The violence in the film is purposely oblique and stylized because, as Bateman descends deeper into the indulgence of his dark urges, and as his frenzies become more out of control, he begins to lose touch with reality. "The last third of the film becomes more surreal, to the point where we are no longer sure whether what we are watching is reality or Bateman's hallucinations," says Harron.
The book had already stirred up controversy on several fronts, mostly because of its graphic violence. Simon & Schuster had originally contracted for the rights, but the company stunned the publishing world by refusing to publish the manuscript Ellis delivered. Vintage Books, a division of Random House Inc., then picked it up. The novel's depiction of violence against women was soon the subject of protests by the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women. Booksellers responded with caution; supporting the author's right of expression, they agreed to sell the book, but they also chose not to display it prominently.
Protesters seized upon the fact that most of Bateman's hostility is directed toward women. However, Harron points out that she and Turner were actually struck by what an anti-male document AMERICAN PSYCHO was. "I think 'American Psycho' is very feminist," Turner stresses. "It's easy to believe that because the character is misogynist, the story is too. But, it was obvious to me there was something going on beneath the horror. For instance, the book shows how the excesses of the 1980s were manifested in warped relations, not only between men and women but also among men. That's where a lot of the humor lies, in poking fun at these peacocks who are so strangely preoccupied with one another. It ends up being an indictment of machismo and misogyny."
The unfolding cinematic fable suggests a series of themes about the 1980s: the obsession with outer perfection, even when it masks inner emptiness; the amoral insistence on conformity at all costs; the desire for stimulation that keeps raising the threshold higher -- more drugs, money, sex, sound, color, action; and the emotional isolation, expressed by Bateman's videotape addiction, and the fact that he has no back-story, no family, no real characteristics apart from the labels on his clothes. Bateman, Turner concludes, is "less a person and more a phenomenon. He is the personification of his environment."
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