If American Psycho is your all-time favorite film, director Mary Harron has a few follow-up questions. The American Psycho TikTok trend has breathed new life into the 2000 satirical horror movie, but not in ways Harron ever predicted.
Speaking with Letterboxd Journal on April 14, Harron — who directed the film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel — admitted she’s still puzzled by how some men idolize Christian Bale’s character, Patrick Bateman. “It’s always so strange to me,” Harron, 72, said. “Guinevere [Turner] and I never expected it would appeal to Wall Street guys. That wasn’t our goal. So did we fail? I’m not sure. Christian is clearly mocking them.”
She believes part of the movie’s renewed fame comes from memes and platforms like TikTok. Bateman’s slick wardrobe, wealth, and confidence might look appealing in short clips, but Harron points out that those qualities only scratch the surface. “He’s portrayed as awkward and absurd,” she explained. “To us, it was very clearly a satire from a gay man’s point of view.”
American Psycho TikTok Trend: A Misread Satire?
Harron highlighted that writer Guinevere Turner, who is openly gay, helped adapt the book with a distinct view of masculinity. “Ellis being gay gave him insight into the homoerotic culture among alpha males — the gym routines, the obsession with status and style,” she noted. “They talk to each other like insecure teenage girls trying to outdo one another.”
For Harron and Turner, the film was always meant to be a critique, not a celebration, of this culture. The director added, “What we set out to do was expose the toxicity behind this type of behavior, not glamorize it.”
American Psycho TikTok Trend and Its Relevance Today
Harron also touched on how the story, unfortunately, still reflects society today. “It’s about a predatory world, and honestly, things have only gotten worse. The rich are richer, and the poor, poorer,” she said. “I never thought we’d witness an open embrace of racism and white supremacy, like what we saw in politics in recent years.”
Still, not all fans are missing the message. American Psycho is the 23rd most popular film on Letterboxd, and more users with she/her pronouns have marked it as a favorite compared to those with he/him. “It makes me happy that young women are connecting with it,” Harron added. “For us, it was always a very obvious critique.”
Table of Contents
Source: www.people.com
