American Psycho ending explained: What happens to Paul Allen? Details explored

American Psycho received praise from both fans and critics when it was released back in 2000. The dark comedy slasher film is about Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale), an investment banker. However, in the night, he turns into a psychopathic serial killer.

Based on the eponymous novel by Bret Easton Ellis, the film is directed by Mary Harron, who also wrote the script with Guinevere Turner.

Here's the synopsis of the film:

A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.

Even so many years after its release, the ending of American Psycho is still debated, dissected, and discussed among cinephiles.

What is the plot of American Psycho?

A still from American Psycho | Image via Lionsgate Movies YouTube

American Psycho is a film about Patrick Bateman, who lives in New York City and works as an investment banker. His killing spree begins after he finds Paul Allen's business card (played by Jared Leto). Later on, Batemen and Allen attend a Christmas party where Batemen expresses his dislike for Allen and kills him with an axe. This spirals into a larger crime spree while Donald Kimball is investigating the disappearance of Allen.

Through the story, the makers reflect on how people are in a consumeristic world. The film's ending, in particular, has been shrouded with ambiguity. The ending showcases Carnes refusing to believe Bateman that he killed Allen. He says that he was recently with Allen in London.

How does American Psycho end?

The film's director stated that Patrick Bateman was not hallucinating and that the character actually killed some people. Initially, in the story, he hacks Paul Allen to death with an axe. However, as the story progresses, Bateman's apparent reality cannot be trusted.

Due to how delusional he is, there are theories that he was merely imagining certain things. Paul's killing unlocks a series of events and affects Bateman's life. Throughout the film, people continue to mistake someone for what they are not because of their similar appearances. At one point, Marcus Halberstram vouches that he had dinner with Patrick on the very night Paul was killed.

The calendar on Paul also mentions him meeting Marcus. Instead, he met Patrick that night. So, this feeling of ambiguity and lack of answers is persistent throughout the film. This is fueled further after Bateman's lawyer believes that a random man is Paul Allen.

Was everything shown in American Psycho inside Bateman's head?

Because the entire story is told through Bateman's point of view, it is hard to believe every aspect of his life. Guinevere Turner, who has co-written the film, spoke to Movie Maker about the film:

“We didn’t think that everything was real because some of it is literally surreal, but we just decided, together, that we both really disliked movies where the big reveal is that it was all in someone’s head or it was all a dream.”

This was confirmed by the film's director, Mary Harron. She refuted that everything shown in the film happened in Bateman's head:

"I would never answer that. As Quentin Tarantino says, 'If I tell you that, I will take this movie away from you.' I will say there's a moment where it becomes less realistic, and that's the moment when the ATM says ‘Feed Me a Stray Cat.’"