American Psycho(s)
The first course of my Halloween cultural consumption this year left much to be desired. I watched the original Halloween film and, unlike The Shining and other classic horror films, discovered that it hasn’t stood the test of time. Despite its haunting score, I found John Carpenter’s camerawork gimmicky and Michael Myers an unconvincing villain although I’m sure I would’ve felt differently in 1978. Unsatisfied, I tried a more recent flick, the Australian horror film Talk To Me, and was similarly unmoved. Despite vaguely gesturing towards an addiction narrative, the film had nothing to say in the end. In addition to lacking deeper meaning, these films just lacked entertainment value.
I was surprised and delighted, then, to rediscover Mary Harrron’s feminist masterpiece American Psycho (and for those who say it isn’t feminist, I’d point you towards the definition of satire). In this film, Harron satirizes the greed, misogyny, and moral decrepitude of Wall Street investment bankers. Based on the equally brilliant Bret Easton Ellis novel, the film charts the mental deterioration of alpha-male Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) as he embarks on a homicidal rampage. In our age of influencer culture, Ellis and Harron’s critique of toxic masculinity and consumerism could not be more timely.
The most zeitgeisty moments of the film occur when Bateman reveals his adulation of Donald Trump. With the election fast approaching, it is interesting to consider how the bro turnout for Trump could sway the race. Trump recently appeared on the podcasts The Joe Rogan and This Past Weekend with Theo Von to appeal to this segment of the voting bloc. How many Wall Street Bateman acolytes are salivating at the prospect of a second Trump presidency is anyone’s guess.
But enough of politics! What will really appeal to horror fans is Bateman’s gory murder of Paul Allen (Jared Leto) early in the film. Bateman kills Allen with an ax while waxing poetically about Huey Lewis and the News. Set to the tune of “Hip To Be Square,” the scene is a sardonic tour de force. The juxtaposition of Bateman’s upbeat demeanor with the horrific violence he inflicts is suggestive of the brutality underlying the capitalist marketplace. All this being said, after a long post-film discussion of American Psycho’s virtues and vices, one friend said: “Honestly, I just love this film as a slasher.” So I’ll stop myself there and remember this Halloween that sometimes a Huey Lewis album is just a Huey Lewis album and sometimes a movie is just a movie.
