Sequel to huge noughties film with A-lister in first role but fans all say same thing

Many admirers of the film American Psycho - a tale about a wealthy New York investment banker leading a double life as a sadistic serial killer - may not be aware that a sequel to the 2000 release exists.

The original narrative follows Patrick Bateman, a yuppie who indulges his violent urges in an attempt to feel alive amidst a superficial world.

Set against the backdrop of the materialistic 1980s Wall Street, American Psycho portrays a handsome and affluent young man concealing a second life as a ruthless and indiscriminate murderer.

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The film features Christian Bale as the lead character, Willem Dafoe as a police detective, and Jared Leto as one of Bateman's colleagues, whom he later kills.

Reese Witherspoon also stars as Bateman's fiancee in the story, which is based on Bret Easton Ellis's 1991 novel, reports the Express.

Following the success of the original film, a sequel was released in 2002. American Psycho 2 (also known as American Psycho II: All American Girl) is a horror film directed by Morgan J Freeman.

The sequel also boasts its own A-list cast, including William Shatner and Mila Kunis in one of her early leading roles. The follow-up film sees Kunis portray a criminology student who aims to advance her career by killing classmates she views as rivals.

The screenplay for the film, entitled The Girl Who Wouldn't Die, originally had no association with American Psycho. The script was then altered to connect the film with the original and was released direct-to-video on June 18, 2002.

The film was deemed a disaster, and Kunis subsequently voiced her disappointment about taking part in the project. Critics savaged it and it managed only a 23 per cent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The sequel's storyline begins in early 1988, when a 12 year old girl goes along with her babysitter on a date with serial killer Patrick Bateman. Following Bateman's murder and attempted dissection of the babysitter, the girl fatally stabs him with an ice pick.

Several years later, the young girl, Rachael Newman, has become a college student pursuing criminology at a Washington university under Professor Starkman, portrayed by Shatner.

In the film, Starkman is a former FBI agent, and Rachael dreams of joining the bureau. She's determined to be selected as his teaching assistant as she reckons it will help her gain acceptance into the FBI training facility at Quantico, Virginia.

American Psycho 2 was torn apart by critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, merely 23 per cent of 22 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.3/10.

One review said: "Lackluster and ill-conceived, American Psycho 2 ditches its predecessor's clever satire in favor of shallow slasher tropes and unconvincing attempts at dark humor."

You can catch American Psycho 2 in the UK by renting it on Amazon or Sky.