[gtranslate]
Connect with us

News

Did Patrick Bateman Actually Kill Anyone In American Psycho?

Published

4 months ago

on

American Psycho messes with your head from the start. It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s just Patrick’s twisted fantasy. You’ve got the violence, obviously, but then you’ve got stuff like the ATM telling him to feed it a stray cat, or him trying to kill Paul Allen, only to visit his apartment later and find the place spotless and on the market. Like, what is real?

The internet has been in debate about this film’s meaning since its release in 2000. Recently, Bateman has seen a resurgence in popularity with some young men online, once again pulling the true nature of Bateman into play. While there is no correct answer, we thought it might be worth revisiting the film once again.

Digging Deeper Than Paul Allen’s Business Card

American Psycho

A lot of people think that’s the whole point. Bret Easton Ellis, the author of the book, totally played with that ambiguity. He has said that whether Bateman is a murderer or not isn’t the point. “I don’t think it really matters if Patrick Bateman is killing people or not. What I am trying to get across is that he is so empty, that he is beyond redemption,” states Ellis.

Evidence for Team “It Was All in His Head”

American Psycho

There are a few things in the movie that make it seem like Patrick’s just imagining everything:

  • The WTF Levels are Off the Charts: Some of the killings are super over-the-top. The chainsaw scene, for instance. You’d think someone would notice, right? It’s all a bit too Hollywood to be real Plus, the ease with which he seems to dispose of bodies is suspicious. New York isn’t exactly the easiest place to get away with hiding a body.
  • Paul Allen’s Clean Getaway (or Lack Thereof): When Patrick goes back to Paul Allen’s apartment with his lawyer, it’s been cleaned and is up for sale. The realtor insists that Paul Allen is on a business trip in London. If he really killed Paul Allen, wouldn’t there be, uh, a body? Or at least some bloodstains? The lawyer, meanwhile, insists that he had dinner with Paul Allen in London, adding to the confusion.
  • The Confession that Wasn’t: Patrick tries to confess to his lawyer, but the lawyer thinks it’s a joke. Then, later, he claims that he had dinner with Paul Allen in London. This suggests that nobody believes Patrick, or that Paul Allen is still alive. It’s like, nobody takes him seriously, even when he’s admitting to murder. Either Bateman is a joke or what he is saying is so ludicrous that people can’t help but laugh in confusion.
  • The Vanishing Act: Remember when Patrick blows up a cop car? Or when he guns down a bunch of people on the street? How could he possibly get away with that in broad daylight in Manhattan without any repercussions? He just goes about his day like nothing has happened to him.
  • The Unreliable Narrator: Patrick is clearly losing it throughout the movie. He’s hallucinating, he’s paranoid, and he can’t even keep his own story straight. Patrick is obviously a god in his story, but should we trust his view on reality?  
  • No Physical Evidence: Despite all the supposed murders, there’s never any real evidence linking Patrick to the crimes. No bodies, no witnesses, no blood, no nothing. It’s like, the whole thing is happening in a vacuum.

But What if He Did Do It?

Okay, so what if he did actually commit the murders? What if the movie is showing how easy it is for a rich, privileged guy to get away with anything? Think about it. He lives in a world where appearances are everything. If you look good, dress well, and have the right business card, people will believe whatever you say. So, maybe everyone is in denial, or maybe they just don’t care enough to look beneath the surface.

The Social Commentary is the Real Slasher

American Psycho is more than just blood and violence. It’s a look at how messed up society can be. It’s about how easy it is to hide behind a mask of success, and how people can get so caught up in their own little worlds that they don’t notice the darkness around them. The real horror isn’t the chainsaw, it’s the indifference.

The Truth is More Horrifying

American Psycho

Ultimately, American Psycho isn’t really about who Patrick Bateman kills. It’s about the sickness inside Patrick’s head, and maybe in all of us. It shows how someone can be completely disconnected from reality, living in a world of their own fantasies, and what can happen when society ignores those warning signs. It’s a commentary on wealth, superficiality, and the kind of unchecked male ego that lets guys get away with… well, maybe murder. The scariest part is, whether he did it or not, the potential for that kind of darkness is always there. And that, my friends, is seriously messed up.

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Related Topics:

News

This Week in Horror: DC Goes Full Body Horror, A24 Has Its Chainsaw Man, and The Bone Temple Is Finally Yours

Published

21 hours ago

on

April 24, 2026

By

Good week. The Clayface trailer dropped and made DC relevant to this website for the first time in a while, A24 put a director on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reimagining, and we got some interviews worth reading. Here is all of it.

Clayface Has a Trailer, and It Is Exactly What You Want

The Clayface trailer landed Wednesday, and it is DC’s first real horror film. Not horror adjacent. Not dark. Horror. Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, an actor whose face gets disfigured by a gangster. He turns to a scientist, played by Naomi Ackie, who transforms his body into clay. Then the body horror starts.

James Watkins directed, which is the right choice. He made Speak No Evil and before that The Woman in Black, and he understands how to make dread feel physical. The screenplay is by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. That combination should tell you everything about the tone they are going for.

A24 Has a Director for Texas Chainsaw Massacre and His Last Film Cost Under a Million Dollars

Texas

Deadline confirmed that Curry Barker is writing and directing A24’s reimagining of the 1974 original. Barker made Obsession for under a million dollars. Focus Features paid north of fifteen million to distribute it. It sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. A24 hired him before it even opens, which opens May 15.

Kim Henkel, who co-created the original with Tobe Hooper, is executive producing his own creation’s reimagining. That is either a blessing or a haunting. Probably both.

Astrolatry Is Going to Cannes and We Talked to the Actor Who Faced the Creature

Astrolatry is heading to the Frontières Buyers Showcase on May 16-17. The film has a sentient severed penis that grows into a ten-foot practical creature with spiky teeth. We interviewed star Ethan Daniel Corbett about what it was actually like to act against it. Short answer: genuinely terrifying. Long answer is on the site.

The Bone Temple Is Home

28 years later: Bone temple

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple hit 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on Tuesday. If you held out from the digital release in February, now is the time. The 4K presentation is supposed to be great. Extras include audio commentary and a deleted scene. If your gonna watch The Bone Temple, why not watch it where the snacks are better.

Continue Reading

News

Astrolatry Built a Ten-Foot Practical Penis Scorpion

Published

1 day ago

on

April 24, 2026

By

A sentient severed penis grows into a ten-foot creature with spiky teeth. Genre cinema is doing fine.

Astrolatry follows Elliot, played by Ethan Daniel Corbett, who is every ingredient for quiet catastrophe assembled in one man. Socially isolated. Physically isolated. Craving dopamine and finding it in the wrong places. The romance guru pipeline, followed to its logical conclusion. Elliot does not just spiral. He loses a piece of himself, literally, and that piece does not cooperate.

Corbett described it as “a horror satire, a trippy mind-fuck roller coaster” and “a modern retelling of Maniac,” both of which are accurate and neither of which adequately prepares you. Director David Gordon is making his feature debut after shooting 14 films as a cinematographer and he is swinging for the fences.

The Creature

The effects company behind the creature has festival circuit work Corbett had already seen before signing on. He knew what they could do but he was not ready. “When I saw it in person it was kind of mind-blowing,” he said. “Everything that you see in this movie is practical. Very, very little else. It was genuinely terrifying to have a ten-foot creature coming at you with a big mouth and spiky teeth.”

A CG creature asks an actor to imagine something. A ten-foot physical creature on a set asks nothing. It just arrives. The fear on Corbett’s face in those scenes is not a performance. It is the normal reaction to a scorpion dick with sharp teeth.

Elliot

Corbett went into the character through the body. “I mainly focus on the physicality of it. Who this character is and who he is wholly. I strive in those kinds of moments as an actor.”

Gordon was explicit about the concept, the “nice guy” archetype and the overtly toxic one are the same problem, both aimed at the same object. That reading lands because Corbett does not play it as a reading. Elliot is not a symbol. He is a person.

Where It Is Going

Astrolatry is heading to the Frontières Buyers Showcase at Cannes on May 16-17. “To be able to get into that kind of room on David’s first feature is incredible,” Corbett said. “To be in front of buyers and to showcase the film and potentially get distribution through that.” Frontières is the correct room. It is full of people who understand that the most extreme premise, executed with precision, is not a punchline. It is an argument.

Continue Reading

News

ShoStak Opens the Door for Filmmakers to Build and Own Their Stories

Published

2 days ago

on

April 23, 2026

By

A new player is stepping into the space, but ShoStak is making one thing clear right away.

It is not trying to be the next Netflix. It is not chasing TikTok.

“Cinema does not need another platform. It needs a new model.”

That idea sits at the core of what ShoStak is building. Not just a place to watch content, but a system where creators and audiences connect in a way that feels very different from what we are used to.

The First 150 Competition Is Already Underway

ShoStak is kicking things off with its First 150 Competition, giving filmmakers a chance to present their story worlds and compete for the opportunity to move into production.

Projects are introduced as series concepts or pilots, then advance through multiple stages. Audience voting plays a role, but it is only part of the process.

Selections are ultimately shaped by a mix of audience engagement, creative execution, and overall project readiness. It is not just about popularity. It is about building something that can actually move forward.

For creators, it is a rare chance to get in front of both an audience and a structured development path at the same time.

One Platform, Built Around a New Model

Everything now lives under ShoStak.tv, where both creators and audiences come together.

Creators can sign up, develop their projects, and begin building their audience. Viewers can discover new series, follow story worlds, and engage with projects as they evolve.

ShoStak describes this as a cinematic ecosystem. Stories are not treated as disposable content designed to spike and disappear. They are built to grow over time.

And that growth happens in public.

Ownership Without Losing Structure

One of ShoStak’s core ideas is giving creators more control over what they build.

Filmmakers are positioned to:

  • Retain ownership of their intellectual property
  • Build direct relationships with their audience
  • Grow projects based on real engagement

At the same time, this is not a free-for-all.

There is still structure. Projects are evaluated, developed, and refined through a process that blends audience input with creative and strategic decision-making.

Instead of removing the system entirely, ShoStak is reshaping how creators move through it.

Development Happens in Public

This is where things start to separate from the traditional model.

Instead of developing behind closed doors, ShoStak allows projects to evolve in front of an audience.

Creators introduce their ideas, build a following, and expand their worlds over time. As engagement grows, so does the project.

It is less about waiting for approval and more about proving momentum.

Over time, that turns the platform into something larger than a development program. It becomes an open ecosystem where creators and audiences push stories forward together.

More Than Just Testing Ideas

Micro-series are a big part of ShoStak’s approach, but they are not just a testing ground.

They can be the final product.

The format allows creators to:

  • Tell complete stories in shorter form
  • Build long-term story worlds
  • Expand into larger projects when it makes sense

It is not about proving an idea and moving on. It is about giving that idea room to grow in whatever direction fits.

Why This Matters for Horror

Horror has always thrived outside the system.

Some of the most memorable films in the genre came from creators taking risks, working with limited resources, and finding their audience without waiting for permission.

ShoStak’s model fits naturally into that mindset.

It gives horror creators a space to:

  • Build original story worlds
  • Connect directly with fans
  • Grow projects without losing control

And with early content like Civilian and Liminal already rolling out, it is clear the platform is aiming for more than just quick-hit content.

A Different Path Forward

ShoStak is not trying to compete by doing the same thing better.

It is trying to change how stories are created, developed, and sustained.

By combining creator ownership, audience engagement, and a structured development path, it offers something that feels closer to a creative ecosystem than a traditional platform.

Whether it works long-term is still unknown.

But for filmmakers looking for a new way in, it is opening a door that has been closed for a long time.

Continue Reading