People debate whether any of Patrick Bateman's murders really happened, but the forgotten sequel American Psycho 2 actually settles it. So, did Patrick Bateman kill anyone? Now regarded by many as a modern horror classic, American Psycho hit theaters in 2000, and was not without controversy for its level of blood and violence, especially in the unrated cut later released to home video. Ironically, the film's violence paled in comparison to that found in the book it was based on by author Bret Easton Ellis.
Fans will recall that American Psycho ends on a very ambiguous note, leaving it unclear if any of yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman's crimes ever actually occurred, or if they only took place in his delusional mind. The book ends similarly. This has led to lots of fun back and forth, with one side convinced Patrick (Christian Bale) was really a murderer, and the other positive his exploits as a killer were all a mental escape from his boring white-collar 1980s life.
However, it turns out there's a definitive cinematic answer to the question, "did Patrick Bateman kill anyone?" – at least if the viewer chooses to accept it. In 2002, Lionsgate released a direct-to-video sequel called American Psycho 2, starring Mila Kunis as a college criminology student and aspiring serial killer. While the two films are mostly unrelated, they do provide an answer to the Patrick Bateman question.
American Psycho 2 Proves Patrick Bateman's Murders Really Happened
At the beginning of American Psycho 2, we see a 12-year-old version of Kunis' character, who was talked into going along with her babysitter on a date. The thing is, that date was with Patrick Bateman (not played by Thor 4's Christian Bale), and he binds both of them, kills the babysitter, and begins to dissect her corpse. Kunis' character then manages to slip free of her restraints, surprise attack Bateman, and stab him to death with an ice pick. Granted, many things don't make sense about this, such as why Bateman is suddenly targeting random babysitters or how a 12-year-old girl had enough strength to kill a grown, well-built man.
The stupidity of the American Psycho 2 script aside — and make no mistake, it's a terrible movie — if one accepts the sequel as canon, the answer to "did Patrick Bateman kill anyone?" is a definitive yes. Bateman was a real-life serial killer and not just an imaginary murderer. This is one of the reasons American Psycho 2 failed as a sequel – it ruins American Psycho's ending. But it exists, and, according to Lionsgate, distributor of the first film, it's an officially licensed sequel. As weird as this may be to say about a brutal murderer (or at least someone who really wanted to be one), Patrick Bateman deserved better.
Is There An American Psycho 3?
Since American Psycho and its sequel are indirectly linked, many are wondering if there is a third installment to the franchise. Unlike the Psycho series, American Psycho 2 flopped hard enough that there is no American Psycho 3. The first movie is based on a novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis. The adaptation follows the story well enough, but there was no literary source material guiding the sequel. Instead, it was written by Alex Sanger and Karen Craig and directed by Morgan J. Freeman (no relation to the actor) as a standalone sequel. Initially, American Psycho 2 was an adaptation of a script called "The Girl Who Wouldn't Die" that had no ties to the American Psycho franchise. After the filming process began, it was decided that American Psycho 2 should be connected to the aforementioned movie, and Patrick Bateman's role was haphazardly written in. American Psycho 2 has a terrible 18% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and no critic score to speak of. A decent cast and an (unwanted) answer to "did Patrick Bateman kill anyone?" weren't enough to keep the film afloat. The sequel essentially killed off what could've been a budding horror franchise, leaving no hope for a trilogy.
Why Was Patrick Bateman Recast In American Psycho 2?
Unlike American Psycho, the sequel follows Mila Kunis' character Rachael, with Patrick Bateman only showing up for a couple of scenes. In the movie, his part is only told through Rachael's memories, rather than being a leading player in the storyline. However, when he does show up, it's very clearly a different actor playing the role than Christian Bale. American Psycho 2 cast Michael Kremko as Patrick Bateman, and he bears little to no resemblance to Christian Bale. There are two reasons why the recast happened in the first place. First, the idea for the movie to be lumped in with American Psycho didn't occur until the team was in production. There was probably a mad dash to find an actor that would slide into the role. Second, Batman Begins actor Christian Bale likely wasn't asked to return, and he probably wouldn't have anyway. Bale was offered the part of Patrick Bateman on one other occasion – when filmmaker Roger Avary was making an adaptation of Ellis' The Rules of Attraction. He declined at the time, so it would never have been a possibility for the actor to show up in American Psycho 2.