American Psycho is a 2000 American-Canadian film directed by Mary Harron based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. Though predominantly a psycho thriller, the film also blends elements of horror, satire, and black comedy. It stars Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, with Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Justin Theroux, Bill Sage, Chloë Sevigny, Reese Witherspoon, Willem Dafoe, and Samantha Mathis. The film focuses on Wall Street yuppie Patrick Bateman (Bale), whose mental instability and blood lust leads him to serial killing. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on April 14, 2000.