When Dahmer – Monster: A Jeffrey Dahmer Story was released on Netflix last year, it faced a slew of criticism from multiple family members of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims for re-traumatising them, and glorifying the violence of the serial killer.
But Stephanie Filo, an editor on the show, has revealed they edited certain scenes to limit the audience’s sympathy for him, including a scene in episode four that “felt too heavy on their family dynamic”.
Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the show’s fourth episode included a scene where Dahmer returned home from the army to have dinner with his family, but the scene was significantly changed later.
Rather than playing out as one full scene, the final version shows it interspersed with other events, adding context to Dahmer’s crimes.
As Filo explained: “That intercutting and seeing the weird things he’s been up to helped give context to the horrific things that were happening instead of having a guy just hanging out with his parents.”
In a scene from episode eight, victim impact statements are read aloud, a task Filo felt carried a lot of responsibility for, given the show’s controversial nature. “I finally tackled it once I was in the right headspace for it,” she said. “And that’s how a lot of cutting this series felt.”
The show’s next season will focus on the Menéndez brothers, Erik and Lyle, who were each sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of shooting their parents inside their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
