Can I exorcise the memory of this film from my brain?

Rating: Null/10 (23 September 2000)

NOTE: This comment involves spoilers.
I rented this movie last night thinking it would be a gripping, psychological tale of cat-and-mouse between Christian Bale's serial killer and Willem DaFoe's detective. I have no idea how I got so confused, to think this film would offer up a plot of that level of quality, but I must have somehow connected it with "Silence of the Lambs" on some subconscious level. What I wound up watching was a pointless and stupid compilation of cliches without any satisfying denouement to the story, that needlessly drained 100 minutes from my life on earth.
This is one of those films people either love or hate, I've observed. I'm proud to put myself in the latter category. Fans of "American Psycho" have raved about it's biting depiction of Manhattan in the 1980's. Perhaps that was what started me off on the wrong foot, for that decade is one that is best left forgotten. As it turned out, so is the plot of this movie.
"American Psycho" is, hands-down, one of the worst movies I've seen in my life, alongside of "Sleepaway Camp" and "Apt Pupil." I don't have an objection to violent films overall; I am certainly not one of those anti-Hollywood types lecturing about movie content today, but the events that occurred in this tale were just brutal and disturbing, and had no message attached, other than showing us what some crazy jerk is capable of. I grew up watching flicks like "Friday the 13th" and "Halloween," but now that I'm older perhaps I just don't see the point of gratuitous, shocking mayhem such as what's in this film. There's nothing positive about the movie, but there is much that's negative and depressing, such that it made "Seven" look like "Mary Poppins" in terms of cheerfulness.
The central character, Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale) is the embodiment of the movie's title. He provides us with a string of glimpses into his life and mental state that constitute nothing more than "See Patrick shower. See Patrick go to the office. See Patrick socialize with his rich Wall Street buddies. See Patrick cheat on his fiancee. See Patrick kill for no reason." While he does narrate some of his perspective on life to the viewer, it's tired and predictable, and reminiscent of the Thomas Harris' novel "Red Dragon." There is never any background on Bateman; no details of his family or childhood, but that's just as well for it would probably consist of even more stereotypes. All you need to know about Bateman is that he is pure scum who hurts others any way he can (whether by killing, cheating, or just plain arrogant condescension) for enjoyment.
I have to give Bale credit for a powerful portrayal of his character, but that's exactly the problem with watching Bateman in action. He is too much to take; his annoying, smarmy tone of voice, facial expressions and snotnosed attitude are all guaranteed to provoke heavy loathing in the viewer long before he even starts slaughtering his fellow New Yorkers. And not a "good" loathing in the sense you're gripped by the story, but rather an overall disgust for having to even view such a person or listen to him speak. If you knew someone who acted like Bateman you would hasten to remove yourself from his presence; you certainly wouldn't give him 100 minutes of your time. It's no different seeing him on the screen. Watching the life of such an absolutely reprehensible person as this leaves you feeling like you bathed in a sewer. Bateman's high-rolling friends and associates are almost as universally unredeeming, the only distinction between they and Bateman is that they don't kill people. The only characters towards which one might feel empathy are either killed off by Bateman or too clueless to get in his way.
A truly heart-wrenching scene early on involving a homeless man and his dog sets the nauseating pace for the rest of the movie, which I proceeded to watch only in the grim hope of seeing swift, harsh justice delivered to Bateman; i.e. in the form of the usual desperate police shootout in the final frames. Sadly, even that common element of the "serial killer flick" was left out in favor of a myriad of obfuscating "let's leave the viewer in the dark" details. I'm aware that some of the compliments directed towards this film are based on the very ambiguity of the ending, or the view of Bateman's [further] descent into madness. While these seem paramount to some, to me it was just lame and uninteresting. DaFoe's detective, who shows such promise early on, really serves as nothing more than a red herring in this film.
Some fans have commented on the elements of this movie which they feel cause a person to think. I "get" everything about "American Psycho" - that is to say, nothing "went over my head," so someone more enthusiastic about the film than I should not think I just wasn't paying attention. I just didn't think it mattered, or was compelling. When the final scene rolled past the only reaction I felt was relief, that I was done watching this miserable movie. I got up this morning and took it back to Blockbuster with the express intention of getting it out of my house and off my hands.
Readers of this review will probably wonder why I invested several paragraphs in commenting on "American Psycho" if I despised it so much. The answer is simple: catharsis. Save your bucks and rent "Wild, Wild West instead" - it's "The Godfather" by comparison.