American Psycho 2 is a stand-alone 2002 direct-to-video

Direct-to-video

Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...

 sequel

Sequel

A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...

/spin-off

Spin-off (media)

In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...

 of Mary Harron

Mary Harron

Mary Harron is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter best known for her films I Shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page.-Overview:...

's 2000 film adaptation

Adaptation

An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....

 of American Psycho

American Psycho (film)

American Psycho is a 2000 cult thriller film directed by Mary Harron based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. Though predominantly a psycho thriller, the film also blends elements of horror, satire, and black comedy...

. It is directed by Morgan J. Freeman

Morgan J. Freeman

Morgan J. Freeman is an American film director. In 1997, his debut feature, Hurricane Streets, became the first narrative film to win three awards at the Sundance Film Festival...

 and stars Mila Kunis

Mila Kunis

Milena "Mila" Kunis is an American actress. Her work includes the role of Jackie Burkhart on the TV series That '70s Show and the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy...

 as Rachael Newman, a driven criminology

Criminology

Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...

 student

Student

A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

 who is drawn to murder. The film also features William Shatner

William Shatner

William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...

 as a professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

. The film was adapted from a script titled The Girl Who Wouldn't Die.

Plot

The film starts with a twelve-year-old Rachael Newman, whose babysitter is on a date with serial killer Patrick Bateman

Patrick Bateman

Patrick Bateman is a fictional character, the antihero and narrator of the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, and its film adaptation. He has also briefly appeared in other Ellis novels.-Biography and profile:...

. As Bateman begins to dissect her babysitter, Rachael breaks out of the duct tape binding her hands and stabs him with an ice pick, which then shows up periodically through the rest of the film. Fast forward to the present day and Rachael is now a college student studying criminology under Professor Starkman, a former FBI agent. Rachael aspires to join the FBI and is hell-bent on getting the teaching assistant position under Starkman, which would make her a shoo-in for the FBI training program.

However, tough competition for the position stands in her way, and Rachael proceeds to kill off classmates one by one. During her killing spree she decides to see the school psychiatrist, Dr. Eric Daniels. Realizing that Rachael is a textbook sociopath

Psychopathy

Psychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...

, Daniels tries to warn Starkman, who mistakenly thinks the psycho student is Cassandra Blaire, with whom he had an extramarital affair. When Cassandra reveals that her affair with Professor Starkman has guaranteed her the TA

Teaching assistant

A teaching assistant is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include graduate teaching assistants , who are graduate students; undergraduate teaching assistants , who are undergraduate students; secondary school TAs, who are either high school...

 position, Rachael decides to murder her as well. After she does so Professor Starkman discovers Cassandra's body and calls Daniels to tell him that "she's dead". But he does not identify the victim, and Daniels assumes it must be Rachael. Distraught, Professor Starkman leaves his teaching position, which angers the obsessed Rachael. She reveals that she is not Rachael Newman: she killed the real Rachael at the beginning of the semester and assumed her identity.

During spring break Rachael stays on campus and confronts Starkman, who had taken Valium and alcohol, and tries to seduce him to get the job. However, Starkman sees she is wearing a dress and necklace he had given to Cassandra. She then confesses her crimes to him, her "crush" on him, and that she knew about his affairs with various women (which included her former babysitter, whom he indirectly killed, since he had told her about Bateman and she decided to track him down), as he backs up towards the window in a state of confusion and fear. Rachael blows him a kiss, and he falls out the window to his death. As she leaves, Rachael realizes a janitor has witnessed Starkman's death, and she murders the janitor, too. Driving away from campus with Starkman in her car, Rachael gets pulled over by a cop, whom she stabs to death with an ice pick. As the movie reaches its conclusion Daniels and two cops pursue Rachael in a car chase, which ends with Rachael driving off a cliff, resulting in the car exploding. At this point, she is presumed to be dead by the cops who witnessed the event and the media.

In the final scene, Dr. Daniels is giving a lecture on Rachael's mind and how he wrote a book about her. When he looks up from speaking with a student, he sees Rachael, who hasn't died after all; she indirectly reveals that she killed Starkman's last assistant, Elizabeth McGuire, and stole her identity to get into Quantico. She allows Dr. Daniels to know because she believes there is no point in committing the perfect crime if no one knows about it and that she's proud of his success. The body that was in the car was the real Rachael. As she walks out of his class, Dr. Daniels is obviously disturbed and rattled.

Reception

American Psycho 2 received mostly negative reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

 reports that 11% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 9 reviews with an average score of 3.1 out of 10. Pete Croatto of filmcritic criticized the film and added "I can't think of one American Psycho fan who wouldn't be disappointed watching this far inferior 'sequel', which doesn't even try to flex any intellectual muscles or take any chances. It's another stale, kill-by-numbers flick, complete with blade-thin characters and terrible, pun-laden dialogue. And if that's not enough for you, William Shatner is in it." The film was denounced by American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis

Bret Easton Ellis

Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...

.

Cast

This list only includes credited cast members whose characters were named in movie.

Character	Actor	Description
Rachael Newman	Mila Kunis Mila Kunis Milena "Mila" Kunis is an American actress. Her work includes the role of Jackie Burkhart on the TV series That '70s Show and the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy...	The serial killer, and a student of Professor Starkman's class, seeking to learn everything she can about serial killers.
	Susan Dalton	The real Rachael, whose identity was stolen.
	Jenna Perry	Younger version of Rachael.
Prof. Robert Starkman	William Shatner William Shatner William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...	College professor who was once an FBI agent. He teaches in the Behavioral and Social Sciences department and is Rachael's professor. He dies by falling out of a window. He is killed by Rachael.
Elizabeth McGuire	Kim Schraner Kim Schraner Kim Schraner is a Canadian actress, who stars in the children's spy TV series Spynet, shown nationally on CBC Television....	Assistant to Professor Starkman. She is killed by Rachael off-screen, and Rachael then assumes her identity.
Dr. Eric Daniels	Geraint Wyn Davies Geraint Wyn Davies Geraint Wyn Davies is a British-Canadian-American actor.He was born on 20 April 1957 in Britain, at Swansea. He was the son of a Congregationalist preacher...	Psychiatrist Psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities... . Friend of Professor Robert Starkman who is scared of Rachael after their first therapy session.
Patrick Bateman Patrick Bateman Patrick Bateman is a fictional character, the antihero and narrator of the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, and its film adaptation. He has also briefly appeared in other Ellis novels.-Biography and profile:...	Michael Kremko	Infamous serial killer from whom Rachael escapes as a child. In the original film, the serial killer character, Patrick, was played by Christian Bale Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses.... ; in this movie, the character exists only in the memory of the character played by Kunis.
Brian Leads	Robin Dunne Robin Dunne Robin Dunne is a Canadian actor who is mainly known for having had numerous leading roles in sequels throughout his career, and lately for his role as Doctor Will Zimmerman in the cult Science fiction Television series, Sanctuary....	Classmate of Rachael. Choked to death by Rachael.
Barbara Brown	Kim Poirier Kim Poirier Kim Poirier is a Canadian actress, singer, film producer, and television host.-Personal life:Kim Jacinthe Poirier was born in Drummondville, Quebec, the daughter of actress/model Carol Laquerre who was Miss Toronto in 1976, she has one sister. She enjoys watching movies, writing, meditating,...	Student of Professor Starkman's class who is hoping for a good grade in class but ends up being set aside because of Starkman's affair with another student, Cassandra.
Cassandra Blaire	Lindy Booth Lindy Booth Lindy Booth is a Canadian actress who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. She's best known for playing Riley Grant on the Disney Channel series The Famous Jett Jackson and Claudia on Relic Hunter. She also portrayed A.J...	Student who has an affair with Professor Starkman. She is hanged by Rachael.
Keith Lawson	Charles Officer Charles Officer Charles Officer is a Jamaican-Canadian writer, actor, director and former professional hockey player in the United States.-Director:Officer’s directorial debut, When Morning Comes, premiered at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival...
Gertrude Fleck	Shoshana Sperling
Clara	Kate Kelton Kate Kelton Kate Kelton is a Canadian artist, model and actress, notable for appearing as the "Tic Tac girl" in television advertisements for Tic Tac mints for almost a decade throughout Canada, Australia, South America and Israel....
Neighbour	Quancetia Hamilton
Gill	John Healy John Healy John Healy was an American entrepreneur in the late 19th century. Originally from Montana, he and Alfred B. Hamilton established a whiskey trading post near present-day Lethbridge, Alberta in 1869...
Janitor	Andrew Scorer
Waiter	Thomas Dozol
Rachael's Mom	Lynne Deragon
Rachael's Dad	Philip Williams Philip Williams Phillip Williams was a decorated Captain of the United States Navy and one-time military Governor of the United States Virgin Islands....
Daniels' Mom	Kay Hawtrey Kay Hawtrey Kay Hawtrey is a Canadian actress. She was born in Toronto.Full name Katharine Mary Craven Hawtrey, she is part of the Canadian branch of this very old English family, the Anglicized name having been derived from D'awtrey...
Harvey	Neil Crone Neil Crone Neil Crone is a Canadian voice actor and comedian who does the voices of Gordon the Big Engine, Splatter and Diesel 10 from the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. He does Phillip the Concierge in the My Secret Identity episode "Sour Grapes"...
Jim	Boyd Banks Boyd Banks Boyd Banks is a Canadian stand-up comedian known for doing edgy material, and actor.-Biography:Banks has appeared in such films as Bruiser , Wild Iris , Dawn of the Dead , Phil the Alien , Land of the Dead , Cinderella Man , Diary of The Dead and Pontypool...
Mary	Greer Kent