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American Psycho 2
2002 - R - 90 Mins.
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| Director: Morgan J. Freeman | | Producer: Daniel Chuba, Jamie Dixon | | Written By: Alex Sanger and Karen Craig | | Starring: Mila Kunis, William Shatner, Geraint Wyn Davies, Lindy Booth, Robin Dunne |
| Review by: Joe Rickey |
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Patrick Bateman is dead. But his evil legacy continues in the body of Rachel Newman (Mila Kunis), the only victim who managed to escape Bateman’s grasp. However, she did not remain unscathed from the encounter. Instead, Rachel has developed an obsession with serial killers. College is competitive for every student and Rachel is no exception. She will get rid of anyone who stands between her and her goal of becoming the teaching assistant to the infamous Professor Starkman (William Shatner), a former FBI profiler whose last case was the strange murder of Patrick Batman. If Rachel can become his new teaching assistant she has a great chance of getting into the FBI institution at Quantico. She will do anything to do so, even killing off the other candidates for the position.
The original American Psycho released in 2000 was a satiric look inside the mind of an 80’s Wall Street broker named Patrick Bateman. He was a self-absorbed man who liked to fantasize killing other people that he detested. He also killed just for the thrill of doing so. The film was based upon the controversial novel by Brett Easton Ellis. The film itself was also controversial because of its rampant sex and violence. Basically, the film was either a love it or hate it relationship among people. The ending of the film also brought up debate because of its “Vanilla Sky” tendencies. The sequel isn’t likely to bring up much debate because it follows the normal plot of other slasher films. Despite its familiarity, the film ends up being an enjoyable thriller because of a great performance by lead Mila Kunis and a better than expected performance by Shatner.
Direction by Morgan J. Freeman is solid for this type of film. He decides against showing the murders in their full blood-bathed glory, which doesn’t detract from the film as much as you may think because he shows you the aftermath most of the time and that is all you really need to see to know how the victim was disposed of. He is also able to milk all the suspense possible out of a film that shows you who the killer is from the beginning except for a very clever murder sequence towards the beginning of the film. The film also utilizes voiceovers that tell you what Newman is thinking about particular situations throughout the film. These interludes are very enjoyable because they mix dark humor with the psychotic thoughts of killer Newman.
Mila Kunis’ dead-on performance helps immensely also. She nails the humorous parts of the film with perfection. At the same time, she makes it possible for the viewer to buy her as a cold-blooded killer. Shatner is fine as the cynical professor. It’s probably his best performance in film in a long while.
Overall, American Psycho 2 is a surprisingly enjoyable serial killer thriller despite you knowing who the killer is the whole time. Kunis is really great in this film and her performance makes the film fun to watch throughout.
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