American Psycho (DVD, 2005, Uncut)

Bret Easton Ellis' Novel 'American Psycho'; 1991, sliced critics right down the middle. Most condemned its profile of an affluent '80s Serial Killer mutilating women as a sick, misogynist diatribe; while others praised the book as a pitch-black send-up of the Immoral Era of junk bonds, Iran-Contra and Cocaine-Crazed materialism.
For years, controversy scared off attempts to bring it to screen; Male Directors for fear of being branded women-haters, while virtually every female was repulsed by the ultraviolent subject matter.
Not Mary Harron.
Along with Co-Screenwriter Guinevere Turner ('Go Fish'), they focus on the novel's darkly ironic social satire. The result is bloody perfect and indubiously brilliant.
'American Psycho' profiles Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), a blue-blood yuppie whose Ivy League education and inherited wealth guarantee him a life of luxury. His job requires no actual work, a debutante fiancée (Reese Witherspoon) who requires little attention, a dutiful secretary (Chloe Sevigny 'Boys Don't Cry') who asks few questions, and a bank account that seems bottomless.
He bides his time schmoozing at upper-crust eateries, perfecting his canned tan, listening to his Walkman, and working out … occasionally to the sounds of women screaming in horror films.
See, even though his friends are all virtually identical, Patrick is different. He has a secret — he's actually a Serial Killer, more fond of carving up prostitutes than playing the odd game of racquetball. Though we're only partially clued into his murderous nature at first; catching glimpses into a closet packed with instruments of torture or witnessing his frustrations getting bloodstained sheets laundered — we discover he's a Maniac on par with Ted Bundy, luring unsuspecting "hardbodies" into a condo charnel house in between swanky brunches at the Four Seasons.
Turner and Harron's wickedly clever script doesn't show us the full horror of Bateman's macabre right away. Instead, they send up his obsession with the minutiae of upper-crust existence — clothing brands, real estate locations, restaurant reservations, and the typeface on business cards.
In fact, it's Bateman's status-conscious jealously that leads him to commit his most hilarious on-screen murder — when he chops up another young executive (Jared Leto) with a fire axe to the tunes of Huey Lewis and the News' "Hip to Be Square."
The cutlery-sharp play comes from its use of 1980s cultural cues, be it the scoring of a sadomasochistic ménage à trois to Phil Collins' "Sussudio"; to the screenplay's subtle use of Reagan-Era SNL catchphrases; Harron/Turner keep piling on irony as story takes a darker turn; Bateman muses on the meaning of Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All," while mutilating a hooker with a chainsaw.
Physically perfect from a heavy-duty exercise regimen and extensive assortment of skin-care products, Bateman has such a warped soul that he's unable connect to anyone. With mannered schmoozing and frenzied psychosis, Bale makes this seesawing from luncheon to dungeon an infectuously watchable blend of madness.
Even when Bateman does blow his cover; quoting Ted Bundy in casual conversation or confessing guilt in ramblings; no one in his shallow cliques can be bothered to notice.
And that's the ultimate question arise - what's worse, the homicidal sociopath or the cynical society that doesn't care that he kills?
SEE THIS GEM !!!!

The Killer Collector's Edition of the Uncut version of the film appears to be not any different from the original version. The differences must have been subtle at best. Maybe a little more blood, a few more heads. Hard to tell.

For those not familiar with the film, Christian Bale pays Wall Street yuppie Patrick Bateman. Bateman is one of a dozen or so Vice Presidents of a company and no one seems to be able to tell the difference between them all. He gets mistaken for at least three other people. Bateman appears to be a normal guy on the outside full of social concern and perfectly polished through a regemented routine of face masks, washes, a vigorous exercise routine, and trips to the salon for manicures and tanning beds. But he's anything but. He's a ruthless killer of strangers and associates and never gets caught. Willem Dafoe plays the detective investigating the disappearance of Paul Allen, a guy knocked off for being annoying and having a better business card than Bateman. This isn't too surprising that Dafoe is in this role just a year after his role as investigator in Boondock Saints. Bateman is a terrible at lying and at one point even claims he was returning video tapes the night of the event. Still no one believes he could have had anything to do with it. He tortures prostitutes and even chases one naked through an apartment building hallway holding a chain saw which he drops on her in the stairwell. All her screaming and pounding on doors leads to not even one neighbor opening up to check. As he descends into further insanity, he begins to cut himself off from others including fiancé Reese Witherspoon who never listens to him and has a flair for potbelly pigs. When she makes a scene in a restaurant, he leaves claiming once more to have to return some videotapes.

This movie really comments on the 80s culture and is hilarious. Bateman's monologues about music right before killing someone are animated and jaw-dropping. Particularly when talking about Huey Lewis and the News' "Hip to be Square" which he semi-dances around to in a raincoat with an ax right before taking it to Paul Allen's head.

Allen: Is that a raincoat?
Bateman (with a gleeful smile): Yes! It is!

My other favorite moment is when Bateman is at an ATM and a cat brushes up against his legs. He looks at the screen which says, "Please feed me a stray cat" and so he tries to by holding a gun to the cat's head. When a little old lady tells him to stop that, he shoots her. Then cops start shooting at him and he shoots them and manages to blow up both police cars which a little gun. He can't even believe it as he stares at what's happened. He confesses in full his crimes to his lawyer on his answering machine. The lawyer laughs it off the next day calling him Davis and says he shouldn't have said he was Bateman because "Bateman's such a dork." This movie has a great selection of music and I can't say enough about the comic timing. However, it's not a movie for the squeamish. There will be blood and gore hidden around every corner. All in all, this is a well made and well told movie and it gets an A from me.

I loved this movie because it is such a scathing story about money, the rich life, power, and emptiness. This movie is based on the novel American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. The book has more to it and is considerably more detailed than the movie but the ideas presented in the film stay true to the book. Patrick Bateman is a wealthy Wall Street businessman who has the money and power to get almost anything he wants but he is so out of touch with his own existance that he feels compelled to savagely murder random people. it is not just one killing spree but a series of brutal violent episodes leaving many people dead and/or dismembered. Christian Bale does a fantastic job of playing an emotionally unattached mid-20s guy whose only real pleasure seems to come from the torture and death of his victims. this is an excellent movie for for the people that can get past the disturbing violence. i would highly recommend this movie.
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I am conflicted about to how to review this film. On the one hand the storyline is VERY unique- I can guarantee you havn't seen this done before. The themes that reoccur throughout the movie are definitely conversation worthy and it makes some very thought-provoking statements about society at large, materialism and consumption. HOWEVER, on the other hand, the film is VERY PERVERSELY SEXUALLY VIOLENT and the majority of the violence is against women. These are the same issues that divided the critics on this film and what caused all the controversy when it was first released. In some ways this movie reminds me of Natural Born Killers. In my opinion, any movie that is capable of evoking such strong emotions is PROBABLY worth watching once. That said, I would definitely recommend renting this one before buying it- you may not want to watch it again...

The plot revolves around a very wealthy, attractive and professional male who commits multiple murders in his spare time- female prostitutes are a favorite. The film takes place in the 80's and many reverences are made to the 80's subculture and political scene. Even though it should be OBVIOUS that something with this man is awry (the loud and bloody murders are committed in his APARTMENT/CONDO, he is laundering bloody sheets, he even confesses to a colleague) no one around him seems to care. It keeps you wondering if the murders are really taking place, or if it is all in the man's twisted mind. The way this plays out makes this movie feel like a cross between a horror film and a comedy/satire.

Yet another movie that I watched without any background knowledge of preparation... and without knowing what to expect, I was quite surprised and shocked as the movie progressed.

Christian Bale plays Patrick Bateman - a 1980s junk-bond salesman who associates with only the most gaudy, flamboyant and superficial crowd. Bale does an excellent job portraying a chiseled, superficial salesman who takes tremendous pride in everything from his strength ("I can do 1,000 sit-ups") to the weight of his business card. Bale is as straight-faced and soulless as director Mary Harron could have asked for... and in doing so, Bale comes out looking like the ideal 1980s yuppie.

Whats behind the story though is that Bateman isn't what he seems - as strange as his fascination with money and music, Bateman turns out to be a serial killer. Rather than turning "American Psycho" into a horror movie, Mary Harron instead directs the movie into a high-speed, thrilling satire... again, not what I expected from the movie.

But, although I didn't expect anything that developed or occurred, I found it enjoyable and ultimately provocative.