in a troubled teen – but with a harrowing reality you can’t avoid.

Featured image via Filmrise

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Netflix Releases First BTS ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ Footage

Published

6 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Timothy Rawles

It’s been three long years since Netflix unleashed the bloody, but enjoyable Fear Street on its platform. Released in a tryptic fashion, the streamer broke up the story into three episodes, each taking place in a different decade which by the finale were all tied together.

Now, the streamer is in production for its sequel Fear Street: Prom Queen which brings the story into the 80s. Netflix gives a synopsis of what to expect from Prom Queen on their blog site Tudum:

“Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”

Based on R.L. Stine’s massive series of Fear Street novels and spin-offs, this chapter is number 15 in the series and was published in 1992.

FEAR STREET: PROM QUEEN IS NOW IN PRODUCTION 🩸 Welcome to Shadyside High. We're gonna have a killer time. pic.twitter.com/jDl0zRa2CH
— Netflix (@netflix) April 30, 2024

Fear Street: Prom Queen features a killer ensemble cast, including India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (Sweet Magnolias, American Pie), Lili Taylor (Outer Range, Manhunt) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From, Perry Mason).

No word on when Netflix will drop the series into its catalog.

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Live Action Scooby-Doo Reboot Series In Works at Netflix

Published

7 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The ghosthunting Great Dane with an anxiety problem, Scooby-Doo, is getting a reboot and Netflix is picking up the tab. Variety is reporting that the iconic show is becoming an hour-long series for the streamer although no details have been confirmed. In fact, Netflix execs declined to comment.

If the project is a go, this would be the first live-action movie based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon since 2018’s Daphne & Velma. Before that, there were two theatrical live-action movies, Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), then two sequels that premiered on The Cartoon Network.

Currently, the adult-oriented Velma is streaming on Max.

Scooby-Doo originated in 1969 under the creative team Hanna-Barbera. The cartoon follows a group of teenagers who investigate supernatural happenings. Known as Mystery Inc., the crew consists of Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and his best friend, a talking dog named Scooby-Doo.

Normally the episodes revealed the hauntings they encountered were hoaxes developed by land-owners or other nefarious characters hoping to scare people away from their properties. The original TV series named Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! ran from 1969 to 1986. It was so successful that movie stars and pop culture icons would make guest appearances as themselves in the series.

Celebrities such as Sonny & Cher, KISS, Don Knotts, and The Harlem Globetrotters made cameos as did Vincent Price who portrayed Vincent Van Ghoul in a few episodes.

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BET Releasing New Original Thriller: The Deadly Getaway

Published

7 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Cameron McFarland

BET will soon be offering horror fans a rare treat. The studio has announced the official release date for their new original thriller, The Deadly Getaway. Directed by Charles Long (The Trophy Wife), this thriller sets up a heart racing game of cat and mouse for audiences to sink their teeth into.

Wanting to break up the monotony of their routine, Hope and Jacob set off to spend their vacation at a simple cabin in the woods. However, things go sideways when Hope’s ex-boyfriend shows up with a new girl at the same campsite. Things soon spiral out of control. Hope and Jacob must now work together to escape the woods with their lives.

The Deadly Getaway is written by Eric Dickens (Makeup X Breakup) and Chad Quinn (Reflections of US). The Film stars, Yandy Smith-Harris (Two Days in Harlem), Jason Weaver (The Jacksons: An American Dream), and Jeff Logan (My Valentine Wedding).

Showrunner Tressa Azarel Smallwood had the following to say about the project. “The Deadly Getaway is the perfect reintroduction to classic thrillers, which encompass dramatic twists, and spine-chilling moments. It showcases the range and diversity of emerging Black writers across genres of film and television.”

The Deadly Getaway will premiere on 5.9.2024, exclusively ion BET+.