Greetings, Boils & Ghouls...
... and welcome to 'Day Sixteen' of "Awesome Horror Streams for Hallowe'en Screams on Roku" in which I will suggest my top picks of the fright flicks from the carefully curated catalogue of macabre movies available via the 'Shudder UK' streaming service - any of which can then be streamed to your television using the magic of Roku player - so, let's dim the lights... and prepare for more frights! :-O
If you read my Hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - published on 30th September, then you will know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, each featuring one horror movie from the current 'Shudder UK' content library. With recommendations for thirty-one of the best fright flicks I can find, by the end of the month, this means you should have plenty of great choices for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring some top-notch cinematic scares come October 31st! ;-)
If you read my Hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - published on 30th September, then you will know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, each featuring one horror movie from the current 'Shudder UK' content library. With recommendations for thirty-one of the best fright flicks I can find, by the end of the month, this means you should have plenty of great choices for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring some top-notch cinematic scares come October 31st! ;-)
Christian Bale in American Psycho (2000) [Promo Shot]
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com
For my sixteenth instalment in this series of posts I'm going to suggest a feature-length slasher from the USA, which was directed by Mary Harron, and first released in the year 2000 under the original title of "American Psycho" which was also the worldwide English language title for this film. Based on the novel of the same name (by Bret Easton Ellis), and adapted for film courtesy of a screenplay written by the director and Guinevere Turner, it tells the story of a wealthy New York investment banking executive: Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), who is twenty-seven, handsome, well-educated, intelligent and living his own "American dream". He works by day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement the one he was born with, all the while hiding his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends. At night he descends into madness, as he experiments with fear and violence, delving deeper into his gruesome, hedonistic fantasies! :-O
If you haven't seen the film before, here is a brief taster in the shape of an original trailer for this crime drama horror thriller, courtesy of the 'Retro Trailer Archive' and their 'YouTube' channel:-
If you'd like to know more... there's a full list of the cast & credits on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) listing for "American Psycho" (2000), FOUND HERE, which also includes a full storyline / plot summary as well as box office stats, technical specs & much more. For die-hard fans, there's even more tidbits of information to be had from the Wikipedia Page for Mary Harron's black comedy slasher "American Psycho" VIA THIS LINK, which may help to fuel your appetite for (yet) another screening. Although, if you're as much of a fan of this film as I am, or have a penchant for the work of Bret Easton Ellis, it probably won't take too much persuading for you to watch this again! ;-)
Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho (2000) [Movie Still]
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com
Anyway... you probably guessed already but, if not, this film (like the others from this series of posts) is also available via the 'Shudder' streaming service and can be easily viewed on any Roku device via their dedicated channel (app) for these streaming media players. There are other opportunities for UK Roku users to watch "American Psycho" (2000), including rental options from 'Amazon Video' and 'Rakuten TV UK' where it is £2.49 (SD) or £3.49 (HD) to rent this film from either one - although I'd suggest you take a look at some possible free alternatives before parting with any money, because there may well be some free sources available online offering formats that are compatible with Roku. However, since my original idea for this month-long blogathon was to suggest thirty-one of the best Hallowe'en / Horror themed movies from the fang-tastic 'Shudder UK' that I could find for you, I'm going to recommend that you stream it via their channel - if possible! ;-) :-)
If you haven't already added it to your channel selection, you will find "Shudder" listed among the "Film & TV" channels in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. You can easily add it to your Roku player(s) by navigating to the built-in 'Channel Store' (accessed via "Streaming Channels" from the home screen on your Roku device) and scrolling through the options until you see the channel icon (pictured above). It's completely FREE-TO-ADD so, once you've located it in the list of channels, just click the "OK" button on your Roku remote to select it and then click "OK" again where it says 'Add channel' to install it on your Roku player(s). Having done that, it's simply a case of launching the channel via the 'Go to channel' option and navigating the on-screen menu to log-in (if you already have an account, but haven't yet done so) or start your free trial (if you are new to the service) and, once you see 'Shudder TV' playing on the screen, just push the "DOWN" arrow on your Roku remote to get to the main menu... from where you can "Search" for "American Psycho", then press "OK" on your remote to select and 'Play' this noughties slasher which, for the record, runs to 1h 42mins.
LINK TO WATCH 'American Psycho' (2000) VIA THE 'SHUDDER UK' WEBSITE
Unfortunately for Roku users in the USA, this film is (currently) not available for streaming via the 'Shudder' service in the United States... although, there is an option to rent "American Psycho" (2000) for only USD $1.99 in either 'HD' or 'SD' formats from 'Amazon Video' and then watch it on your TV through their Roku channel. Conversely, the good news for Canadian streamers is that this film can be streamed via the 'Shudder' subscription service in Canada. However, should you prefer to rent this film (rather than subscribe to watch it) there's a rental option available from 'Cineplex' who are asking just CAD $3.99 (SD) or CAD $4.99 (HD) to stream this movie. That said, as I've suggested in other posts from this series, there could well be one or two other streaming resources that Canadians and/or Americans can use, so it might be best to check for free alternatives before paying to watch this. If you get stuck, message me via Twitter: @ukrokuchannels and I'll see if I can sort you out a link! ;-)
Meanwhile, for that full cinema experience, here's a few of the other related images that film fans in 2000 (and more recently) would have encountered depending on their location around the world:
American Psycho (2000) [Workprint Version - VHS Cover]
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com
Finally, to round-off this sixteenth instalment in my month-long blogathon on 'Day Sixteen' for this edition of the 'Countdown To Halloween', here's more FRIGHTENINGLY FUN FILM FACTS... for example: did you know that Christian Bale was warned by many that it would be career suicide for him to play the lead in a film like this? As it happens, this only made him more eager to take the part! Fortunately for him, as we now know, the opposite turned out to be true: Bale's role in the movie was considered a breakthrough performance, and enabled him to shift his career from supporting roles to leading man status in the years which followed. This finally culminated with his roles in the Batman and Terminator franchises, achieving wide critical acclaim, as well as several awards nominations!
Another interesting tidbit of trivia is the fact that, during the shooting of the film, Christian Bale spoke in an American accent at all times, including while off-set. Consequently, when he began to speak in his native Welsh accent at the wrap party, many of the crew thought he was speaking that way to practice for another film role; seemingly, they thought he was American, for the entire shoot!