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A somewhat disturbing movie that works as a suspenseful thriller, yet isn't completely satisfying. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
A high-school student (Brad Renfro) forms an unhealthy relationship with a former Nazi death-camp officer (Ian McKellen).
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Rating: R
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Genre: Drama
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Original Language: English
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Director: Bryan Singer
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Producer: Don Murphy, Bryan Singer
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Writer: Stephen King, Brandon Boyce
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Release Date (Theaters): original
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $8.8M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: TriStar Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment
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Production Co: TriStar Pictures, Bad Hat Harry, Phoenix Pictures, Paramount Pictures
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Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, Surround
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Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for Apt Pupil
Critic Reviews for Apt Pupil
Audience Reviews for Apt Pupil
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McKellen is good but the movie isn't. From the opening scenes the film looks promising, as it seems to want to sincerely explore psychopathy and Fascist obsession but then it ops for standard thriller conventions instead, which kind of makes the whole exercise a little offensive.
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Apt Pupil released to little fanfare and struggled to find an audience. Singer might be facing a lot of hostile media coverage at the moment, but at an early point in his career he created Apt Pupil. This film has improved over time and I believe it has morphed into a cult gem that deserves recognition and rediscovery. The film is distinct in style and engages with the actors. The movie changed a lot of King's book, but it works in the end and we reap all the benefits of a carefully created film. Underwhelming on release and I was one of the many who put this in a missed opportunity category. This is a great film and is prime for rediscovery. 12/05/2019
brendan n Super Reviewer -
<i>"If you don't believe in the existence of evil, you've got a lot to learn."</i> A boy blackmails his neighbour after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Apt Pupil comes from 'Different Seasons', Stephen King's quartet of novellas that also spawned The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me. This movie is not in the same league as those two, but it still holds considerable interest as King explores the recidivist power of evil and the strange attraction it has to the young. Brad Renfro is Todd Bowden, a teenager who seems to have it all: terrific grades, affluent parents, even a gorgeous girlfriend. Beneath this seemingly perfect middle-class existence beats a dark fascination with the Holocaust and the Nazi death camps, particularly the gory details (you know the stuff: gas chambers, lampshades made from skin, electrodes attached to nipples, Mengele's ghastly experiments and so on.) He spots Mr Denker, an old man who lives in his neighbourhood - partly by chance, partly by his arcane reading, he recognises him as Dussander, a vigilante Nazi war criminal who has slipped from sight and set up in America. Armed with this knowledge, Todd blackmails the old man into recounting stories of Hitler's 'Final Solution' in all their grotesque horror. It's here that King excels, capturing the uncertain but developing relationship between the nervous old man and the monstrous boy; the content too lures us in, as we - like Todd Bowden - are grossly attracted to tales of the Holocaust even though we shouldn't be. As the film progresses, Todd's constant questioning starts to reignite the old hatred, the old thirst for blood in Dussander's veins, and the character starts to take on different shades. This is a workmanlike but relatively atmospheric account of King's novella, although the casting has always concerned me. Renfro was a good enough choice for Todd, but I've always felt that McKellen wasn't quite the right actor for Dussander. And David Schwimmer's casting as Todd's geeky school counsellor was laughable - I'm not sure what they were trying to achieve with that one. Still, it works on most levels and seems to get the majority of King's ideas and themes across to the audience. It's not a horror film by any stretch, more a psychological thriller, and quite a competent one.
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Apt Pupil is a very interesting Thriller. Directed by Bryan Singer who is famous for directing the first two X-Men films directs this chilling and thrilling tale. When he discovers that one of his neighbors is a Nazi war criminal, teenager Todd Bowden persuades and blackmails Kurt Dussander to tell him about his war crimes. Dussander agrees and Todd Bowden starts a lesson he won't forget. Apt Pupil is not a horror film, but its most certainly horrifying due to its subject matter. Bryan Singer has a talented cast at hand and he takes every opportunity of the talent present to create something tense and unerving. However by the film's end you feel that something could have been improved and it could have been somewhat better. The film does a great job at capturing the cold, evil nature of Ian Mckellen's character (who is well cast and gives a great performance) But considering that this is a film directed by Bryan Singer, you know right from the start that this isn't his strongest directorial effort. Apt Pupil is an entertaining and good thriller that could have been a lot better than it is, but it manages to still have a good story and got thrills. Either way, you'll probably have chills coming up and down your spine when you watch the film. Despite its flaws, Apt Pupil is a good, entertaining thriller that delivers chilling moments that are quite disturbing.
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