There's debate among fans whether any of Patrick Bateman's murders really happened, but forgotten sequel American Psycho 2 actually settles it.

There's debate among fans whether any of Patrick Bateman's murders really happened, but forgotten sequel American Psycho 2 actually settles it. 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. Somewhat ironically, the violence found in the film actually 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 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 actually a definitive cinematic answer to the question of whether Patrick's murders were real, at least if one 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 (obviously not played by 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, there are lots of things that 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.

Stupidity of the American Psycho 2 script aside - and make no mistake, it's a terrible movie - if one accepts the sequel as canon, Patrick Bateman was clearly a real life serial killer, and not just an imaginary one. Of course, this is actually one of the reasons so many people wish American Psycho 2 didn't exist, as they feel it ruins the original's ending. But exist it does, 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.

More: American Psycho: Every Actor You Forgot Starred (& Where They Are Now)