Psychological Horror Deconstruction: 'American Psycho'

Psychological Horror Deconstruction: 'American Psycho'

Point 1 (Huey Lewis + The News) 

Camera Angles

Close up of the Huey Lewis CD putting emphasis on the conversation about the album and this distracts the audience and character of Paul Allen from what Patrick is doing as it seems initially they are having a conversation about music. Medium shot of Patrick- this helps keep the emphasis on Patrick and keeps from informing the circumstances to the audience too quickly. It also shows us that he is in control of the situation. High angle shot of Paul Allen showing his vulnerable position. Full shot of room showing the covered up sofas- slowly revealing subtle hints to the audience of what Patrick is doing and shows us Paul Allen and his weak position slumped, sitting down on the sofa. This all helps towards very slowly showing the audience the circumstances that Patrick is control and what he may be planning to do. 

Editing

Tracks Patrick and doesn't let us see the full room until last minute- deceiving the audience into thinking the circumstances are casual. As well as this, it has the effect of watching Patrick the whole time however only realising what he is doing until last minute and so we feel like he has not only tricked Paul Allen but the audience as well and this emphasises his slyness. Also, by following Patrick's movements it makes him seem even more in control of the situation as he is what we are concentrating on whereas we are only shown Paul Allen very briefly and this highlights how at risk his position is by making him seem unimportant and small.

Sound

We only hear the diegetic sound of the two characters conversing. Patrick however dominates the conversation and this shows how he is ruling the situation. The topic of conversation is the history of a musical group and this gives the impression of a casual conversation. However, Patrick's voice resembles that of a newsreader as he explains that 'But when 'Sports' came out in '83, I think they really came into their own; commercially and artistically' using extensive vocabulary and hand gestures to emphasise his. All of this has the effect of disconnecting Patrick from the audience and Paul Allen as he seems unreachable and mechanic. Paul Allen's voice differs completely as he sounds drunk and hazy, showing his vulnerability   

Mise en scene

The two characters are wearing almost the exactly the same outfit of a blue shirt and reddish tie and this shows how similar they are and how people in the consumerist world are clones of one another. However, Paul Allen is wearing a tie with diagonal stripes on and this diagonal composition helps to indicate that something is going to go wrong for him. Patrick however is wearing vertical pinstripes emphasising the power of his situation. Paul Allen is shown continually with tight framing when Patrick is in the room, however when Patrick leaves the room he is shown with loose framing showing that only has the chance of escape when Patrick isn't present. Paul is also shown as in the centre and at the bottom of each shot he is in, highlighting how he is powerless- however by being in the centre this makes him seem like a target.

Point 2 (Patrick's Pills) 

Camera Angles

Close up of Patrick while he puts on his raincoat- the audience's attention is drawn to what he is doing and are confused. This is another subtle hint as to what is going to happen but we are still not completely aware of the significance of him putting on the raincoat. By making us as clueless as to his intentions as Paul Allen, the victim, we are also somewhat apprehensive about what is going to happen and this is successful at putting us into the brain of a psychopath because we are scared of our protagonist- a very uncommon thing as the protagonist is usually who we identify with. The close up of the pills showing that he has actually been prescribed medication make audience think Patrick could be mentally ill and this confirms our suspicions that he is a psychopath making us even more anxious about the outcome of the events. 

Editing

Match on Action is used as we see a shot of Patrick's raincoat and then watch him put it on and this helps emphasise the continuity of time and shows that Patrick has limited time to be able to execute his decision to kill. It also makes sure we focus on the raincoat and notice him putting it on causing us to wonder at it's significance. It also uses a Cutaway of the close up of the pills putting the emphasis briefly on his mental state and background- making the audience wonder why he is like the way he is and this highlights the slightly more sombre mood of the clip.

Sound

We hear Patrick's voice continuing to talk about the album and this is used as a sound bridge from the last clip and showing us that he is still deceiving Paul Allen by distracting him from his activities. However, then he stops talking while he takes his pill and looks at himself in the mirror sombrely for a moment. This emphasises the diegetic sound of the class clinking against the bathroom surface giving the impression of him being cold and also making the pill-taking even more noticeable. Patrick ceasing to talk for the brief moment is also effective as it makes it more serious as he looks at himself in the mirror seemingly reflecting on himself and his actions. 

Mise en scene

When Patrick looks in the mirror there is a shadow across top half of his face over his eyes showing the dark side to his personality and this is emphasised as it covers his eyes which are seen to be the tunnel of the soul- a shadow is also foreboding. However, he steps forward out of the shadow as if to imply he is okay and in touch with his evil side. The mirror shows that he is not only vain but that he has many different sides and personalities as Patrick's reflection is something which recurs frequently throughout the film. The bathroom is a much darker room than the front room and this could imply that Patrick is much more sombre when he has to confront himself doing his actions, due to the mirror. The density is largely stark as this gives more emphasis and symbolism to the few things that are shown to us throughout the scene such as his pills. The whole of the clip seems to be filmed in the reflection of the mirror and this makes it seem as though we are seeing things through the perspective of Patrick and that he may have edited the truth. Also by having the only shot not filmed through the reflection of the mirror the one of Patrick's pills it gives the allusion that the actual truth is that he simply has a mental health condition.

Point 3 (Hey Paul!) 

Camera Angles

Close up of the axe confirming to the audience that Patrick intends to murder Paul Allen. This makes the other things such as the raincoat and covered up sofas make much more sense to the audience and they begin to understand the sadistic nature of Patrick- that he has planned the murder to carefully in order to make sure he doesn't get any blood on his clothes or furniture. This gives the impression that to be planned in so much detail it is not out of pure anger but rather cunning however the close up shot of Patrick axing Paul shows his fury and this causes much confusion as the audience do not understand Patrick or his motives.

We also see close-ups of Paul during the lead-up to him being killed emphasising his confusion and horror at the series of events. This makes it all seem more realistic as his reactions are more human than how Patrick is acting.

Editing

The scene uses Continual Editing throughout and this helps make the scene more realistic as the actions of Patrick are so irrational that the audience would not be likely to believe it is real if it consisted of canted shots or frequent jump cuts. 

This also emphasises how grounded Patrick's sense of mind seems to be in the scene as he has carefully planned each detail, further making his actions absurd.

Sound 

In the scene we can hear Paul Allen questioning why Patrick is wearing a raincoat and why there is newspaper on the floor. Paul's voice sounds as though he is mocking Patrick as he asks 'Do you have a dog? A little chow or something?' and laughs, and Patrick answers 'No, Allen' very patronisingly and using his name- this helps us understand the conflict between the two. 

Patrick then turns on a CD of Rock n' Roll music creating a diegetic soundtrack for the murder. This emphasises the continual jolly and upbeat mood throughout the build-up of Paul's murder creating a somewhat contrapuntal effect. 

Also, as Patrick goes to pick up his axe his voice increases in loudness and this gives helps make the audience aware that he is about to murder him as it builds up to the moment and also gives the impression of him finally losing his cool exterior.

Mise en scene

The room in which Patrick murders Paul is completely white and even the sofas are being covered over with white sheets, the lighting is also high-key and bright- this has the effect of subverting the usual conventions for a murder scene making it memorable and quite strange for the audience as it is not what they are used to seeing. 

The black, vertical blinds covering the windows are also frequently put into the shot resembling a jail and this emphasises that Paul is trapped in his fate as Patrick literally has everything set up for his demise.  

Also, when Paul makes fun of Patrick by asking him if her has a dog, we can see very tight framing surrounding Patrick as he answers 'No, Allen' and this gives the impression that it has been the last straw of annoying him and he no longer has any choice whatsoever about killing Paul. 

Point 4 (Sit down and relax) 

Camera Angles

After Patrick axes Paul we see a Reaction shot of him as he takes off his raincoat giving the impression that his work is done and he can take off his 'uniform'. Patrick seems relieved that he has finally murdered Paul and this shows his psychopathic nature as murder actually seems that murder is his form of catharsis. We then see a full shot of him relaxing on the sofa having a cigar with the dead body of Paul Allen in the foreground and this emphasises that he is seeing a dead body on his floor -as we can also see it- and is very composed about it.

Editing

This scene also uses Continual Editing and this helps to highlight how collected Patrick is about the situation as he relaxes and has a cigar on the sofa as the scene is slow and drawn out whereas if it was created with short and snappy clips it would portray that the protagonist's mind is on edge after murdering someone.

Sound

Throughout the scene the diegetic Huey Lewis soundtrack is playing and empathises how proud Patrick is feeling with himself after the murder of Paul as it is upbeat and rock n' roll. It makes the audience not feel any grief about his death and and so assists in us understanding how the protagonist is feeling.

Mise en scene

Once Patrick has murdered Paul, he leaves the blood on his face for some time after giving the impression that it is almost like a medal to show his pride. The blood is also extremely bright red to signify his danger and that he finds death addictive. However, we also see a profile shot of Patrick where it is evident that on one side he has no blood on his face and this seems to convey that either he has differing feelings about the murder or that perhaps he hasn't actually killed Paul and that it could be in his mind. We see a full shot of Patrick from across the room with the body of Paul in between him and the camera and this makes us feel disconnected and out of touch with him as he is unreachable. This helps to emphasise how different and potentially insane he is.