American Psycho is a 2000 Canadian-American satirical black comedy psychological horror film co-written and directed by Mary Harron, based on Bret Easton Ellis's 1991 novel of the same name. It stars Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Chloë Sevigny, Samantha Mathis, Cara Seymour, Justin Theroux, Guinevere Turner, and Reese Witherspoon.

Producer Edward R. Pressman purchased the film rights to the novel in 1992. After discussions with David Cronenberg fell through, Harron was brought on to direct and cast Bale in the lead role. Lionsgate acquired worldwide distribution in 1997 and temporarily replaced Harron and Bale with Oliver Stone as director and Leonardo DiCaprio portraying Patrick Bateman. DiCaprio left in favor of The Beach and Harron and Bale were brought back. American Psycho debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2000, and was released theatrically on April 14, 2000. The film was a financial success and received generally positive reviews, with much of the praise directed to Bale's performance and the screenplay.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the film was scored by John Cale, with artists such as David Bowie, The Cure, and New Order. The Huey Lewis and the News song "Hip to Be Square" appears in the film and was initially intended to be on the soundtrack album, but was removed from the album due to lack of publishing rights. As a result, Koch Records was forced to recall approximately 100,000 copies of the album which were destroyed. Koch Records president Bob Frank said, "As a result of the violent nature of the film, Huey Lewis's management decided not to give the soundtrack clearance". Lewis' manager Bob Brown claimed that the musician had not seen the film and that "we knew nothing about a soundtrack album. They just went ahead and put the cut on there. I think what they're trying to do is drum up publicity for themselves". In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, Lewis stated that the violence in the movie played no part in the decision not to allow the song to be included on the soundtrack. He reiterated Bob Brown's earlier denial stating "It was in the USA Today and everywhere else. It said, 'Huey Lewis saw the movie and it was so violent that he pulled his tune from the soundtrack.' It was completely made up." In addition, prior to the start of principal photography, Whitney Houston refused to allow the use of her performance of the song "The Greatest Love of All" in the film; her version was replaced by an easy-listening orchestrated version.

AllMusic rated the soundtrack album three out of five stars.

American Psycho: Music from the Controversial Motion Picture

1. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" – Dope (Dead or Alive cover)
2. "Monologue 1" – John Cale
3. "Something in the Air" (American Psycho Remix) – David Bowie
4. "Watching Me Fall" (Underdog Remix) – The Cure
5. "True Faith" – New Order
6. "Monologue 2" – John Cale
7. "Trouble" – Daniel Ash
8. "Paid in Full" (Coldcut Remix) – Eric B. & Rakim
9. "Who Feelin' It" (Philip's Psycho Mix) – Tom Tom Club
10. "Monologue 3" – M. J. Mynarski
11. "What's on Your Mind" (Pure Energy Mix) – Information Society
12. "Pump Up the Volume" – M/A/R/R/S
13. "Paid in Full" (Remix) – The Racket
14. "Monologue 4" (hidden track)

Other songs that appear in the film but not on the album

1. "Walking on Sunshine" – Katrina and the Waves
2. "I Touch Roses" – Book of Love
3. "Hip to Be Square" – Huey Lewis and the News
4. "The Lady in Red" – Chris de Burgh
5. "If You Don't Know Me by Now" – Simply Red
6. "In Too Deep" – Genesis
7. "Sussudio" – Phil Collins
8. "Red Lights" – Curiosity Killed the Cat
9. "Simply Irresistible" – Robert Palmer
10. "Greatest Love of All" – Whitney Houston (Instrumental Version)
11. "Al Mirar Tu Cara" – Santiago Jimenez Jr