History Film / AptPupil

The story revolves around Todd, an American high school student, discovering that his elderly next-door neighbor is in fact Kurt Dussander, a Nazi SS officer wanted for war crimes. Todd, who has a perverse interest in Nazi war crimes, blackmails Dussander into telling him stories of his time as the commandant of a concentration camp, leading to a series of mind games between the two as exactly which one is in control of the situation gradually becomes unclear...

* BetterToDieThanBeCaptured: [[spoiler: Dussander [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide]] by air embolism rather than let himself be extradited to Israel to answer for his war crimes.]]

* AdaptationalNiceGay: Although he is still a {{Jerkass}} obsessed with Nazi crimes in both versions, Todd is a lot less nasty in the film version than he is in the novella. In the book he is a budding sociopath who fantasizes about raping a captive woman in a concentration camp and, together with Dussander, becomes a SerialKiller of hobos before [[spoiler:he murders his guidance counselor and finally goes on a killing spree that ends in his death.]] In the film Todd comes across as more disturbed and immature than AxCrazy and sadistic, doesn't have anything as explicit as a rape fantasy during his dreams about the camps (imagining himself as an inmate instead), he and Dussander only kill one homeless person who found out that Dussander was a former Nazi (and only after Dussander locked them together in the basement and the hobo shambled towards him looking like a zombie), and Todd simply blackmails his guidance counselor and [[spoiler:goes to college after Dussander dies.]]

* AdaptationalHeroism: Although he is still a prick obsessed with Nazi crimes in both versions, Todd is a lot less nasty in the film version than he is in the novella. In the book he is a budding sociopath who fantasizes about raping a captive woman in a concentration camp and, together with Dussander, becomes a SerialKiller of hobos before [[spoiler:he murders his guidance counselor and finally goes on a killing spree that ends in his death.]] In the film Todd comes across as more disturbed and immature than AxCrazy and sadistic, doesn't have anything as explicit as a rape fantasy during his dreams about the camps (imagining himself as an inmate instead), he and Dussander only kill one homeless person who found out that Dussander was a former Nazi (and only after Dussander locked them together in the basement and the hobo shambled towards him looking like a zombie), and Todd simply blackmails his guidance counselor and [[spoiler:goes to college after Dussander dies.]]

* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: The original ending dealt with [[spoiler:Todd murdering his guidance counselor and going on a 5-hour shooting spree in a populated area before getting shot to death by the police.]] In the film, [[spoiler:Todd just blackmails the guidance counselor to keep his connections to [[NaziGrandpa Kurt Dussander]] secret and goes off to college.]]
* AdaptationalHeroism: Although he is still a youth obsessed with Nazi crimes in both versions, Todd is a lot less nasty in the film version than he is in the novella. In the book he is a budding sociopath who fantasizes about raping a captive woman in a concentration camp and, together with Dussander, becomes a SerialKiller of hobos before [[spoiler:he murders his guidance counselor and finally goes on a killing spree that ends in his death.]] In the film Todd comes across as more disturbed and immature than AxCrazy and sadistic, doesn't have anything as explicit as a rape fantasy during his dreams about the camps (imagining himself as an inmate instead), he and Dussander only kill one homeless person who found out that Dussander was a former Nazi, and Todd simply blackmails his guidance counselor and [[spoiler:goes to college after Dussander dies.]]

''Apt Pupil'' is a 1998 film adapted from a short story in Creator/StephenKing's novella collection ''Literature/DifferentSeasons''. It was directed by Creator/BryanSinger and starred Creator/BradRenfro as Todd and Creator/IanMcKellen as Dussander.

* NaziGrandpa: Arthur Denker. Creator/IanMcKellen can play a pretty terrifying ex-Nazi in hiding. Admittedly he's trying to forget his past crimes, but the scene where he's forced to play dress-up for the bratty kid blackmailing him shows that the whole "blood and honor" devotion is still bubbling beneath the surface. Having to recount his past murders inspires Denker to start killing again.
* RetiredMonster: Young Todd Bowden discovers his quiet German neighbor is actually Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander and decides to blackmail him. [[EvilIsNotAToy This turns out to be a very, very bad move on Todd's part]].

* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: Discussed. Dussander points out that the uniform Todd got him is incorrect. He held the SS rank of ''Sturmbahnführer'' (major) but the insignia designate him to be an ''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant-colonel).

* NaziGrandpa: Arthur Denker. Creator/IanMcKellen can play a pretty terrifying ex-Nazi in hiding. Admittedly he's trying to forget his past crimes, but the scene where he's forced to play dress-up for the bratty kid blackmailing him shows that the whole "blood and honor" devotion is still bubbling beneath the surface. Having to recount his past murders inspires Denker to start killing homeless men.

''Apt Pupil'' is a 1998 film adapted from a short story in Creator/StephenKing's novella ''Literature/DifferentSeasons''. It was directed by Creator/BryanSinger and starred Creator/BradRenfro as Todd and Creator/IanMcKellen as Dussander.

[[redirect:Literature/DifferentSeasons]]