Skip to main content

American Psycho (2000) - Mary Harron



This movie is the PSYCHO of the modern world. Showing that anyone can be a psychotic ax-wielding maniac. A world of excess and vices. A perfect little picture of the fast lifestyles of the wealthy "Wolves of Wall Street." Lot's of drugs, lot's of women, lot's of reservations, and lot's of business cards. Patrick Bateman is a fantastic character. This movie is based on the book American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. It is an amazing read. Check it out if you haven't. 



This movie is about Patrick. Patrick is an investment banker that has grown incredibly bored of his everyday lifestyle. His joys in life come in very few forms. He is very organized. Down to very fine details. He loves music. He loves sex. And, he loves murder. This film follows Patrick as he spirals further and further out of control. Everyone around him is in danger. 


We follow him through his everyday life encountering friends and victims along the way. The movie has a very unique tone, that holds all the way through. The best word I can think of to describe it would be, creepy. It's dark and brooding. However, some scenes are really funny. It walks a really thin line but it does it so well. The soundtrack is phenomenal. Tons of great eighties music with a period inspired soundtrack.




The cast in this film is great! Christian Bale does an amazing job as Patrick Bateman. He is really creepy and brings out his inner Tom Cruise. William Dafoe appears as a really creepy detective. That guy is a great creepy guy. Jared Leto, Justin Theroux, Chloë Sevigny, and Reese Witherspoon all make appearances in this already star studded flick. 

It is really well done. I recommend this movie to anyone that just doesn't want to read the book. It's not as good as the book. But movies rarely are. This movie is extremely graphic and really brutal. It's not one to watch with the young kids. Sex, Blood, and Pop Rock are the themes here.

Director: Mary Harron

Country: USA
Style: Psychotic Slasher Horror

Did ya know...

The soundtrack for the film was scored by John Cale, with artists such as David Bowie, The Cure, and New Order. The Huey Lewis and the News song "Hip to Be Square" appears in the film and was initially intended to be on the soundtrack album, but was removed from the album due to lack of publishing rights. As a result, Koch Records was forced to recall approximately 100,000 copies of the album which were destroyed. Koch Records president Bob Frank said, "As a result of the violent nature of the film, Huey Lewis's management decided not to give the soundtrack clearance". Lewis' manager Bob Brown claimed that the musician had not seen the film and that "we knew nothing about a soundtrack album. They just went ahead and put the cut on there. I think what they're trying to do is drum up publicity for themselves". In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, Lewis stated that the violence in the movie played no part in the decision not to allow the song to be included on the soundtrack. He reiterated Bob Brown's earlier denial stating "It was in the USA Today and everywhere else. It said, "Huey Lewis saw the movie and it was so violent that he pulled his tune from the soundtrack." It was completely made up."In addition, prior to the start of principal photography, Whitney Houston refused to allow the use of her performance of the song "The Greatest Love of All" in the film and was replaced by an easy-listening orchestrated version. - FROM WIKIPEDIA



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ju-On (2000) - Takashi Shimizu

Watching Japanese horror is similar to watching British comedy. If you enjoy dry whit then you probably enjoy the boys of Monty Python in drag. That's the joke, they're dressed like women. Get it? Well, that's British humor. But if you're like most Americans you probably prefer Adam Sandler farting his way across a football field and hooking up with chicks that are way out of his league. Americans usually prefer this more in your face, crass brand of humor. My point is funny in England is different from funny in the US. The same goes for J-Horror. What the Japanese consider scary is very different from what Americans consider scary and it shows in this horror film. Japanese horror is generally slow (a little too slow sometimes), suspenseful and creepy. Ju-On is a creepy effing film. The movie has almost no soundtrack. It is incredibly suspenseful and the pay-offs are pretty awesome, but I think that it was done better in the American version (cultural t...

Sleepy Hollow (1999) - Tim Burton

Tim Burton's take on the old Sleepy Hollow tale is really interesting. He adds his own flair of course. He delves very deeply into the original story by Washington Irving. The casting is usual for Burton. Johnny Depp of course in your lead. Helena Bonham Carter, thrown in for some flavor. The score is done by Danny Elfman. It's literally just the Ichabod Crane story run through the Tim Burton machine. But in a good way. Sleepy Hollow has a problem with a guy, running around, taking people's heads. Like, a lot of people. The town sends word for assistance and the nervous  Constable Ichabod Crane reports. He starts to unravel clues that take him down an incredibly strange path. With the Horseman still murdering patrons, Crane tries finding who's next before they lose their head.  I've always been a big fan of the Disney cartoon,  The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad . This movie is a far cry from Bing Crosby and quaint animations....

Le Manoir du Diable (1896) - George Melies

According to Wikipedia in August of 2011, Le Manoir du diable by Georges Melies is the first horror movie. Well, actually its a short film (about three minuets or so) but film was really hard to come by in that time so this counts as a film to me. The plot of the film is basic, you have your hero being tormented by demonic things in a crazy castle room... However, that plot isn't what brought the crowds. The thing that drove the popularity of these films was the fact that you were seeing motion on screen. I suggest going and seeing Hugo. That film is spectacular. It answered so many questions that I had. It really sets the scene and the tone. The film has strong christian overtones and actually ends with Christianity prevailing over the "tides of darkness". I provided a link at the bottom of this review for anyone that would like to see this pioneer in Horror Film. The movie uses very, very early "movie magic" that is an abundance of smoke and m...