The Netflix miniseries Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story might be one of the streaming platform's most-watched shows in its history, but with its success has come plenty of controversy. Because the series is based on a true story, it left many viewers feeling uneasy enough to turn it off before the end of the first episode. Others who've pushed on through have described how the series is just as heartbreaking as it is terrifying, given the nature of the crimes Dahmer's victims endured along with the everlasting impact that was left with their families.
Speaking with Variety, Dahmer director Paris Barclay spoke about he also struggled emotionally with the series from the other side of the camera as well. For his part, Barclay explained how he was initially reluctant to take the job when it was offered by co-creator Ryan Murphy, but he found himself intrigued once he heard how the goal was to "tell it from the point of view of the victims." Barclay helmed two of the show's ten episodes, including one about the murder of Black Deaf mute Tony Hughes (Rodney Burford). This episode had particularly left many viewers feeling devastated, and Hughes' mother also criticized the series for dramatizing her son's murder.
Addressing this criticism directly, Barclay explains how much he wishes there were a way for her pain to end, although that is not possible. He then says that the idea was to help keep Hughes' memory alive, reminding viewers that he was a human being and not just a statistic. As Barclay puts it:
“I don’t really have an opinion about that other than I really wish there’s a world where [Hughes’ mother] can experience it without pain, but I can’t imagine being able to see it without pain. We tried to elevate and we tried to embrace Tony. We tried to give him a voice. We tried as best we could to make him resonate with viewers. And that seemed to have happened. I’m really proud of what we did, not just for Tony, but also for the Deaf community. That was my mantra. We want to make these victims not disappear.”
Paris Barclay Shed Many Tears During Filming
While filming a series about Jeffrey Dahmer obviously comes nowhere close to the pain felt by the victims' families, telling the serial killer's story took a heavy emotional toll on many members of the cast and crew. Barclay says how Netflix had offered counseling services to those who needed it, including Evan Peters, who has previously said how terrifying it was for him to get into character as Dahmer. For him personally, Barclay also recalls crying at home during production while thinking about the victims.
"Some of the scenes that we depicted were pretty harrowing. When you’re shooting them, you don’t just get to watch them for two minutes. You’re living in them for a full day and you’re repeating them. It definitely took its toll on you. There were times that I was at home crying just thinking about the emotional experience that the actors have gone through and what the real people went through. We took our time with it. We didn’t rush anything. Evan Peters was very intense as Jeffrey Dahmer. He was very much in character on stage so we really took care. We really protected the cast and crew as much as we could.”
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is streaming on Netflix.