AMERICAN PSYCHO (Blu-Ray)

American Psycho is a 2000 black comedy horror film directed by Mary Harron, who co-wrote the screenplay with Guinevere Turner. Based on the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis, it stars Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a New York City investment banker who leads a double life as a serial killer. Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Chloë Sevigny, Samantha Mathis, Cara Seymour, Justin Theroux, and Reese Witherspoon appear in supporting roles. The film blends psychological horror and black comedy to satirize 1980s yuppie culture and consumerism, exemplified by Bateman.

In 1987, New York City investment banker Patrick Bateman leads a double life, meticulously maintaining a polished social façade while harboring violent impulses. By day, he dines at trendy restaurants, obsesses over his physical appearance, and navigates a shallow circle of wealthy associates he secretly despises, all while engaged to Evelyn Williams. During a business meeting, he and his colleagues flaunt their business cards, fixating on their designs while missing the misspelled Aquisitions on each. Enraged by the perceived superiority of colleague Paul Allen's card, Bateman's suppressed rage erupts when he encounters a homeless man and his dog in an alley. Initially offering help, he instead insults and brutally kills them.

Bateman's envy intensifies over Allen's affluent lifestyle and ability to secure reservations at the exclusive Dorsia, a restaurant Bateman cannot access. At a Christmas party, he arranges dinner with Allen, who mistakes him for another co-worker, Marcus Halberstram. During the dinner, Allen's condescending attitude fuels Bateman's resentment. Bateman lures him to his apartment, gets him drunk, and murders him with an axe. He disposes of the body and uses Allen's keys to access his apartment, leaving a message on Allen's answering machine claiming he has gone to London. When private investigator Donald Kimball questions Bateman about Allen's disappearance, mentioning sightings of Allen in London, Bateman deflects suspicion.

Bateman hires prostitutes Christie and Sabrina, engaging in sadistic acts before paying them to leave. His violence nearly turns on colleague Luis Carruthers when he attempts to strangle him in a restaurant restroom, but Carruthers misinterprets the act as a sexual advance, horrifying Bateman, who flees. Kimball's second interview heightens Bateman's paranoia, but he continues his spree, seducing a model and later toying with killing his secretary, Jean. At his apartment, Jean narrowly escapes harm after Bateman warns her he might lose control, unaware of the model's severed head in his refrigerator.