7. American Psycho 2: All American Girl (2002)
Right, now this one
really takes the cake. Mary Harron's adaptation of Brad Easton Ellis' acclaimed novel American Psycho (2000) was met with relatively mixed reviews, but ultimately it was accepted as a cult hit, particularly notable for Christian Bale's fantastically surreal performance as Patrick Bateman. Whether you loved it or hated it, you couldn't deny American Psycho's gravitas and shocking originality ("TRY GETTING A RESERVATION AT DORCIA NOW, YOU F***ING STUPID B***ARD!"). Ahem. So, how did they follow up? Well, in 2002 Lions Gate noticed American Psycho's success and sought to replicate it with a sequel. They couldn't make American Psycho without Patrick Bateman, could they? Well, no. But, he was in it for a total of five minutes, and not played by Christian Bale. Sigh. Thus, we're introduced to a young girl who kills Patrick Bateman with an ice pick, and soon takes the reins in his psychotic and murderous tendencies with a plan to murder her college classmates in an attempt to get a teaching assistant position under a criminology professor. That's it? Yep, that's it. So, why does American Psycho 2 differ so vastly from the original? It was based on a rejected script known as 'The Girl Who Wouldn't Die' and was altered to have some very slight relations to the original (and I mean
slight). So, the plot is entirely irrelevant, and the film didn't star Christian Bale; his character was killed off in the opening scene, and the original author and director had nothing to do with it. So um, who took up the film's starring role as Rachael Newman? Mila Kunis. Wow! What a great idea! You know, Jackie from That's 70's Show? Let's make her a murderer! Who? You know, Meg from Family Guy! Sigh.