They did a good job of only showing enough gore to get the point across, as said by Evan Peters, the actor who played Dahmer. He told Netflix, “It felt important to be respectful to the victims, to the victims’ families…To try and tell the story as authentically as we could. And you need to have certain plot points because he did do these things, but you don’t need to embellish them; we get it.” For those who have a weak stomach, Dahmer may not be the ideal series to watch, but the show makes a powerful statement about Dahmer and his actions, without romanticizing him.

The producers included little details that accurately represent each person and the overall situation. For example, Rita Isbell, sister of one of the victims, spoke during Dahmer’s trial, not only in the series, but in real life. Isbell stated in an interview with Buzzfeed, "When I saw some of the show, it bothered me, especially when I saw myself — when I saw my name come across the screen and this lady saying verbatim exactly what I said. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought it was me. That's why it felt like reliving it all over again.” In addition to Isbell, other families felt similarly, feeling as if Netflix took advantage of their tragedy. Although Netflix could have requested their consent and been more transparent with their intentions, the show generally conveyed its purpose in a way that will stick with viewers forever.

Peters, the actor who played Dahmer, acted with such authenticity in his emotionless tone and used effective body language to convey his internal feelings, leaving viewers disturbed on an unanticipated level. Peters shocked viewers with his ability to perfectly mimic Dahmer’s verbal patterns and mannerisms. In an interview with Seventeen, Peters said he "was gonna have to go to really dark places and stay there for an extended period of time.” He claimed that, “Trying to commit to that was absolutely going to be one of the hardest things [he’d] ever had to do in [his] life,” which became apparent as viewers watched Dahmer commit horrid atrocities that left stomachs churning by the end of the series. Niecy Nash took on the role of Glenda Cleveland, his neighbor, playing her in a way that expressed her natural strength, but did not shy away from showing her fear of Dahmer, and the exhaustion of being overlooked by the police. Nash commented in an interview with Netflix on her role, saying, “when you hear the different things that happened with regards to Jeffrey Dahmer and his victims, Glenda was one of his victims, too.”