Apt Pupil

Starring:Brad Renfro, Ian McKellen, Joshua Jackson, Mickey Cottrell, Michael Reid MacKay, Ann Dowd, Bruce Davison, James Karen, Marjorie Lovett, David Cooley (II), Blake Anthony Tibbetts, Heather McComb, Katherine Malone, Grace Sinden, David Schwimmer, Anthony Moore (II), Elias Koteas, Kevin Spirtas, Michael Byrne, Danna Dennis
Director: Bryan Singer
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
At the top of his game, Stephen King has a real gift for mining monsters--zero-at-the-bone horror--out of everyday faces and places. Adapted from a novella in the 1982 collection that also spawned Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil looks at first as if it might draw authentically enlightening terror from the soul-cancer that makes blood relations of a Southern California golden boy (Brad Renfro) and an aging Nazi war criminal (Sir Ian McKellen). Turned on by a high-school course about the Holocaust, Todd Bowden (such a bland handle for this top-of-his-class sociopath!) tracks down Kurt Dussander, a former Gestapo killer hiding in the shadows of sunny SoCal. Blackmailing the old man into sharing his firsthand stories of genocide, the teenager trips out on the virtual reality of the monster's memories. There's perverse play here on the way a kid hungry for knowledge can bring a long-retired teacher or grandparent back to life. Truly superb as James Whale in Gods and Monsters, McKellen brings subtlety to this Stephen King creepshow: his dessicated Dussander is like a mummy or vampire revivified by Todd's appetite for atrocity.

Amazon.com

At the top of his game, Stephen King has a real gift for mining monsters--zero-at-the-bone horror--out of everyday faces and places. Adapted from a novella in the 1982 collection that also spawned Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil looks at first as if it might draw authentically enlightening terror from the soul-cancer that makes blood relations of a Southern California golden boy (Brad Renfro) and an aging Nazi war criminal (Sir Ian McKellen). Turned on by a high-school course about the Holocaust, Todd Bowden (such a bland handle for this top-of-his-class sociopath!) tracks down Kurt Dussander, a former Gestapo killer hiding in the shadows of sunny SoCal. Blackmailing the old man into sharing his firsthand stories of genocide, the teenager trips out on the virtual reality of the monster's memories. There's perverse play here on the way a kid hungry for knowledge can bring a long-retired teacher or grandparent back to life. Truly superb as James Whale in Gods and Monsters, McKellen brings subtlety to this Stephen King creepshow: his dessicated Dussander is like a mummy or vampire revivified by Todd's appetite for atrocity.

Considerable talent intersects in Apt Pupil: It's director Bryan Singer's first film since The Usual Suspects, that enormously popular, rather heartless thriller-machine. The outstanding cast also includes David Schwimmer as a Jewish guidance counselor pathetically impotent in the face of Todd's talent for evil, and Bruce Davison as Todd's All-American Dad, lacking the capacity to even imagine evil. And the story itself has the potential for gazing into the heart of darkness right here in Hometown, U.S.A. But Apt Pupil just turns ugly and unclean when it trivializes its subject, equating Holocaust horrors with slamming a cat into an oven or offing a nosy vagrant (Elias Koteas). Reducing the great spiritual abyss that lies at the center of the 20th century to cheap slasher-movie thrills and chills is reprehensible. Both Todd and the writers of Apt Pupil should have heeded the old saw: When supping with the devil, best use a long spoon. --Kathleen Murphy

Customer Reviews:

Love, hate relationship.......2007-04-23

I liked this movie for all of the chills and twists in it. The problem that I did have with it was not really feeling for any of the characters, but that was probably the way that King wrote the story. The younger man, Todd Bowden coming into an older gentleman's home and threatening him with "exposure". Then plot twists and the older gentleman, Kurt Dussander turning and threatening Todd with exposure of knowing he was a war criminal. What I did like is that they did come to the realization that they were both benefiting from each other's company in some way. This movie is a Stephan King classic and I did like it very much. I do recommend it to anyone that likes psychological thrillers.

Chilling and very believable. A King's Classic..........2007-04-20

Stephen King's modern Horror story comes to life and it chills your bones.

A student wanting to know more about the Nazi past of a retired old man, who hides under a false name and identity makes for an already very good story, but when it goes farther than this, and it stretches into blackmail and absolute psychological evil, that's when it becomes explosive.

Ian McKellen as the former Nazi Officer, is absolutely brilliant and adds a chilling reality to the role he plays.
His entire development and subsequent transformation from a weak old man into his former self throughout the movie, is to say the least a masterwork of acting.

He plays his role to the fullest and one could almost feel some kind of eery enjoyment in doing so. It is a devilish appearance and this confirms the multi-faceted talents of a Great Actor as McKellen rightfully is.

Brad Renfro, although playing his role with honesty, is far less threatening as one may wish, although he adds a component of freshness to his role, in which we can honestly believe.
Younger generations can, at times, be very cruel, but don't many times, fully understand or appreciate the risks and dangers connected with reopening old wounds in elder people.

It is a very interesting social case study, very well developed by director Bryan Singer, who is a very good storyteller and paces all his movies in such a way, as never becoming stale.

It is shocking to see that at times, fiction foretells reality.
But this is not just a thriller or a psychological horror movie, it is far more. It is a warning.

Let the past rest, learn from it, but do not conjure it up again, or you will pay the consequences...

A great lesson and truly well developed.

I can only recommend it, but be adviced, this is a most disturbing movie. It has no gore, no true blood in it, but it could grasp you by the throat if you are not more than watchful.

Careful for what you wish for, you may even get it...

APT Pupil.......2007-03-11

A good dark drama, 16 year-old student recogines an old man living in his home town to be a hunted Nazi. If you like Stephen King you'll like this chilling story of psychological terror.

AMAZING!!!!!.......2007-03-09

This was one of the best movies i have bought from being on amazon, i got it in record time. The condition was great and i love watching it.i idk what else to say but the movie is a great movie,and i recomend it to everyone who ask about it.

One of my all-time favorites.......2007-02-24

This movie does not deserve to be overlooked. The casting is excellent and the story chilling. A young boy who is experimenting with the evil within himself -- as many adolescents do, dabbling in cruelty and self-destruction with no intention of taking any final steps -- chooses as his victim a former Nazi officer who is an expert at cat-and-mouse games, and at cultivating evil... The boy's life is forever changed as a result. Not to be missed. Read the novella, too, from Different Seasons. Different endings, both very good.

Average customer rating:

Love, hate relationship
Chilling and very believable. A King's Classic...
APT Pupil
AMAZING!!!!!
One of my all-time favorites

Apt Pupil [Region 2]
Starring: Brad Renfro , Ian McKellen , Joshua Jackson , Mickey Cottrell , and Michael Reid MacKay
Director: Bryan Singer
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Night Flier
Dolores Claiborne
Stephen King's: Sometimes They Come Back
Hearts in Atlantis
The Tommyknockers

ASIN: B00004D07Z

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Love, hate relationship.......2007-04-23

Chilling and very believable. A King's Classic..........2007-04-20

APT Pupil.......2007-03-11

A good dark drama, 16 year-old student recogines an old man living in his home town to be a hunted Nazi. If you like Stephen King you'll like this chilling story of psychological terror.

AMAZING!!!!!.......2007-03-09

One of my all-time favorites.......2007-02-24

Average customer rating:

Apt Pupil [Region 2]
Starring: Brad Renfro , Ian McKellen , Joshua Jackson , Mickey Cottrell , and Michael Reid MacKay
Director: Bryan Singer
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004RYX6

Average customer rating:

Apt Pupil [Region 2]
Starring: Brad Renfro , Ian McKellen , Joshua Jackson , Mickey Cottrell , and Michael Reid MacKay
Director: Bryan Singer
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004VXZ2

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

The Mummy Returns (Full Screen Collector's Edition)

Dark Blue World

City of Lost Souls [LBX] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: Spanish Regular ER Verbs DVD

Various Artists - 70's All Stars