Stephen King Fans discussion

Discuss Apt Pupil movie here. Sony Pictures released a film version of Apt Pupil in 1998. The film was directed by Bryan Singer. Brad Renfro stars as Todd and Ian McKellen stars as Kurt.[1] The ending of the film is significantly different.

I LOVE the film!!
Brad Renfro and Ian McKellan's performances were utterly brilliant, IMO. I actually liked the fact that they changed the ending.

i really enjoyed the movie until i read the book.. the movie's ending is typical of a film whereas the books ending was exceptional.

I still enjoy the movie but wish they had ended as in the book.

So how does the movie end?? I'm not a big movie watcher I prefer to read and since I just finished The Apt Pupil story I'm curious...... I know that the ending of The Mist movie was different then the book, guess Stephen King likes to do that, kinda like an encyclopedia Brown book where you can choose your own ending, LOL

Kyle ~Special K: Rebel Leader~ wrote: "Brilliant adaptation of the Stephen King short story. Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro have dynamic chemistry in this disturbing, provocative film. I won't divulge the ending, you'll have to watch for ..."

I'm glad you enjoyed it, as well.:)

I absolutely loved the film adaptation! After reading the story it was interesting to see how much the ending had changed, I'm still not sure which version I liked more but I like to look at both for what they are and enjoy them.

Rj wrote: "I absolutely loved the film adaptation! After reading the story it was interesting to see how much the ending had changed, I'm still not sure which version I liked more but I like to look at both f..."

I like both of them for what they are, and what they're not. Both were done exceptionally well, IMO.

Watching for the first time. Creepy.

I thought this was a so-so film. McKellen is outstanding as usual, but Brad Renfro is too limited an actor to make Todd believable in any way. Motivations of the characters that worked in King's novella simply didn't work on screen. And Singer wasn't able to create any sustained suspense in the film.

I finally saw this movie last night. I think it was a very good adaptation, changing what needed to be changed for a theater (home) audience. The ending left me thinking Todd would go on to be evil, even though we don't actually see it as we do in the book. I can use my imagination, or knowledge of the book, I guess, to fill in that blank. I found it menacing that he seemingly gets away Scott-free, but being a Constant Reader, I KNOW you can't do this kind of stuff and not be changed by it. I guess someone only seeing the movie could believe this is the end to a gross chapter in Todd's life.

Often, when screen adaptations of King's books are made, those of us that read see different things than those that only watch. I think that can be a good thing. We're different demographics, so there is wider appeal.

The acting was phenomenal, and the ramping down of the violence perpetuated by their sessions made sense to me, because how could they have shown everything that was on the page? Maybe in a mini-series, but not a movie.

I know Squire felt Renfro didn't portray Todd well, but I really bought his underlying evil. He had those bursts of command, and some anger outbursts that made me see that he was wound incredibly tightly trying to hide his true self.

Kandice wrote: "I finally saw this movie last night. I think it was a very good adaptation, changing what needed to be changed for a theater (home) audience. The ending left me thinking Todd would go on to be evil..."
I thought the film version of Apt Pupil improved on the ending when compared to King's book.

I didn't even know there was a movie of Apt Pupil. I need to go watch that now, the story was so good.