Dahmer on Netflix: Why were some very specific scenes cut?

Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, Monster – Dahmer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was one of the big events of 2022. The program even became one of the most watched in the history of the Netflix platform. A year later, the mini-series won no less than 13 Emmy Awards – and a nomination for the Oscars of television.

In an interview with Variety, editor Stephanie Filo—credited for her work—revealed important information about the post-production stage: specific scenes with the serial killer were cut. So far there is nothing surprising, the practice is common, but the editor’s choice fell on sympathy around the character of Jeffrey Dahmer.

By cutting certain sequences, Stephanie Philo wanted to avoid the audience from being a crime lover at all costs. For example, he cites episode 4, in which “The Cannibal from Milwaukee” returns from the army. Originally, the long scene was to show her with her parents at the dinner table during the Christmas holidays. The editor explains that the sequence relied heavily on family dynamics.

main responsibility

In order to keep his distance, he decided to cut and reverse several moments to show him acting against his prey to constantly remind the public of his true nature. “These cuts help give context to the horrific events that were taking place, rather than simply showing the boy with his parents. “he explains.

On the contrary, on the side of the victims, Stephanie Philo felt a huge responsibility to make their voice heard. He explains that he spent several days editing the scene in episode 8 where one of the victim’s family members gives a statement in court. “I tackled it once when I was in my right mind and it was like that for a lot of the show.” For the editor, working on Dahmer was one of his greatest emotional challenges.

Dahmer is available on Netflix.