Review of Apt Pupil (1998) by Elgan D — 01 Oct 2007
As haunting as the movie is, it could be so much more terrifying. King's novella is sinister, icy and downright frightening, which is something that this film adaptation isn't. While Ian McKellen gives a spine-tingling performance, Renfro - whose character goes through a horrific transformation - looks as if he is going through the motions, giving a lackluster, by-the-numbers performance as the sinister Todd Bowden.
The screenplay, though, is top-notch, at least until the contrived slasher pic third act. Still, director Singer manages to make it all fit together, at least for a while. It's just a shame to think about what the movie could've been .
.. as scary as it wants to be, "Apt Pupil" just isn't. It's still a moderately entertaining little thriller, though, and worth a look, if only for McKellen's electrifying performance.
This review of Apt Pupil (1998) was written by Elgan D on 01 Oct 2007.
Apt Pupil has generally received mixed reviews.
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