A teenage boy befriends an elderly man. During countless discussions over many a night, they form a special friendship that manages to bridge their considerable age gap. It would sound like a sweet character study if the old man wasn't a Nazi war criminal and the teen wasn't a Holocaust-obsessed recluse blackmailing his new pal for all the gory details.

APT PUPIL scores the highest marks for originality. Nothing ever quite like this has been done before, and it's all quite intriguing. In the beginning, we come close to feeling sorry for the old man despite his past misdeeds. Here is he living out his golden years in peace and seclusion when all of a sudden a pushy teenager threatens to blow his cover. As the tale progresses, we see that the elder is just as conniving as the boy, threatening simply to expose their friendship, forever linking the young man with unimaginable notoriety. What starts out as a bizarre acquaintance escalates into a duel of manipulation.

It's not surprising that APT PUPIL is based on a novella by Stephen King. The film bears many of the hallmarks of King's works. And while it's never actually scary, it is thrilling at a psychological level that King reaches best. It's not perfect, but with the skilled direction of Bryan Singer and solid performances by leads Brad Renfro and Ian McKellen, it generally accomplishes what it sets out to do.

You don't have to be a horror person or a teenager at a late night party to enjoy APT PUPIL. The film has a unique appeal beyond what its target audience may have been. If you missed it when it was released in 1998 (as many did, based on its limited commercial success),it's certainly worth a look.

Apt Pupil is an adaptation of a Stephen King short story. The film is set in the mid 1980s when a smart and cocky teenager, Todd Bowden interested in World War 2 suspects a neighbour of being a fugitive Nazi.

Both enter a game of oneupmanship as at first, the fugitive Nazi, Dussander (Ian McKellen) is on the back foot but the elderly man is wily and cunning and wrests control.

Bowden instead of turning the fugitive into the authorities wants to hear stories of the war and concentration camps, even gets Dussander to don a Nazi uniform and the relationship brings out demons on both the characters where a strange friendship and alliance ensues. Dussander even at one point pretends to be Bawden's grandfather in order to improve his school grades.

However events with a homeless man and a spell in hospital when Dussander becomes ill threatens to bring both their worlds crashing down.

The film is intriguing and interesting with a sly performance by McKellen who makes his character sympathetic at first, ashamed of his past. There is an interesting cameo by Michael Byrne as a concentration camp survivor (an actor best known for playing a Nazi in an Indiana Jones film.)

The film then starts to lose its way a little, becoming a little predictable, losing some tension along the way. I understand the film departs from King's novella in its conclusion and although not wholly successful the film is still worth investing your time.

APT PUPIL is the big budget film adaptation of the Stephen King novella of the same name, about an ordinary high school pupil who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a former Nazi. I remember the King story as being particularly chilling and disturbing given the subject matter, and it's no surprise the nastiness has been toned down for this big screen outing.

APT PUPIL isn't a bad movie and indeed it starts off rather well. Ian McKellen, just before he hit the mainstream with X-MEN and LORD OF THE RINS, is outstanding as the former Nazi forced to relive his murky past, and the scene in which he dresses up in the full regalia is inevitably the film's chilling highlight.

Unfortunately, at around the halfway point the movie starts to fall apart a little bit and the script lets it down. Brad Renfro just isn't a strong enough actor for the complexities of the lead role and McKellen isn't given enough to do in the latter stages. The excellent Elias Koteas bags a tiny yet highly sympathetic role and cult film fans may recognise James Karen in a one-scene cameo. But the story has been unforgivably altered and the lukewarm ending is a particular disappointment considering the potency of King's original climax.