Chilling and Controversial Stephen King Thriller is Now Streaming on Prime Video
Some movies feel more… apt today, do they not? Even some of the Stephen King ones. They might have been pretty good upon release, but they feel much more resonant in the present climate. There are a lot of movies I feel that way about. I thought The Day After Tomorrow was just some fun nonsense as a kid. Now, I feel impending, all-encompassing dread whenever I’m inclined to revisit the film.
Even Stephen King titles aren’t immune to the phenomenon. Every year, the controversial (and brutal) opening to It: Chapter 2 stings more than it did upon release. And The Mist? Yeah, it hits differently in 2025. When the film was released in 2007, I’m unsure I grasped the subtext. I just thought the monsters were scary. However, one of King’s most underrated chillers is a textbook for the present day. Surprise! Your neighbor is a Nazi. Now, the film is streaming on Prime Video:
Per Prime Video: A former Nazi and a curious teenager engage in a game of psychological warfare.
Apt Pupil is adapted from the Stephen King novella of the same name, first published in his 1982 collection Different Seasons. Interestingly, before Bryan Singer’s adaptation, there was a 1987 film underway. Nearly 40 minutes of footage was filmed before production shut down when financing ran out. It wasn’t until the rights reverted to King that Singer petitioned to adapt the film himself.
For the good, both Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro as the malice-stricken Nazi and Nazi-obsessive are fantastic. Their relationship is terrifying in its implications and, like the best King adaptations, profoundly resonant. The less good? Well, for starters, Apt Pupil is helmed by Bryan Singer, a filmmaker who has been battling sexual assault allegations since… you guessed it, Apt Pupil. Several underage extras filed a lawsuit concerning a nude shower scene in the film. While the lawsuit was dismissed, Singer would be sued several more times in the coming decades.
Which, of course, says nothing of the basic conceit of your neighbor secretly being a Nazi. That’s pretty terrifying (and probably not uncommon now). Critical reviews were harsh, and Apt Pupil barely made a passing grade at the domestic box office. With the film now streaming on Prime Video, you can either check it out for the first time or revisit it yourself. It’s certainly one of the more unconventional Stephen King adaptations, and at the very least, it’s worth catching to fill in any blind spots.
What do you think? Are you a fan of Apt Pupil? Any plans to check it out? Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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