Just so you know, not only were the killings real in American Psycho, but the movie was, for the most part, liked by Ellis. He disagreed with a few of Bales character adjustments, but for the most part it was well liked by him. All evidence that suggests that the murders were all in his head are there for literary purposes. They suggest absurdity towards the murders just as the shallowness from the business card scenes suggest absurdity towards the lifestyles portrayed by the characters. The movie, after all, is in fact more about the absurdity of that shallow 80's upscale, Wall Street-Reaganomic, excess equals success lifestyle that you see while watching, more so than about a murderer (or psycopath for that matter). The lifestyle that Bateman leads causes him the empty feelings that he describes over and over again throughout the movie. The world around him (and him himself)is so shallow and materialistic that he feels like he isn't even actually human. He has been numbed by it all. All the evidence to back this up is right in front of us while watching the movie. There are several visuals (like Bateman behind the glass plate of a taxi or his blurry reflection from a shiny menu at a restaurant)that help establish this idea, as well as the fact that all of the people around him are completely okay with the fact that they (Paul Allen and Bateman's attorney for instance)can't tell him from Marcus Halberstram or Davis(?). None of these things seem too realistic now do they? At the end of the movie, Bateman says that this is his confession and no catharsis is felt for telling. It was a waste of time to tell. This is a clear indication that it all really happened, but with his own exaggerations, spins, and lack of a logical time frame on the murders as he tells us the story(after all, he is a porn and horror movie fan). Although I haven't read the book (but I will now), I'm willing to bet that this is the case in it as well if you look hard enough.
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