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Apt Pupil

1998 · 107 min

A slow-burn psychological study that is deeply unsettling, with a constant undercurrent of dread and moral decay.

Directed by
Bryan Singer
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Tagline
If you don't believe in the existence of evil, you've got a lot to learn
Overview
One day in 1984, Todd Bowden, a brilliant high school boy fascinated by the history of Nazism, stumbles across an old man whose appearance resembles that of Kurt Dussander, a wanted Nazi war criminal. A month later, Todd decides to knock on his door.

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Directed by
Bryan Singer
Genres
Drama, Thriller
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 3 of 3
  • eeriestrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • obsession
  • morality
  • corruption
  • identity
  • guilt
Places
  • suburbs
  • home
  • school
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • twist ending
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror4
Humour1
Realism8
Romance1
Tension8
Darkness9
Complexity7
Emotional weight8

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Cast

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Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, thriller
Directed by
Bryan Singer
Written by
Brandon Boyce
Starring
Ian McKellen, Brad Renfro, Bruce Davison, Elias Koteas, Joe Morton, Jan Tříska, Michael Byrne, Heather McComb
Music
John Ottman
Cinematography
Newton Thomas Sigel
Runtime
107 min
Country
France, United States of America
Languages
English, German

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