WCXX

The initial reaction to the book was one of shocked outrage but then people began to see the piece as a stinging satire on the evils of American capitalism. My own opinion is that the author was a troubled young man with a morbid imagination who got lucky with a slick bestseller.

^{Matt Smith as Patrick Bateman with the cast of American Psycho at the Almeida Theatre (Alastair Muir)}

On stage, the piece has a sleek Eighties sheen, with hi-tech designs by Es Devlin that deftly conjure a range of locations from flashy apartments to hip restaurants. The violence is much less gory than in the book, the sex scenes less explicit. Those hoping for the visceral thrill of a slasher movie will be disappointed.

There's also a lot of mockery of the characters' obsession with fashion and appearance – one of the best songs rhymes ironic with Manolo Blahnik – and at one point there are dancing girls wearing designer label shopping bags over their heads. Goold is the current king of high concept productions, and as a piece of stagecraft, there is no doubt that the show is a success.

The score is often excellent too, with '80s synths much to the fore in a neat mix of original songs that are witty, tuneful and tinged with melancholy, and covers of Eighties hits such as In the Air Tonight, Don't You Want Me and True Faith. . One of the knowing jokes in the book is that Bateman has terrible taste while believing his judgement to be immaculate.

But this show about cold, superficial people strikes me as being cold and superficial itself. I was also disappointed by Matt Smith's psycho, though his admirers may be interested to learn that he makes his first dramatic appearance wearing only a mask and gleaming white underpants. Boy is he buff, a real hardbody – to use the vernacular of the novel.

But while Smith's Dr Who struck me as tiresomely zany, here he seems boringly blank, and never comes close to catching the characters mental disintegration, powerfully described in the novel and brilliantly caught by Bale in the film. His singing voice is flat and expressionless too.

Like Huey Lewis said, sometimes it really is hip to be square and if I were you I'd give this modish show a miss.

Until Feb 1. Tickets: 020 7359 4404; almeida.co.uk