Case File 056: American Psycho

May 18, 2022 / Christopher Schrader

When describing the reaction to Bret Easton Ellis's 1991 novel American Psycho, the word "controversial" seems hilariously inadequate. The backlash to this transgressive tale of a Wall Street stockbroker who moonlights as a sadistic serial killer was intense. So when the film adaptation hit theaters in 2000, it was anticipated with a great deal of trepidation and skepticism.

As it turns out, director Mary Harron brought the satirical elements of the book front and center in a way that not only recontextualized the source material for many people, it arguably improved upon it in many ways.

Two decades later, the character of Patrick Bateman maintains a stranglehold on pop culture and we wanted to investigate why.

Topics include: the arduous road to getting the film made and some truly shocking prior iterations that almost made it to the screen, Christian Bale's "method-adjacent" approach to his performance and the effect that had on his co-stars, why the themes of the story are maybe even more relevant now, the in-name-only sequel, Bateman's appearances in other media, whether or not audiences have spent 20 years asking the wrong question about the film's ending, and much more!

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