Patrick Bateman might be one of the most iconic serial killers in modern film history, but he’s not the only one. If you are looking for similar movies to American Psycho to watch, you are in the right place! Here are ten films we think you might enjoy if you liked Christian Bale’s film.
10 Movies like American Psycho that you must watch
Taxi Driver (1976)
We start this list of similar movies to American Psycho with two masters of cinema. First, we have Martin Scorsese with one of his masterpieces. In their second collaboration after Mean Streets, Scorsese, and Robert De Niro pulled off one of the greatest character arcs in cinema history. De Niro plays Travis Bickle, a Vietnam War veteran who drives a taxi through New York and has a particular set of views of how the world should look and feel and will act on his beliefs—an essential classic.
The Shining (1980)
Arguably one of the most beloved and referenced horror movies of all time, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a film that has inspired a lot of conversation over the years, particularly from Stephen King himself. The film takes its title from King’s novel of the same name, but the author has expressed his disgust many times over the years with how it turned out. However (un)faithful it may be to the book, The Shining inspired an entire generation of horror lovers. It shares a few themes with American Psycho in depicting loneliness and being eaten up by your own head. If you have not seen it yet, what are you waiting for?
Fight Club (1999)
Fight Club is one of David Fincher’s top three films of all time, right next to Seven and The Social Network. Similarly to American Psycho, the film accurately depicts what society looked like in the late 20th century — a gray and corporate world run by higher-ups acting like puppeteers, desperate to find a reason to be hopeful and to look forward to the day after. The solution this movie takes? Blow it all up.
Monster (2003)
Going back to serial-killer movies, Monster is the film that gave Charlize Theron her only Academy Award. The film also came back into the news cycle in 2016-2017, when the first Wonder Woman was in the pipeline. Both were directed by Patty Jenkins, who hadn’t produced any other feature film in between, despite the critical acclaim of the 2003 film.
Monster follows Charlize as a real-life street prostitute Aileen Wuornos, who murdered seven of her clients in Florida in 1989-1990 and was subsequently executed in 2002. If you’ve had enough of Charlize in Fast & Furious movies and want more of her true acting, check it out!
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Next to Fargo, No Country for Old Men is the pinnacle of the Coen Brothers’ career. It stars Javier Bardem in a career-defining role as Anton Chigurh, an assassin who embarks on a relentless hunt for Josh Brolin’s Llewelyn Moss after he steals two million dollars from the crime scene of a mob exchange gone wrong. Tommy Lee Jones plays the sheriff of the Texas town where this takes place, overwhelmed by the brutality and body count left behind by Chigurh.
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
If you were disturbed by Patrick Bateman’s behavior in American Psycho, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. In hindsight, We Need to Talk About Kevin will go down in cinema history as a warning sign against Ezra Miller, who portrays Kevin, a troubled teenager who slowly turns into a serial killer in front of his mom’s eyes, played by Tilda Swinton. Lynne Ramsay co-wrote and directed the film, which was released to critical acclaim in 2011.
Nightcrawler (2014)
Arguably Jake Gyllenhaal’s best performance to date, this moody and bleak take on modern journalism and the lengths one will go to pursue a story are as haunting as some of the most disturbing moments of American Psycho. It was written and directed by Dan Gilroy, Tony Gilroy’s brother, the showrunner of Andor; Dan Gilroy also worked on that Star Wars series. Nightcrawler also features Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, and Bill Paxton.
The House That Jack Built (2018)
Matt Dillon plays Jack, a failed architect who instead looked into serial killing as a career. He recounts several murders he committed over 12 years in Washington, building up each as a work of art that will define his life. Uma Thurman and Riley Keough also star in this disturbing The House That Jack Built, which might be strikingly similar to American Psycho viewers.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
Continuing with more similar movies to American Psycho, one of the most recent examples of double-life serial killer movies is this Netflix film starring Zac Efron as Ted Bundy. Unlike Patrick Bateman, Bundy is beloved among his peers and has a seemingly normal life with his partner (Lily Collins) and her kid. Well, there’s more than meets the eye, as Collins’ Liz learns when Bundy is arrested and charged with kidnapping related to several murders.
Joker (2019)
Joaquin Phoenix stars as Arthur Fleck in Todd Phillips’ critically-acclaimed box office hit and awards darling. He is a lonely man with mental health issues who is completely left aside by society. After funding his therapy sessions, he starts to go insane, becoming the serial killer known in the comics as the Joker.
After becoming the first R-rated film to hit a billion dollars at the box office in 2019 and scoring no less than eleven Oscar nominations (and two wins), the studio announced a sequel was in the works in 2022, despite the promises by the lead actor and the director that it would be a one-and-only gig.
Do you have any other recommendations for movies like American Psycho? Let us know in the comments below.
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