American Psycho



 



Director - Mary Harron (Constantine, Six Feet Under)
Starring - Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, Terminator Salvation), Justin Theroux (Zoolander 2, Six Feet Under), and Josh Lucas (Hulk, Session 9)
Release Date - 2000
Genre - Horror/Drama
Tagline - "Killer looks"
Format - 4K Ultra HD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

 

     Every decade has iconic films.  The 70s has The Exorcist, The Hills Have Eyes, and Dawn of the Dead.  The 80s saw a slew of horror films like Evil Dead II, Return of the Living Dead, and Child's Play.  The 90s is often called the worst decade for horror but there was some fantastic films to come out of that decade like Army of Darkness, Night of the Living Dead remake, and The Sixth Sense.  When I think about horror in the 2000s I immediately think about the 2000 Christian Bale flagship American Psycho.  This movie is beloved by most of the horror community and you can't get away from it.  I've seen lunch boxes, shirts, wallets, backpacks, patches, phone cases, and several dozen tattoos.  This film is one of the most popular in the horror genre.  This film was released when I was in middle school and I remember renting it when it hit tape.  I thought it was fun but nothing special.  In fact, I actually prefer the shitty sequel starring Mila Kunis over this one.  Anyway, the film was recently released on 4K Ultra HD and I was lucky enough to get a review copy.  Would this hold up 18 years later?

     The film follows investment banker Patrick Bateman (Bale) who is a shell of a man.  Patrick is obsessed with wealth and glamour preferring to live in luxury while obsessing over being better than his counterparts.  Patrick also struggles with emotions.  He has no connection to others which is what has lead to his secret hobby...killing people.  His obsession slowly consumes him and he can no longer control his impulses pushing him into going on a killing spree.

     American Psycho is one of those films that people tend to love but I could never get into like they did.  I could see why it had such an appeal but it just didn't sit well with me.  Now, after revisiting it I have to say I'm not really a fan of the film.  It just didn't hold up well and really tried my patience.  The acting in this one is great, for the most part.  Christian Bale fucking kills it.  His scenes where he can turn loose and be himself were fantastic.  He adds some light humor to dry scenes that would be otherwise unbearable to watch.  The supporting cast is hit or miss but the main focus of the film does a fantastic job and deserves the iconic status he does get just because he is so entertaining in these scenes.  The story for this one seems stretched way too thin for the running time we are given.  I've never read the book so I could not tell you the differences but I can tell you that this film is just too damn long.  There is way too many scenes where the dialogue will bore you to death and, as far as I can tell, serve little to no purpose to the overall story.  If the fat was trimmed, so to speak, the film would have flowed better but I don't think it would have saved it.  Finally, if you are looking for gore you wont really find it here.  There is some blood and some clever kills.  The effects for the kills do work but they are nothing memorable.  Overall, American Psycho is not for me.  I can see why so many love the film and I really want to due to Bale's performance but the film does fall flat.  I still recommend that everyone watch it at least once just to see how amazing Bale is in it.