Superintendent Matthew Montgomery and the Revere Board of Education have denied access to Revere High School for the filming of the independent movie My Friend Dahmer based on the graphic novel My Friend Dahmer written and illustrated by 1978 Revere High School graduate John “Derf” Backderf.

After initially contacting Montgomery in the spring, the director and producer of the film flew from New York and California to meet with Montgomery this summer. With the consultation of many sources including the Board of Education, Montgomery decided not to allow the movie crew to film at Revere High School.

“Ultimately, the Board of Education and I did not believe the film aligned with our vision for the district,” Montgomery said.

Although the movie will not be shot on Revere High School property, if the production team uses “Revere High School” as the school’s name in My Friend Dahmer, the district may still be portrayed negatively. This could create a destructive image of RHS for viewers unaware that the school in the film is not the real Revere High School.

Jeffrey Dahmer’s attendance of Revere High School is a historical fact of the school’s past, but, as Montgomery voiced, it is “a memory which the Revere community is not eager to relive.”

Though it may be difficult to control how Revere is portrayed in the film, Montgomery and the Board of Education have avoided focusing on a sensitive subject by preventing the filming from taking place on Revere property. Perhaps it is time for Revere to move on from Dahmer.