If you’ve seen the movie, you know the scene. The rain is lashing against the windows of a sterile, white Manhattan apartment. Huey Lewis and the News is blasting. Patrick Bateman is doing a little moonwalk in a transparent raincoat. Then, with a scream of "Hey Paul!", an axe finds its home in the face of a guy who just wanted to talk about business cards.
That guy is Paul Allen. Or is he?
People still argue about Paul Allen American Psycho details like it’s a cold case from 1987. Honestly, the more you dig into the character—played with a sort of vacuous, golden-boy charm by Jared Leto—the more you realize he isn't just a victim. He’s the literal personification of everything Patrick Bateman hates about himself.
Who was the "real" Paul Allen?
In the movie, Paul is the envy of the office. He has the best business card (Pale Nimbus white with a watermark). He can get reservations at Dorsia on a Friday night. He even handles the Fisher account. To Bateman, Paul Allen is a god.
But here’s the kicker: Paul doesn’t even know who Patrick is. He calls him "Marcus Halberstram" throughout their entire interaction. This is the central joke of the story. In this world of high-stakes finance and designer suits, everyone looks so identical that individual identity has completely vanished.
Interestingly, if you’ve read the original Bret Easton Ellis novel, you might notice something weird. The character isn't named Paul Allen at all. In the book, he’s Paul Owen.
Why the change? Some say it was to avoid legal issues with real people in the finance world. Others think "Allen" just sounded more like "Old Money." Whatever the reason, the name change has fueled decades of fan theories.
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The Mystery of the London Trip
The biggest head-scratcher for most viewers is whether Paul actually died. After the "axe incident," Patrick goes to Paul’s apartment to pack a suitcase and make it look like he fled to London. He even leaves a message on an answering machine.
Later, the private investigator Donald Kimball (Willem Dafoe) tells Bateman that Paul was spotted in London by several people.
Was he?
Or is it just that everyone looks like Paul Allen? In a world where Patrick Bateman is mistaken for Marcus Halberstram, it’s entirely possible that some random yuppie in a Burberry coat was spotted in a London club and labeled "Paul Allen" by a drunk acquaintance.
That Infamous Business Card Scene
We have to talk about the cards. It's the most memed part of the film for a reason.
When Paul Allen drops his card on the table, the music literally swells like it’s a horror movie reveal. The eggshell thickness. The Roman type. It’s "tasteful."
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Bateman’s reaction is visceral. He’s actually shaking. This isn't just professional jealousy; it's a spiritual crisis. If Paul Allen has a better card, it means Paul Allen is a "better" person in the only metric that matters to these people: consumption.
"Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my God, it even has a watermark..." — Patrick Bateman
That watermark is the final nail in the coffin. It represents a level of status Patrick can’t reach, no matter how many crunches he does or how expensive his morning facial scrub is.
Did Bateman actually kill him?
This is where things get messy. Mary Harron, the director, has been pretty vocal about this. She didn't want the ending to be "it was all a dream." That’s too easy. Too cheap.
The theory that carries the most weight is that Bateman did kill Paul Allen, but the society around him is so self-absorbed and shallow that the crime literally disappeared.
- The Realtor: When Patrick goes back to Paul's apartment, it’s been scrubbed clean. The realtor knows something happened, but she’s more interested in the commission of a multi-million dollar penthouse than reporting a murder. She tells him to leave and never come back.
- The Lawyer: Harold Carnes tells Patrick he had dinner with Paul Allen in London. He laughs off Patrick's confession. This is the ultimate "fuck you" to Bateman’s ego. He wants to be a monster, but he’s so insignificant that even his murders aren't taken seriously.
Honestly, it's way more terrifying if the murder was real and nobody cared than if it was just a hallucination.
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Jared Leto’s Performance
You’ve gotta give it to Leto. He plays Paul with this specific type of 80s arrogance that is just... unbearable. He’s not a "villain" in the traditional sense. He’s just a guy who thinks he’s the main character of the world.
He treats Bateman like a junior assistant, barely looking at him. He’s condescending without even trying to be. That’s why the axe scene feels so cathartic for the audience, even though we know we’re rooting for a serial killer.
Actionable Insights: Understanding the Satire
If you're looking to really "get" the Paul Allen arc, stop looking at it as a slasher movie. It’s a pitch-black comedy about the death of the soul.
- Watch the backgrounds: Notice how many people in the office look exactly like Paul and Patrick. The costumes were meticulously designed to be interchangeable.
- Listen to the dialogue: Notice how nobody ever answers a direct question. They just wait for their turn to talk about themselves or their reservations.
- Read the book (if you have a strong stomach): The novel goes into much more detail about the "Paul Owen" rivalry. It’s even more deranged than the movie.
The legacy of Paul Allen in American Psycho isn't just about the memes or the "Hip to be Square" dance. It’s a warning about what happens when we value the "watermark" on the card more than the person holding it.
Next time you're watching, pay attention to the lawyer's reaction at the end. It’s the key to the whole puzzle. It confirms that in Bateman’s world, reality is whatever the richest person in the room says it is.
To dive deeper into the themes of 1980s corporate satire, you might want to compare Bateman's lifestyle with real-life Wall Street memoirs from that era, like Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis. It puts the absurdity of Paul Allen's "prestige" into a much grittier, real-world context.