Editorials
‘American Psycho 2’ – Reclaiming the Overhated Sequel as a Campy Slasher Comedy
Slapdash, direct-to-video horror sequels cropped up like weeds in the 2000s, but no title from this particular era continues to receive as much flak as American Psycho 2 (sometimes subtitled All American Girl). As people probably know by now, this began as an original movie called The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die before someone at Lionsgate had the bright idea to make it into a sequel to American Psycho. To say critics and audiences back then hated the decision would be an understatement. Yet in this time of constant reevaluation of overhated cinema, maybe Morgan J. Freeman‘s American Psycho 2 isn’t a complete misfire. Beyond the panning and massive studio meddling sits a dark and sometimes fun comedy that was never given a fair chance.
“Angrier, deadlier, sexier” says the tagline for American Psycho 2, but this lambasted sequel is far less lurid than its poster suggests. Before the present-day plot begins, the protagonist’s younger self is first seen in the past; Rachel Newman is brought along on her babysitter’s date with the homicidal Patrick Bateman (obviously not played by Christian Bale). As her babysitter bleeds out, Rachel takes an icepick to the unsuspecting Bateman. She then leaves the crime scene, never telling anyone where she was or what she did that day.
Later in college, Rachel (Mila Kunis) is put on the fast track to working for the FBI. All that stands in Rachel’s way are three other students in her behavioral studies program. But if Rachel can become her FBI-agent-turned-professor’s new TA, she’s practically guaranteed an acceptance to Quantico. Therein lies the main character’s problem; believing she can do good in the future, Rachel does bad things right now to achieve her dream. Her plan to win involves not only a murder spree all across campus, but also mind games that trap both Professor Starkman (William Shatner) and a distrustful campus counselor (Geraint Wyn Davies).
Image: Lionsgate
American Psycho was an aggressive and innovative satire about avarice and capitalism in the ‘80s. It blends cutting and insightful humor with shocking violence. Director Mary Harron punched up as well as reclaimed the scandalous source material, making sure her adaptation had its own identity. Once a misunderstood movie, critics have, by and large, come around to see American Psycho in a new light. Meanwhile, American Psycho 2 doesn’t concern grander themes about the state of society. This is no time capsule of a specific social or economic period, either. No, the sequel is straightforward and devoid of profound commentary.
Realizing American Psycho 2 was screwed over by studio tampering should afford it some mercy. After all, the studio ruined the movie’s chance for individuality by forcing a connection to something well-regarded and far more unique. There was no way this once unrelated story could measure up, even with retrofitting; the choice to sequelize was sprung on the cast and crew during production. With the initial shock out of the way, though, perhaps everyone can finally reassess the sequel. That tall order requires mentally excising the Bateman bits sprinkled throughout, and finding the remains of The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die.
Rachel is no Patrick Bateman. Christian Bale delivered an intense and full-bodied performance that many people still consider a career best for the actor. Bale had plain inspiration and drive for the role, whereas Mila Kunis was stuck in an unfortunate situation out of her control. The movie she signed up for had been twisted into something else, so her tepid performance could be a reflection of the behind-the-scenes changes. Regardless, Kunis has her moments here and there; she charms her way through an imperfect script, and, at times, even genuinely comes across as creepy.
Image: Lionsgate
American Psycho 2 doesn’t possess a novel story; it plays somewhat like a younger version of Cindy Sherman’s black-as-coal comedy and workplace slasher, Office Killer. What the sequel lacks in originality, though, it makes up for in occasional wry humor and visual gags. From Rachel strangling Robin Dunne’s entitled character with a condom — topped off with the oft quoted “ribbed for her pleasure” one-liner — to the amusing mental face-offs between the villain and her older male adversaries, the script is quite funny when it wants to be. Of course it has nothing on Bateman’s notorious, ax-wielding monologue about Huey Lewis, but few things in life are as effective.
American Psycho 2 isn’t exempt from the usual problems associated with DTV sequels. It feels and looks cheap, the acting is mostly unremarkable, there’s no distinct visual style to speak of, and the music soundtrack is too on the nose. The movie was shot in twenty days, so these shortcomings aren’t all that surprising. Would everything have turned out differently if the creatives had been allowed to make The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die? Maybe, but unless a Bateman-free director’s cut surfaces, no one will ever know.
As a continuation, American Psycho 2 fails to live up to its beloved predecessor; that was inevitable as soon as some higher-up made a foolish decision. But as a campy and quirky “good for her” comedy with a slasher element? That is something this disparaged sequel has going for itself.
Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.
The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.
Image: Lionsgate
College kids, strippers and vampires—those were Donald P. Borchers’ only requirements when he approached Richard Wenk about writing and directing a movie for New World Pictures. As requested, Wenk cooked up Vamp (1986), a tailor-made blend of the decade’s teen movie craze as well as its horror boom.
Grim and earnest stories were still very much a part of the ’80s horror landscape, yet Vamp is something of a comedy. One difference between it and, say, Saturday the 14th, though, is the former avoids using schtick. Wenk’s movie proves that horror comedies also don’t have to subtract thrills from their recipes. Of course, it takes a minute before reaching that point; college antics and culture shocks preface this one macabre misadventure.
Vamp‘s initial setup is apt for a typical college-set, sex-driven comedy; to bribe their way into a fraternity house, two pledges (Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler) go looking for some adult entertainment. Without wasting time on any further exposition, the characters embark on an all-in-one-night trip that quickly detours into terror.
To procure their elusive MacGuffin—a stripper willing to gyrate for some frat boys—Keith (Makepeace) and AJ (Rusler), plus a third wheel named Duncan (Gedee Watanabe), trade the safety of their remote college campus for the seediness of some unnamed city. The setting is recognizably L.A. by day, but as soon as night falls, downtown, along with the characters, slips into a kind of surreal universe. Director of photography Elliot Davis gave this early entry on his prolific résumé an unusual yet distinctive look; that Mario Bava-esque, magenta-green lighting is omnipresent, so much so that it’s almost its own character.
Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler in Vamp
The faint comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours are merited, although not just because of Vamp’s distinguishing nighttime aesthetic. Save for the primary characters, the supporting roles in Wenk’s movie are also quite colorful and transactional in their behavior. The difference here, though, is the additional urge to ruin Keith and his friends at every turn. Some of that harm is humorous and tolerable enough, whereas the moment Vamp dishes out its first fatality, it’s abundantly clear how this movie qualifies as horror.
Vamp falls into that category of horror movie that reveals its genre with a scream rather than a series of whispers. The opening scene can function as a hint of what lies ahead—things are not at all what they appear to be—but otherwise, Wenk is more than happy to hold off on the horror. When that time does come, though, it catches the viewer off guard. In addition to the pure shock value is that sudden decision to upend the movie’s foremost feature. Or so it would seem.
If afraid of major spoilage, those new to Vamp would be wise to stop reading here. There’s just no skirting around the fact that the central fellowship in this buddy movie hits a serious snag when AJ is killed. That development causes the story to become more of a “long, bad night” journey for Keith and his romantic interest. So while Wenk scores points for subverting expectations, there is also a touch of sadness in his decision. Because if Vamp does anything well, it’s making the characters likable.
Something that comes easily to Vamp—and other teen horror movies from this same era—is its ability to invent young characters worth caring about, or at the very least, are interesting and not so immediately off-putting. More impressive is how Wenk did all this without actually fleshing out those characters. Still and all, Keith and his kind are a grade above cookie-cutter, and in some cases, aren’t completely devoid of growth.
Grace Jones in Vamp
Vamp appeals with an assorted cast of characters. No two are the same, nor are they operating on the same wavelength. The cinematically extroverted AJ, whose actor conveyed charm and vulnerability in near equal amounts, comes alive when he’s at his most undead. Makepeace then makes the chronically cautious Keith a sympathetic fellow, even as he’s more and more affected by the night’s bizarre events. Meanwhile, Duncan is indeed the designated loser of the whole bunch, but Watanabe still manages to humanize him. As a bonus, the role didn’t require him to pull a Long Duk Dong.
As for Dedee Pfeiffer, she is plain adorable as the mysterious After Dark server nicknamed “Amaretto”. She spends all night fixing her dress strap while at the same time trying to get Keith to remember how he knows her. As their offbeat romance grows, it becomes another highlight of this movie. Whether or not Pfeiffer’s character is really a vampire also creates some welcome tension in the story.
Like a lot of its contemporaries, Vamp went on to become a bit of a cult classic. That current status is determined by several factors, but without a doubt, the casting of Grace Jones is the most considerable. The image of her writhing on that unique-looking chair, a Keith Haring original, springs to mind whenever this movie is brought up.
Chris Makepeace, Billy Drago and Paunita Nichols in Vamp
Prior to that first display of unequivocal horror, local vampire queen Katrina (Jones) took to the stage and delivered a strip show like no other. One would expect nothing less from that renowned model and performance artist. By now reports of Jones’ tardiness on set are no secret, yet it’s also hard to deny her commitment to the part of Katrina. It was, in fact, Jones who took charge of her character’s appearance—on top of Haring painting her body and that now-iconic chair, she had Andy Warhol handle her costuming. And not too many actors could seize a room’s attention without saying a single line of dialogue.
In 2022, Vamp received a retrospective novelization from Encyclopocalypse. This literary union of preexisting source material—Wenk’s original screenplay—and new ideas from author Christian Francis amounts to a more comprehensive visit to the After Dark Club. The basic story there is no different than what’s shown on screen; however, Francis gets creative with the characters’ origins and designs, and he enhances a number of key scenes.
The novelization expands on the urban and social decay of the main setting, and supplies a background for the After Dark Club. Sandy Baron’s character, Katrina’s emcee and familiar, is given ample motivation for sticking around; up until the fiery end, he is loyal to his friend and former business partner “Squeak”, who looks like he was “fed through a combine harvester, and left as nothing more than a heap of mangled remains”. Then there is Billy Drago’s character Snow, the leader of a street gang called The Dragons. His reason for menacing Keith and AJ is more altruistic than in the movie; he and his peers act tough to scare off any potential food for the vampires.
Lisa Lyon in Vamp
If not for all the backstories, Francis’ Vamp would be a hell of a lot shorter. Instead, this tie-in read dives into how AJ met Keith—the orphaned Anthony Joseph hailed from a broken home back in Brooklyn—and how their friendship flourished over the years. Keith’s archership is no longer just an assumed part of his entire being; it’s a confidence-building extracurricular for a boy who got picked on before coming into the protection of the new kid in town. These supplemental, in-depth looks at the protagonists, plus their close connection, are maybe unnecessary. The movie already did a fair and concise job of addressing their platonic intimacy without the need for flashbacks and insights, specifically in that scene where AJ lays it all out as he sacrifices himself.
Where the novelization gets off course is its approach to the minor characters. Intermittently backstorying the likes of Katrina’s indentured servants, Seko (Leila Hee Olsen) and Vlad (Brad Logan), ends up disturbing the flow of the writing. Was it absolutely essential that readers know Vlad was the Grand Duke of the House of Romanov, or how Snow’s accomplice Maven (Paunita Nichols) became so dentally challenged? No, not really. However, one’s mileage with these random biographies may vary.
The novelization is a more substantial experience, but for a movie like Vamp, less is more. And as plentiful as they are, it never simply coasts on its campy charms, either. The character work sits comfortably in that realm between cursory and meticulous, the script is sharper than first realized, and Greg Cannom’s vampire makeup is straightforward yet effective. Most of all, the movie didn’t squander its out-of-the-box concept. Richard Wenk made his vision of a “comic nightmare in which just about anything that can go wrong does” come true, and it is very enjoyable.
You must be logged in to post a comment.