At first she is hesitant to join him again, as her previous injuries brought her to the ER and might require surgery. Bateman is initially relieved by the news, but is perturbed and begins to doubt himself.īateman returns to the spot he met Christie and asks her to come with him. Detective Kimball interviews Bateman again and, while Kimball harbors his own doubts of Bateman, he reveals that a colleague of Bateman's claims to have spotted Paul Allen in London, calling into question the entire investigation. Kimball meets Bateman for lunch and tells him he is not under suspicion in Allen's disappearance. When he receives a message from Evelyn on his answering machine, he asks Jean to leave. When Jean arrives, unbeknownst to her, Bateman holds a nail gun to the back of her head while they chat. After murdering a model, Bateman invites his secretary Jean to dinner, suggesting that she meet him at his apartment for drinks. Bateman tries to strangle Luis in the restroom of an expensive restaurant, but Luis mistakes the attempt for a sexual advance and declares his love for Bateman, who flees in a panic. They later leave his apartment beaten and bloodied.īateman's colleague Luis Carruthers reveals a new business card, reminding Bateman of Allen's card. After they have sex, Bateman brings out instruments he uses for bodily harm. Bateman is later interviewed about the disappearance by private investigator Donald Kimball.īateman takes two prostitutes, whom he names "Christie" and "Sabrina", to his apartment and expounds upon his opinions of the band Genesis. After disposing of the body, Bateman breaks into Allen's apartment, where he leaves a phony message on Allen's answering machine saying that Allen has gone on a business trip to London. While playing " Hip to Be Square", Bateman lectures Allen about the artistic merits of the song, before proceeding to murder him with a mirror-polished axe. Bateman manipulates Allen into getting drunk and lures him back to his apartment. Bateman resents Allen for his more affluent lifestyle and his ability to obtain reservations for Dorsia, a highly exclusive restaurant that Bateman is unable to get into. At a Christmas party, Bateman makes plans to have dinner with Allen, who mistakes Bateman for another coworker. Enraged by the superiority of his co-worker Paul Allen's card, Bateman murders a homeless man and his dog. Beneath his social veneer, he is suffering and wishes to inflict his suffering on others.Īt a business meeting, Bateman and his associates flaunt their business cards in a display of superficial vanity. He also discusses his music collection by mimicking phrases he's seen in music reviews. Bateman describes the material accoutrements of his lifestyle, including his morning exercise, beautification routine, designer wardrobe, and expensive furniture. In 1987, the life of wealthy New York investment banker Patrick Bateman revolves around dining at trendy restaurants while keeping up appearances for his fiancée Evelyn and his circle of wealthy and shallow associates, most of whom he hates. A direct-to-video sequel, American Psycho 2, was released in 2002, albeit with almost no relation to the original. The film was a financial success and received mostly positive reviews, with particular praise for both Bale's performance and the screenplay. After DiCaprio left in favor of The Beach instead, Harron and Bale were brought back.Īmerican Psycho debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2000, and was released theatrically on April 14, 2000. Lions Gate Films acquired worldwide distribution in 1997 and temporarily replaced Harron and Bale with Oliver Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio respectively. After discussions with David Cronenberg fell through, Harron was brought on to direct and Bale was cast in the lead role. Pressman purchased the film rights to the novel in 1992. The film also stars Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Chloë Sevigny, Samantha Mathis, Cara Seymour, Justin Theroux, and Reese Witherspoon.
Set in the late 1980s, the film stars Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a yuppie New York City investment banker who is gradually revealed to be a serial killer preying on homeless people, work colleagues, prostitutes and finally random members of the public. Written by Harron and Guinevere Turner, it is based on Bret Easton Ellis's 1991 novel American Psycho. American Psycho is a 2000 black comedy horror film directed by Mary Harron.