Making American Psycho was not an easy process. The film had a small budget, constant studio interference, and the difficult task of adapting a book that many people considered "unfilmable." But somehow, against all odds, Mary Harron and Christian Bale pulled it off and in doing so, they created a film that was both hilarious and horrifying, a critique of 80s greed disguised as a slasher movie.
From the beginning, director Mary Harron saw American Psycho as more than just a horror film. She wasn’t interested in making a straight-up slasher movie where Bateman was a one-dimensional killer. Instead, she wanted to bring Ellis’s satire to the forefront, exposing the absurdity of yuppie culture while making audiences feel deeply unsettled by Bateman’s actions.
One of her smartest decisions was in how she handled the film’s violence. The novel was infamous for its extreme gore, with descriptions so graphic that even hardcore horror fans struggled to get through certain passages. But Harron knew that if she filmed these scenes exactly as written, they would overwhelm the audience and overshadow the film’s deeper message.
Instead, she chose to present the violence in a stylized, almost comedic way, Take the infamous Paul Allen (Jared Leto) murder scene. In the book, Bateman's killings are described in graphic detail, Ellis leaves nothing to the imagination. But in the film, She turns it into dark comedy. Bateman, dressed in a transparent raincoat, dances enthusiastically to Huey Lewis and the News before picking up an axe and delivering the iconic line,
"Try getting a reservation at Dorsia now, you stupid bastard!"
In the movie, the restaurant Dorsia is mentioned several times, but never actually shown. This is because the film crew couldn't get a reservation.
The over the top theatrics, the music, the exaggerated swing of the axe, the blood splattering on Bateman’s face, turn what should be a gruesome moment into something hilariously disturbing. That’s exactly what Harron wanted: violence that makes you laugh before making you deeply uncomfortable. She saw American Psycho not as just a horror movie, but as a biting social critique, a look at a world so obsessed with status that people don’t even notice when someone like Patrick Bateman walks among them, killing at will.
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If Mary Harron shaped the film’s tone, then Christian Bale defined its soul.
At the time, Bale was respected but not bankable, and the studio wasn’t convinced he was the right choice for Bateman. But Bale wanted this role more than anything. He turned down other films, committed himself completely to becoming Bateman, and even trained his body to fit the character’s obsessive perfectionism.
To make his performance even more chilling, Bale stayed in character even when the cameras weren’t rolling.
Bale’s commitment extended beyond his voice. He spent hours perfecting Bateman’s fake, almost robotic smile and practiced delivering lines with an eerie, emotionless detachment. On set, co-stars recalled how he would remain cold and distant, only fully relaxing when filming ended for the day. One of the most difficult parts of playing Bateman was balancing his narcissistic vanity with his underlying rage. Bateman isn’t just a killer, he’s a man obsessed with perfection, control, and the way others perceive him. Bale captured this flawlessly, making Bateman both horrifying and strangely charismatic, a man who can draw people in even as he repels them.
While American Psycho is undeniably Bale’s movie, the supporting cast also played a crucial role in bringing Bateman’s world to life.
