Underplayed Gems

American Psycho (2000)

American Psycho poster
Directed by
Mary Harron
Genre
drama film, comedy horror, slasher film, crime film, thriller film, black comedy film
Country
United States, Canada
Runtime
1h 42m
Rated
R
Rating
7.4 of 10 from 12,412 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like thisWatch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

A wealthy New York investment banker leads a double life as a serial killer. The film uses horror and comedy to mock 1980s yuppie culture and consumerism.

darkly comicunsettlingtensecoldsatiricalstylishbleakcerebral

What happens

American Psycho is a 2000 psychological horror film directed by Mary Harron, who co-wrote the screenplay with Guinevere Turner. Based on the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis, it stars Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a wealthy New York City investment banker who leads a double life as a serial killer. Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Chloƫ Sevigny, Samantha Mathis, Cara Seymour, Justin Theroux, Turner, and Reese Witherspoon appear in supporting roles. The film blends psychological horror and black comedy to satirize 1980s yuppie culture and consumerism, exemplified by Bateman. Ellis considered his controversial novel unfilmable; however, producer Edward R. Pressman was determined to adapt it and bought the film rights in 1992. Stuart Gordon, David Cronenberg, and Rob Weiss considered directing the film before Harron and Turner began writing the screenplay in 1996. They sought to make a 1980s period film that emphasized the novel's satire. The pre-production period was tumultuous; Harron chose Bale to play Bateman, but because distributor Lions Gate Films sought Leonardo DiCaprio in the role, Harron was fired and replaced with Oliver Stone. After DiCaprio and Stone left due to creative differences, Harron was rehired and allowed to cast Bale. Principal photography began in February 1999 in Toronto and New York City. American Psycho premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2000, and was released theatrically in the United States on April 14. The film received mostly positive reviews, with praise for Bale's performance and the screenplay, and grossed $34 million on a $7 million budget. It has since developed a cult following and a strong presence in meme culture since the 2010s. By December 2024, a new adaptation of the novel, directed by Luca Guadagnino, was in the works. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.