Horror
scribe Stephen King has been churning out novel after novel for years. It seems
that the majority of his translations to the big screen have been less than exciting.
On the low end of the spectrum we have films such as Maximum Overdrive, Graveyard
Shift, Thinner and The Tommyknockers. On the high end we have The Shawshank Redemption,
Stand By Me, Misery and The Dead Zone. There was also a little film called The
Shining, although many, myself included, will argue that The Shining became director
Stanley Kubrick's personal version.
Enter
Apt Pupil, a film that lies somewhere in the middle. This new psychological thriller
from Usual Suspects director, Bryan Singer, has a lot going for it, but doesn't
rank among King's best. It does, however, manage to stay a safe distance from
being one of the worst. Brad Renfro (The Client) plays a high school honor student
obsessed with the Holocaust. When he discovers that a local senior citizen, played
by Ian Mckellen, is a Nazi war criminal, he decides to give himself a higher education.
The
dark bond between the two is what really gives this film it's kick. Watching them
continually try to outwit each other is something I don't recall seeing before.
It is also a story about power - how to obtain and use it. But most of all, it's
about a monster that is reborn, a recurrent theme in King's work.
As
expected, Apt Pupil is shot with a lot of visual flair and features stellar editing. The
biggest problem is the standard horror cliches that appear towards the film's
end. Also, Renfro starts off very effective, but overacts as the film progresses.
All in all, it's not a step in the right direction for Bryan Singer. This is one
directing genius who should set his sights a little higher.
