American Psycho

Chloë Sevigny, Christian Bale, Jared Leto

Patrick Bateman is young, white, beautiful, ivy leagued, and indistinguishable from his Wall Street colleagues. Shielded by conformity, privilege, and wealth, Bateman is also the ultimate serial kille...( read more  read more... )r, roaming freely and fearlessly. His murderous impulses are fueled by zealous materialism and piercing envy when he discovers someone else has acquired more than he has. After a colleague presents a business card superior in ink and paper to his, Bateman's blood thirst sharpens, and he steps up his homicidal activities to a frenzied pitch. Hatchets fly, butcher knives chop, chainsaws rip, and surgical instruments mutilate-how far will Bateman go? How much can he get away with?

Flixster Users

83% liked it

Critics

66% liked it

R, 1 hr. 44 min.

Directed by: Mary Harron

Released: April 14, 2000

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DVD Released: September 5, 2000

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Top Flixster Reviews


  • May 29, 2009
    American Psycho pales in comparison to the Bret Easton Ellis novel upon which it is based. Bateman was portrayed as a calculating and methodical killer (with the exception of the chapter where his murder of a saxophonist in plain view of a police officer sends him into a frenzy),... ...( read more )
  • March 19, 2009
    Disturbing, brilliant and about as good an adaptation of the book as we are going to get.
  • February 5, 2009
    "There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably c... ...( read more )
  • February 1, 2009
    A sick, twisted, stylish, scary and mind-blowing thriller. A dark, disturbingly entertaining, frequently funny and bloody masterpiece. It's clever, well-written and exhilerating. Christian Bale is unforgettable, a really incrediable and electrifying movie star performance,
  • December 29, 2008
    Have you ever found a film you never heard of, bought it because it was cheap and you liked the story, go home, watch it while expecting a good time killer and then find you have just watched a truly triumphant piece of film making? This is what happened to me with American Psych... ...( read more )
  • July 1, 2009
    As always Bale delivers not my favorite movie of all times but it very well portraits the sick side of us all in all stages of one's day.

Critic Reviews


View more American P... reviews at RottenTomatoes.com
May 10, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

An uneven movie that nonetheless bristles with stinging wit and exerts a perverse fascination. full review

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Christian Bale is heroic in the way he allows the character to leap joyfully into despicability; there is no instinct for self-preservation here, and that is one mark of a good actor. full review

January 1, 2000
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Toothless and empty. full review

Comments


  • veronica247
    July 5, 2007
    Only just seeing this film i realise why people say its so great! It delves accurately into the clean, crisp life of Patrick Bateman. He has everything life could offer, yet his only saviour is to destroy those who better him. The monologues, his insights into such a mind, makes you think how a man can be so inhumane. Disturbingly brilliant. Very funny film. Bale - how can i describe him? He's Bale. Loved every minute of it. Permanently part of my collection now! Bravo Bale!
  • fedelm
    May 7, 2007
    I think you're missing the point of the movie. It IS great and deserves any rave review it gets. It's a dark (very dark) comedy, satirizing 80s yuppie culture: materialism and obsessiveness with one's careers and physique - one's 'standing' in other words.
    It is also an intriguing look into the mind of a psychopath. They often try to fit in as much as possible, though in reality they feel no empathy for fellow men and nave no real emotions other than rage and the pleasure derived from killing. Al f this is observable in the character of Patrick Bateman.
  • onefinalhit
    April 29, 2007
    everyone keeps talking about how brilliant and sick & twisted this movie is. It's neither. It's a poorly filmed, deeply flawed and cliched run-of-the-mill wannabe slasher/psycho-thriller. Those who claim this to be sick and twisted, weird, depraved, well, you guys need to widen ur viewing. Stop salivating at Hollywood's table scraps.
  • 1JazzKat
    April 16, 2007
    The identity of Patrick Bateman is merely a charismatic mask designed to help lure in his unsuspecting prey...

    He resorts to obsessive-compulsive behaviour to hide the fact that he's falling apart as he gives into his desires.

    Makes you wonder why society tends to trust beautiful people, since they are equally capable of unspeakable evil.
  • beatlephan89
    April 15, 2007
    So disturbing, sick, and twisted that it has to be good. When I first saw the movie I couldn't decide whether I hated it or loved it. It was only after quoting it in daily discussions, and then cracking up, that I realized it really is a work of art. Christian Bale is amazing. I am officially disturbed...and liking it.
  • edudarko
    March 23, 2007
    i wanna see this movie
  • purplegothchild
    November 23, 2006
    weird, disgusting and strange and thankfully not as gross as the book which describes events even a hardened gore fest fan like myself found too much. Brilliant film

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