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Apt Pupil Details

1998 Certificate 15
  • Rated:
  • 60
  • from 1563 members

Based on the novella by Stephen King, director Bryan Singer's follow-up to THE USUAL SUSPECTS is a harrowing psychological thriller about the relationship that forms between a boy and the neighbor he discovers is a Nazi war criminal. After a brief lesson in history class, star pupil Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro) becomes obsessed .. Read more

Starring Ian McKellen, Brad Renfro, Bruce Davison, Elias Koteas
Director Bryan Singer
Genres Drama

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Apt Pupil

Based on the novella by Stephen King, director Bryan Singer's follow-up to THE USUAL SUSPECTS is a harrowing psychological thriller about the relationship that forms between a boy and the neighbor he discovers is a Nazi war criminal. After a brief lesson in history class, star pupil Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro) becomes obsessed with Hitler and his followers. Through extensive research, he discovers that the infamous Kurt Dussender (Sir Ian McKellen) has been hiding out, living a normal life in his own neighborhood. But instead of reporting Dussender to the authorities, Todd decides to use him to gain further knowledge...everything that the history books won't tell him. But who ends up using whom, and what happens when a susceptible young mind encounters true evil, leads to a surprising, taught, and unsettling suspense film.
Interested in the novella since he was 19, Singer worked closely with screenwriter Brandon Boyce to bring this compelling story to the screen. Filled with the same touches that are hallmarks of his previous films--careful editing, use of small spaces to evoke tense atmospherics, terrific cinematography, and stellar acting--the film is a disturbing exploration into the seductively dark side of human nature.

Starring Ian McKellen, Brad Renfro, Bruce Davison, Elias Koteas, David Schwimmer, James Karen, Heather McComb, Ann Dowd, Joshua Jackson, Mickey Cottrell, Michael Reid MacKay
Director Bryan Singer
Studio SONY PICTURES HOME ENT. UK
Run time DVD: 1 hr 47 mins
Certificate Certificate 15
Genres Drama
Language DVD: English
Dubbed German
Subtitles DVD: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish
Released DVD: 13 Jun 2005
Production year: 1998
Format DVD
  • Critics' reviews (6) of Apt Pupil

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  • 4 stars out of 5

    This drama outlines the terrible consequences of a gifted Californian teenager's obsession with the Holocaust and his strange relationship with a Nazi war criminal living in secret in his home town. It's the third film to use Stephen King's 1982 anthology Different Seasons as a source and the tale is almost the equal of its predecessors, Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption. King's chiller deals with the horror of human nature and melancholic dread, and Bryan Singer's adaptation keeps close to the author's original intentions, using smart visual fluency to suggest the appalling and shocking nature of the core story. Ian McKellen gives a stupendous performance as the former SS death-camp officer and the film provides unsettling, blood-curdling viewing that occasionally crosses the bad taste barrier.

    • Radio Times
  • 2 stars out of 4

    An effective drama about the corruption caused by contact with evil, though it descends into horror-movie clichés towards the end.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
  • Most helpful member's review of Apt Pupil

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  • 4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Top of the Class

    Brad Renfro gives a bombastic performance here truely holding his own in the company of heavy weight Sir Ian. An intelligent script artfull handled by Bryan Singer this film was criminally over looked at the cinema and deserves to be seen by all.

    What is Tod up to now I wonder??????

      • A customer from London
  • Most recent members' review of Apt Pupil

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  • 4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Absolutely brilliant

    This version of Stephen King’s apt pupil was absolutely brilliant. Brad Renfro plays a boy becoming out of control, obsessed with events of the holocaust. He goes from extreme to extreme. And let not forget the wonderful performance Sir Ian Mcellen puts in for his role of the Nazi.

    A truly frightening and disturbing film but well worth it.

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Rating breakdown

1,563 Member ratings
  • 100
69
  • 90
105
  • 80
243
  • 70
282
  • 60
367
  • 50
211
  • 40
130
  • 30
77
  • 20
53
  • 10
26

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    • Based on the novella by Stephen King, director Bryan Singer's follow-up to THE USUAL SUSPECTS is a harrowing psychological thriller about the relationship that forms between a boy and the neighbor he ...