5 Bret Easton Ellis adaptations, ranked from worst to best
Bret Easton Ellis’ books seem perfect for the screen, but there’s an art to translating books like The Shards and American Psycho. Which adaptations worked – or didn’t?
5. The Informers (2008)
The Informers, Ellis' 1994 novel, suffers a significant failure in its adaptation. Ellis co-wrote the screenplay, yet the film abandons much of the book's strangeness for a more conventional drama. The atmosphere becomes relentlessly bleak, with a drab color palette and little to do for its impressive cast. The film fails to capture the eerie weightlessness of Ellis' early fiction, turning the material into portentous gloom.
4. Less Than Zero (1987)
Less Than Zero, based on Ellis' 1985 debut novel, is a product of the late 1980s. Set in pastel and neon-lit Los Angeles, the film follows Clay, his ex-girlfriend Blair, and his friend Julian as they navigate a cycle of parties and drug use. The movie has merits, with Robert Downey Jr delivering a remarkable performance as Julian.
However, it sanitizes Ellis' darkest material, opting for a more conventional cautionary tale about self-destruction. The snuff film parties, sexual exploitation, and moral decay of the novel are either omitted or softened.
3. The Rules of Attraction (2002)
The Rules of Attraction, Ellis' 2002 novel, finds a surprisingly faithful adaptation. Set at a liberal arts college in the fictional Camden, the film centers on three students caught in a web of unrequited desire. Roger Avary's adaptation captures the novel's fragmented structure and dark humor without tonal deviation or directorial prudishness. While it lacks the fierce satirical bite of some Ellis movies, it remains one of the most faithful adaptations.
2. The Shards (2026)
Ellis' most conceptually ambitious and openly queer novel, The Shards, has become one of his strongest screen adaptations. Set in Los Angeles in 1981, the film follows a fictionalized character navigating the city's atmosphere. The adaptation embraces the novel's fragmentation, dark humor, and interconnected fictional universe. Ellis' unique voice shines through, making The Shards a standout adaptation among his screen adaptations.
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