Jeffrey Dahmer’s Legal Team Explains His Obsession With Emperor Palpatine and ‘The Exorcist III’
Jeffrey Dahmer really was a fan of movies like The Exorcist III and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The legal team who defended Dahmer during his 1992 murder trial explain his fascination with these movies in the Netflix true crime series Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes. Here’s why those films attracted the serial killer’s attention.
‘The Exorcist III’ made Jeffrey Dahmer ‘speak in tongues’
In episode 2 of Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, Gerard Boyle, Dahmer’s lead defense attorney, gives a glimpse into the serial killer’s obsession with The Exorcist III. “Jeffrey put on The Exorcist III movie [after hand-cuffing one of Tracy Edwards‘ wrists],” Boyle explains. “Dahmer was starting to get into the movie so he wasn’t concerned about the other cuff. He started this crazy motion sitting and rocking back and forth … and making these strange noises and talking in tongues.”
The Exorcist III tells the story of a demonic serial killer Gemini, who Dahmer’s beliefs aligned with. As Dahmer explains in the tapes: “People go to these gory horror movies to get a glimpse at what they show in the movies. The only difference is I did it for real.”
Jeffrey Dahmer said he ‘derived pleasure’ from watching ‘The Exorcist III’
In a 1993 interview with Inside Edition, Dahmer explains his fascination with the third installment in The Exorcist franchise. “It actually derives a sort of pleasure from watching [The Exorcist III],” Dahmer told the outlet during the jailhouse interview.
Contrary to popular belief, he didn’t like feeling evil. Instead, Dahmer said he “tried to overcome the thoughts.” In his mind, this worked for a while, but he eventually gave in.
Dahmer killed 17 people from 1978 until his arrest in July 1991. He was sentenced to multiple life sentences, but was killed by a fellow inmate in November 1994.
Watch Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes exclusively on Netflix.
Jeffrey Dahmer also admired Emperor Palpatine from ‘Return of the Jedi’
As Wendy Patrickus, another lawyer on Dahmer’s legal team, explains in The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi was another one of his favorite movies. “He really identified with the Emperor,” Patrickus says. “He wanted that mind control.”
To mimic Emperor Palpatine’s use of the force, Dahmer tried creating “human zombies” by injecting hydrochloric acid into his victim’s brains. This rendered them submissive for a short time, but ultimately ended up killing them.
Emperor Palpatine inspired the yellow contacts Jeffrey Dahmer wore
According to Patrickus, Dahmer had to “get himself charged up” by trying to emulate the evil in those movies to fulfill his fantasies. “He had those yellow eyes, so Jeff found someplace where he could get contacts that were yellow eyes. Before he would go out at night, he would put the contacts in.”
Dahmer’s affinity for Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) also translated in Ryan Murphy’s DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. “You see my contacts?” Evan Peters’ Dahmer asks his youngest victim, Konerak Sinthasomphone (Kieran Tamondong). “They’re just like the Emperors. I got ’em at a costume shop in Kenosha.”
