Book To Movie Monday (23)

For this weeks Book to Movie Monday I have decided to cover American Psycho.


First Let's Discuss The Book. Below Is The Cover:

Now for a little back story in case some of you aren't familiar with the Novel. American Psycho is a novel written by Bret Easton Ellis. The book was published by Vintage Books in 1991. The Novel generated much controversy at the time due to the extreme violence and sexual content discussed. It's been said that the Author had received numerous death threats and hate mail in regards to the book.

Let's look at some of the characters now shall we.

Main Protagonist

Patrick Bateman- Narrator of the novel, Patrick Bateman is a young professional working on Wall Street bored with the daily comings and goings of life. He also happens to be a serial killer and sometimes cannibal. Let's just say Patrick Bateman is one deeply disturbed individual.

Major differences between the Book and the Series.

In the Book Bateman's apartment is usually filled with decaying body parts.
vs.
In the Movie his apartment is kept unbelievably clean.

In the Book Bateman has a second apartment in Hell's Kitchen where he decomposes bodies in acid.
vs.
In the Movie Bateman only mentions the apartment.

In the Book Patrick Bateman kills a lot of people.
vs.
In the Movie to save on time some deaths were cut, though many can be seen in his notepad as doodles.

In the Book Patrick eats a few of his victims.
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In the Movie it is only alluded to that he is a cannibal.

In the Book Patrick Kills a child at the zoo and later announces displeasure with it.
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In the Movie Patrick only kills adults, oh and a dog.

In the Book Patrick and Evelyn go to a Christmas party where he eventually has a nervous breakdown.
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In the Film this was left out instead opting to show him in control of his emotions.

In the Book Patrick takes two Vallium before killing Paul Allen.
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In the Film we just see him take some tablets.

Overall the biggest difference between the Book and Movie is the sheer amount of graphic violence. The Movie while very bloody and dark does tend to have this satirical feel about it. The Novel on the other hand is definitely not for the weak stomached and I entirely agree with its 18+ rating. That being said while I adore Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman and really think he pulled off the role brilliantly the Novel was just so, so, much grittier and demented. Definitely not a book for everyone but I enjoyed it and the absolutely creative kill scenes even made me a die hard Horror fiend squirm.

So while I recommend making American Psycho at least a once a year tradition to watch, If you think you can handle it check out the Novel. I'm going to stress it once more this Novel is definitely intended for those over 18. Let me know in the comments if you do read it as I'm curious to see what you'd think.

Well that about wraps up this weeks Book to Movie Monday. Have a recommend for an upcoming Book to Movie let me know in the comments below. I'll have one more Horror movie comparison for the month of October next week and then it will be back to a random genre assortment of Book To Movie Mondays after that.