'Dahmer vs. Gacy' DVD Review

An obnoxiously unfunny, off-target attempt to create a cult film.

Where would horror movies be without government experiments gone awry? This time, the military's attempt to create a super soldier involves cloning notorious serial killers and splicing their DNA to spawn the most cold-blooded killer known to man. But wouldn't you know it; two of the clones escape! It seems that Jeffrey Dahmer (Ford Austin) and John Wayne Gacy (Randal Malone) aren't thrilled with the mastermind behind the project, Dr. Stravinski (Peter Zhmutski), playing with their DNA, and they set out to track him down, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

The military decides to send their spliced-together super killer X-13 (Ethan Phillips) after the deadly duo, but he's not the only one on the chase. An off-balance ex-soldier hears a voice in his head claiming to be God and instructing him to kill the murderers, and for good measure, the Japanese deploy a legion of ninjas to take them out as well. Okay...

Dahmer vs. Gacy is one of those madcap, over-the-top films that aspires to be a cult movie without realizing that most cult movies achieve their status organically without expressly trying to do so. As such, the whole thing feels forced, full of nonsensical scenes, ridiculous caricatures, broad performances and un-subtle writing that approaches its subject matter with a sledgehammer rather than a pen. The cobbled-together scenes feel like a bunch of thinly drawn, cliché-ridden skits from a mediocre improv group. There's actually a joke about The Weakest Link in there; welcome to the cutting edge of 2001 comedy.

Not only is Dahmer vs. Gacy aggressively unfunny, but since it deals with real-life serial killers and their heinous acts -- including rape, murder, torture, necrophilia, pedophilia and cannibalism -- in a comedic light, it's also fairly tasteless. The filmmakers seem to have as perverse a fascination for these killers as the ditsy fans they poke fun of in the film. Even giving some leeway for differences in sense of humor, Dahmer vs. Gacy is irredeemably bad, weighed down by not only lowbrow material, but stiff dialogue, awkward edits, uneven sound, amateurish direction and a series of dull "eyewitness reports" that merely talk about the action rather than actually showing the events.

Only a few intriguing cameos manage to make the film bearable -- including veteran character actors Art LaFleur, Ethan Phillips, Harland Williams and Irwin Keyes, plus genre icon Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp) and even musician Steven Adler and former "Munchkin" Jerry Maren.

The DVD

No special features.

Movie: D
DVD: F

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the distributor. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.