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Ian McKellen, Brad Renfro, Bruce Davison, Elias Koteas, Joe Morton ... see more see more... , Jan Triska , Michael Byrne , Heather McComb , Ann Dowd , Joshua Jackson , David Schwimmer , Mickey Cottrell , Kevin Pollak

Bryan Singer directed this Brandon Boyce adaptation of Stephen King's novella about teenager Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro), who discovers Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander (Ian McKellen) living in his Cali... read more read more...fornia hometown. Fascinated with Dussender's wartime atrocities, Bowden blackmails the former death-camp commandant by promising to keep his identity a secret in exchange for Holocaust horror tales, or, as Todd puts it, "everything they're afraid to show us in school." Dussander complies, and as the weeks pass, their tense confrontations become increasingly malevolent. This is the third film to derive from King's 1982 book of four novellas, Different Season. The others are Stand By Me (1986, from "The Body") and The Shawshank Redemption (1994, from Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, leaving only one remaining unfilmed tale in the book ("The Breathing Method"). Signet felt King's "Apt Pupil" to be so intense and horrifying that editors asked him to leave it out of the 1983 paperback. A 1987 attempt to film "Apt Pupil" (with Rick Schroder and Nicol Williamson) ended when funding ran out. Shown at numerous 1998 film festivals (Venice, Toronto, Chicago, Sitges, Tokyo). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

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57% liked it

37,456 ratings

Critics

53% liked it

55 critics

R, 1 hr. 51 min.

Directed by: Bryan Singer

Release Date: October 23, 1998

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DVD Release Date: April 13, 1999

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Flixster Reviews (1,257)

  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    January 8, 2012
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "If you don't believe in the existence of evil, you've got a lot to learn."

    A boy blackmails his neighbour after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal.

    REVIEW

    Apt Pupil comes from 'Different... read more 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.
  • ythelastman89
    June 7, 2011
    ythelastman89
    Maybe this isn't one of Stephen King's most popular stories, but it's sure one of his most realistically creepy ones. Bryan Singer takes this short story and turns it into a highly performance based movie, which is fine when you have two amazing actors pitted against each other. ... read moreI never get tired of seeing this story played out on screen and the characters are just so well managed. Brad Renfro looks like your average kid, which is why his bizarre characteristics are even more disturbing and effective. It takes a simple black mail scenario and spins it into something no one would expect. Ian McKellen does a great job as a shell-shocked Nazi war criminal and has you convinced every minute he is on screen. It must've been difficult to deal with such a touchy suspect and humanize the characters the way they do. Bryan Singer is a director that clearly knows what he wants to do and knows how to give off certain emotions with very little convincing. Apt Pupil isn't over-stylized, but incredibly subtle. To see so many evil things take place in such a warm setting us a lot more effective and lasting than having them take place where you might expect them. This is a movie that has only become more effective with age and takes you back to a time where so much of suburbia was still naive to the outside world and horrors that can possibly exist in your neighborhood. It's surreal to imagine your nice old neighbor as an escaped Nazi. I'm sure this movie will continue to be overlooked, especially when it comes to the intentions of the story, but for the people that do see it and understand it, Apt Pupil is one great movie.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    May 21, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    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 Kur... read moret 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.
  • middleeasternfilms
    April 26, 2010
    middleeasternfilms
    Based on a short story inside Stephen King's Different Seasons, it was better on paper, as usual, but the film was really good. Bryan singer does a good job with the direction of the film, but what really carries this is Ian McKellan's chain-smoking ex-Nazi neighbor who seems lik... read moree the victim here but ends up completely changing the kid's life.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 16, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    If you don't believe in the existence of evil, you've got a lot to learn.
  • matertenebraum
    November 23, 2009
    matertenebraum
    Young high school student Todd Bowden uncovers that an old man in his neighbourhood is really Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander under the name of Arthur Denker. Bowden offers not to turn Dussander in if he agrees to tell him what it was like to carry out the crimes he did during t... read morehe war. However the relationship changes both Dussander and Bowden, bringing evil to the surface in both of them.

    Having read the short story prior to the film being made I knew that this was going to be a difficult subject to bring to the screen. The film does a good job but makes many changes that will disappoint those who know the book. Treating the film as a separate entity it isn't bad but it happens too quickly and doesn't go deep enough. The plot is interesting but the depth Todd sinks to isn't convincing as half of it is forced on him and the other half he seems to embrace it. Dussander himself is well crafted but his descent into evil doesn't go far enough to be truly captivating. The ending is different from the book but I'm in two minds if it works better or not.

    Brad Renfro is good but I can't help but compare him to the character in the book and see his short fallings. However he does manage to keep his changes semi-realistic without descending into being OTT or turning into a cartoon character. McKellen is perfect in the lead role and he manages to be larger than life. An actor of Koteas shouldn't have done such a minor role but Schwimmer gives a good performance that isn't his usual `Ross' thing again.

    It's hard not to compare this to the book and beside that it pales slightly. As a film in it's own right it's ok but it doesn't quite convince and has an uneasy tone to it. Singer was always going to have a tough time following the amazing Suspects, but here he does pretty well. The direction is great and features plenty of great shots throughout the film.

    Overall it is a flawed film because it doesn't go as far as it should nor does it manage to totally sell the characters to us. However it's worth a watch for great direction by Singer and a good lead by McKellen.
  • kiriyamakazou
    April 24, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Apt Pupil has some really great ideas and some fascinating characters. It's a shame that the script doesn't revel in it's strengths. Renfro and McKellen make a fearsome double act. They have great chemistry, each taking turn as mentor and student. The balance of power shifts ofte... read moren and realistically. This great chemistry seems to come from nowhere. Instead we get a One Month Later title card. This avoids a chance for some great development. The film also cuts corners, mainly in the outing of McKellen. Renfro just seems to recognise him from pictures . The end relies on a very big coincidence, of McKellen being put in a hospital bed, next to a man whose family he had killed. They somehow managed to come to the exact same town, in the same country, and end up in the same hospital, in the same room at the same time. It feels like a rushed and thoughtless ending. There's so much interesting stuff to explore here, with Renfro's future looming, and McKellen's past catching up, there is so much material that could be covered. Hopefully will become a TV series one day, as that would be the perfect medium.
  • Gx7
    March 19, 2009
    Gx7
    Not a review:

    This was one of those 90s movies that I found quite intriguing and yet very disturbing when I was a kid. I just saw it again on tv the other day and just realized how many good actors were in this movie, at that time some of them were just starting out. I th... read moreink Im gonna try to find a copy of this at the stores.
  • MidnightMadwoman
    October 25, 2008
    MidnightMadwoman
    There's something about the idea of evil genuises that I really really like. And when they're paired in mutually parasitic, symbiotic and antagonistic relationships, all the better. The changing leverage that both characters have over each other is fascinating, and all other char... read moreacters kind of fade into the background in contrast.
  • harrycaul
    December 17, 2007
    harrycaul
    A schoolboy with a morbid fascination for the Holocaust forms an unhealthy friendship with a Nazi war criminal in hiding in California. The set-up, swiftly and disappointingly, becomes hollow and artificial, and a serious subject is reduced to a threadbare, inter-generational gam... read moree of cat-and-mouse, with a couple of stabs at suspense, rather like a bad-taste version of "Sleuth" without any wit. When the Nazi survives the game only to be denounced by the old countryman in the next hospital bed, what should be a delicious irony falls completely flat, feeling merely preposterous. Good performances, though.

View All Apt Pupil Reviews

Critic Reviews

Todd McCarthy
January 1, 2000
Todd McCarthy, Variety

A creepy, well-acted story of contagious evil! Full Review

Bob Fenster
January 1, 2000
Bob Fenster, Arizona Republic

A tense, psychological study of evil!

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

The most disappointing thing about Apt Pupil is the lack of sustained tension generated by director Bryan Singer. Full Review

Jay Carr
January 1, 2000
Jay Carr, Boston Globe

Apt Pupil is most compelling for its moral dimension.

Lisa Schwarzbaum
January 1, 2000
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

More disturbing than anything Keyser Söze could provide. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

When bodies are buried in cellars and cats are thrown into lighted ovens, the film reveals itself as unworthy of its subject matter. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
January 1, 2000
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

Drama in distress! Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
January 1, 2000
Elizabeth Weitzman, Film.com

Nothing about the movie even makes sense!

Susan Stark
January 1, 2000
Susan Stark, Detroit News

Major junk! Full Review

Michael Wilmington
January 1, 2000
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

Effective but not overwhelming, bone-chilling but not blood-freezing, Apt Pupil is a good shocker that misses the ultimate horror.

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Apt Pupil Trivia

  • Who played a Nazi soldier in Apt Pupil and a Jewish prisoner in X-Men?  Answer »
  • This Apt Pupil of Gods and Monsters played Death in The Last Action Hero creating his own Richard III. His X-Men are in The Lord of the Rings, but it might as well be The Da Vinci Code for all the sense it makes.  Answer »
  • Follow the clues: a nazi criminal+a curious boy+brian singer+stephen king=  Answer »
  • ian mckellen plays an old natzi befriended by a young boy in which film?  Answer »
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