What should American Psycho's remake look like? Spoilers

Hollywood remakes have a pretty bad reputation, and with good reason - just look at the garbage Disney keeps turning out. They aren’t inherently bad, though. The real issue is greedy, risk-averse studios that never try to innovate. After all, keeping the same plot should guarantee the same success, right? Except that it’s near impossible to match, let alone improve on a masterpiece, especially when the “edgier” parts of the original film are cut so the remake is bland enough to reach broader audiences… and so they fail every time.

Given this depressing reality, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when it was announced that the classic film American Psycho was getting a remake. I took the opportunity to finally watch the original before it was forever tainted in the cultural consciousness, and after seeing it, I actually think it has great potential for a remake somehow? You might not believe me now, but trust me, I have an idea so crazy it might just work.

My idea started formulating as soon as I saw the main character Patrick Bateman’s morning routine in the opening scene. The minimalist apartment, the skincare, and the attention to diet and exercise were all scarily reminiscent of “clean girl” influencers. I’m sure people who like American Psycho for all the wrong reasons (newsflash, Bateman isn’t a role model) are rushing to the comments to tell me what an idiot I am already, but it seems to me that the modern-day Patrick Bateman is, in fact, Patricia Bateman, a social media influencer - and that's the angle that would make the remake work.

One of the main themes of American Psycho is consumerism and shallow relationships, so any remake has to include the same idea. Yuppies aren’t really a thing anymore, but influencers seem to live by essentially the same terrible values. Patrick seethed at his coworkers, constantly comparing himself to them, jealous that they got reservations he didn’t or admired other people’s business cards more than his. Patricia, then, could just as easily fume about brand trips she wasn’t invited to and being deemed as not “aesthetic” enough.

Just like Patrick, Patricia’s anger would grow, but it would never get an outlet because online, people don’t want authenticity. they want the curated version of you, the perfect version of you who doesn't actually exist. And so, Patricia would suppress more and more of her personality, feeling less human and more isolated every day. She'd try to fill the void with narcissism and "self-care", but eventually, she'd snap - and so, the murders begin.

Now, in the original film, Patrick’s violence isn’t just an outlet for his frustration. It’s also meant to symbolise the cruelty of Wall Street, carelessly destroying lives for the sake of profit. It’s not just random innocents who are hurt, though, as Patrick also suffers because of the corporate culture. So in my imaginary remake, then, there needs to be a higher structure that influencers use that harms themselves and others and, well, what could it be but social media?

I think the most obvious parallel would be a remake would be to make Patricia a beauty and fitness influencer whose content goes a bit too far. After all, studies have shown how easily social media changes peoples’ perceptions of themselves and their bodies for the worse, seriously damaging their mental health. At the same time, Patricia herself would be suffering from the pressure of constantly posting to please the algorithm, comparing her stats to everyone else’s, and abandoning her own personality to follow trends - and that’s not even touching on the psychological trauma of knowing that she’s earning money by making people feel anxious and inadequate.

The only major question left to answer, then, is who Patricia Bateman would kill to cope with her trauma. In the original American Psycho, Patrick Bateman has two kinds of targets : Those who made him feel belittled, who he kills as a form of revenge, and random people, who he kills for pleasure and who represent the innocent victims of Wall Street.

The first kind of victim could easily be replaced by influencers who Patricia thought were more successful than her. Simple and easy. The second group, though, could be used for social commentary in a far more interesting way. Sure, Patricia could kill men who desired her in a very femme-fatale way, playing into the “feminine rage” trend in cinema while also commenting on sexual assault, misogyny, and how men are also harmed by the objectification of women. At the same time, though, having Patricia kill young women who admire her in ways that mimic plastic surgery or other beauty treatments would be far more shocking and a more unique critique of society.

Now, do I think the American Psycho remake will be anything like what I just described? Of course not. I don’t have that kind of faith in studios. I think the basic outline I drew could work, and there are a lot more interesting details that could be fleshed out in an official writers’ room, but the reality is that studio executives are cowards. They aren’t looking for fresh ideas or true creativity, they’re just looking for a fat paycheck. Remakes are fine - the people paying for them are the real problem. Unfortunately, the only way anything will change is if the studios think that coming up with something new will be more profitable than making bad copies.

That being said, if you think my idea is decent or have any similar ideas, let me know in the comments! Better yet, email this to Lionsgate - maybe they’ll see that people really are interested in thoughtful remakes, and maybe they'd even hire me as a writer 😂