Director – Gabriel Saint (Here in the Dark, Ghost Light)
Starring – Will Rothhaar (The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, Jack Frost), Brooke Culbertson (Chastity Bites, Wicked Enigma), and Maddisyn Carter (The 27 Club, Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival)
Release Date – 2018
Rating – 2/5
Indie horror can go so many different ways but the biggest determining factor for an indie movie is what inspires the director. Sure, things like budget and experience can affect a production but witty filmmakers can always find ways to make things happen. Sometime ago MVD sent over the film American Psychopath for me to review. The film looked like an obvious tribute, or rip off depending which way it goes, of American Psycho. It looked intriguing enough and my curiosity definitely got the best of me. I want to thank MVD for once again allowing Horror Society and myself the opportunity to review this one.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows struggling artist and distant boyfriend Chance (Rothhaar) who has hit a slump in his work until he meets the beautiful Charlie (Culbertson). He becomes obsessed with her and soon begins stalking her. When she’s out of her apartment he would often break in and rummage through her belongings in hopes of getting to know her better. However, he eventually learns that she is in a long distance relationship. When her boyfriend comes to visit he realizes that he has an obstacle in his way before he can truly be happy with her. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into this one expecting it to be along the lines of American Psycho meets Fatal Attraction after reading the synopsis and watching the trailer. Sadly, I was right but that combination is not as fun as it sounds. In fact, the way this story unfolds you are left watching the lead talk to himself for most of the film. I’ve watches some slow burners in my time but this one is a slow burn with nothing to see.
The acting in this one isn’t bad. In fact, I actually enjoyed Will Rothhaar’s performance when he was interacting with his co-stars. He really gets into those scenes and does one hell of a job. However, the scenes with him wondering around aimlessly while narrating had me wanting to turn it off. It’s extremely awkward and boring. This is most of the film with the supporting cast popping in here and there to deliver their lines before moving on.
The story for this one is very intriguing. Think about it. We get a character like Patrick Bateman who struggles to find emotions and purpose in the world who becomes infatuated with a model. It is very promising and I’m sure looks great on paper. However, on film we get a story that is stretched so thin that the viewer struggles to finish it. There is no reason the movie had to be as long as it was and a lot of the scenes where the lead is narrating could be cut because they do absolutely nothing for the story itself.
Finally, the film has a lot of blood but no real practical effects. The movie has two instances where we get so much blood but doesn’t deliver any practical effects for those of us interested in it. Overall, American Psychopath is a huge let down. It could have been a really fun genre offering but chose not to be. If you want to watch someone talk to themselves for an hour then this is the movie for you. In not, then skip it.
