Abstract
Horror is one of the genres that has most exploited the possibilities of franchises, sequels or remakes. Precisely, the slasher subgenre is capital in the sense that such notorious sagas as Halloween. Thus, the chapter approaches the American Psycho phenomenon from its formulaic nature, analysing the implications of each of its audiovisual products. Based on the novel by Ellis, the film by Harron was a critical and public success: set in the Wall Street of the 1980s, it narrates the life of Bateman, a yuppie who personifies the business elite and at the same time is a bloody serial killer. The success of the film gave rise to American Psycho 2, abusing the slasher formula, this time in a female key and in the university. Also inspired by the novel, the musical adaptation recaptures the critical essence of the original film, while a sequel comic commenced publication in late 2023. En this line, drawing from the novel and the original film, the chapter explores the evolution of the narrative in terms of genre orthodoxy, ideological subtext, and commercial aspects.
Analyzing Ideology and Narratology in Film Series, Sequels, and Trilogies
TopBackground
The horror film genre, primarily defined by the fear it aims to evoke in the audience (Carroll, 1990), has always been a breeding ground for social critique. From seminal films like White Zombie (Victor Halperin, 1932), in which the title’s zombies are slaves working for a landowner played by Bela Lugosi, to the many horror films that Hammer Film Productions has made, in which the Church, the aristocracy and the gentry, and even the state security forces are lambasted. This is also the case of The Plague of the Zombies (John Gilling, 1966), a film belonging to the zombie subgenre in which the living dead toil in the mine of a heartless capitalist, and The Curse of Frankenstein (Terence Fisher, 1957) and its many sequels, in which a miserable and amoral Baron Frankenstein far exceeds his creature in wickedness.
Key Terms in this Chapter
American Psycho 2: All American Girl: Movie directed by Morgan J. Freeman in 2002, is a sequel to the preceding film features Rachel Newman, a college student aspiring to join the FBI, who, during her childhood, committed the murder of Patrick Bateman.
Social Darwinism: Perspective based on the Lamarckian tenets of Spencer that posits competition occurs also among members of the same species. By establishing a parallel between society and nature, it asserts that the survival of the fittest enables social progress.
American Psycho: Movie directed by Mary Harron in 2000, with a screenplay co-written by Harron and Guinevere Turner. It is based on the eponymous novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991.
Individualism: Philosophical stance that highlights the significance of the individual over the collective, advocating for personal freedom and individual autonomy.
Slasher: Derived from the word “slash”, it is a subgenre of horror that typically involves a serial (or mass) killer who stalks and massacres (using edged weapons) upper-middle-class youths who have transgressed some social norms.
Narcissism: Personality style characterized by an excessive concern for oneself and one's own needs. At an extreme level, it can lead to a narcissistic personality disorder.