This week I have decided to cover the unjustly derided vehicle known as the sequel. This is Second Verse Same as the First week. American Psycho 2 is currently available on instant Netflix.

PASS: American Psycho 2 (2002) – Rated R for violence and language.

“Patrick Bateman is dead, but his evil legacy continues with Rachael Newman (Mila Kunis), the only victim who managed to escape Batemans grasp. Rachael will get rid of anyone who threatens her chances of becoming teaching assistant to the infamous Dr. Daniels, a professor and former FBI profiler. In a world where the stakes are higher and sex can kill, terror lurks in the new American Psycho.”

“This girl has no concept of reality.”

Okay this week we have covered sequels that do not suck and some that surpass their originals. Now we have one that I like to call a SINO – sequel in name only.

American Psycho was an absolutely brilliant satire. While the book by Bret Easton Ellis did make for good satire, most of the laurels deserve to be thrown at the feet of writer/director Mary Harron who did a brilliant job of punching up the material and directing an incredible performance by Christian Bale.

American Psycho 2 begins with a teenage Rachael killing off Patrick Bateman in a scene that is remarkable only for its cheesiness. This opening scene does not bode well for the picture.

American Psycho 2 also errs by being a bit too obvious. Our second victim, a bureaucratic ninny is beaten to death with her prominently displayed employee of the year award. To facilitate the “American” portion of American Psycho, Mila Kunis wears a red, white and blue All-American Girl shirt.

The funny thing about American Psycho 2 is that, apart from the brief opening scene and a later reprise, it does not feature any of the characters from American Psycho. It also does not fit tonally or thematically with the first film.

American Psycho 2 would actually have been much better if you cut the first scene altogether and renamed the film something like Killer T.A. It is basically a B Bad Girl movie a la Poison Ivy / Wild Things / etc.

Basically if you can completely ignore the American Psycho connection then this film can be a fun guilty pleasure. If you cannot do that then you will not enjoy the film. Also this film is played as a comedy instead of a satire.

Mila Kunis is likable but certainly no Christian Bale. William Shatner is not actually in that much of the movie and does not have much to do except flirt with Lindy Booth. Lindy is wonderful but does not have much of a part. After seeing her performances in Dawn of the Dead and Cry Wolf, I would have preferred seeing her as the psycho.

I rate this as a pass but it can certainly be enjoyable in the right mood. As a sequel to American Psycho though, it is terrible.

People Watch: Robin Dunne who plays Brian here can currently be seen as Dr. Zimmerman on Sanctuary.