Hollywood icon's controversial 'stomach-turning' 00s movie is now on Netflix

American Psycho is now on Netflix US (Picture: Lionsgate)

Business cards at the ready as American Psycho has finally been added to Netflix this month.

The controversial flick, an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel, was set in 1987 and first released in 2000 – it quickly became a cult classic despite a grim plot.

Christian Bale stole the show as an overly ambitious investment banker Patrick Bateman, who leads a double life as a deranged serial killer, routinely killing people and dismembering their bodies.

It was directed by Mary Harron and also starred Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto, Justin Theroux and Chloe Sevigny.

As of today, the movie – which divided critics – has been added to Netflix in the US, meaning viewers can now add it to their watch list.

Despite the star-studded cast, many slammed the American Psycho adaptation when it was first released on the big screen and it only has a 68% review score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to an audience score of 85%.

Christian Bale played Patrick Bateman to perfection (Picture: Lionsgate)

Kristy Stouse from In Their Own League suggested: ‘There are times where this film is satire at its best. It’s also horrific, violent and stomach-turning.’

Joe Leydon of Film Scouts agreed: ‘There is little here to recommend, and quite a bit to despise.’

BDK reviews’ Kevin McCarthy said that it ‘makes you laugh uncomfortably throughout and you just walk away feeling disgusted’, but also described it as an ‘underrated masterpiece’.

While Susan Granger from rec.art.movies.reviews. vowed: ‘I wish I hadn’t seen it.’

‘And so that was my motivation after that. It was just: “I got to get enough that the house doesn’t get repossessed.”’

When asked whether his salary for the film was due to the nature of the storyline or his position in the industry, Christian added: ‘It was the nature of me in it. Nobody wanted me to do it except the director. So they said they would only make it if they could pay me that amount.

‘I was prepping for it when other people were playing the part. I was still prepping for it. And, you know, it moved on. I lost my mind. But I won it back.’

American Psycho is available to stream on Netflix US now.

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