Apt Pupil

Dallas Observer Jean Oppenheimer

This brutal film borders on the brilliant. Beautifully structured and edited, with a chilling central performance by Ian McKellen and an exceptional score by John Ottman, who also edited the picture, it churns up emotions and leaves the viewer feeling stunned and depleted.

Empire Kim Newman

Not all the plot developments ring true, but moments carry a real chill - even in a coma, McKellen can terrify a fellow patient almost to death - and it has more than enough thought-provoking material to command your interest.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

It's scariest as a parable about the evil that exists in the hearts of adolescent boys.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Brought off with such skill and commitment that there isn't any time to snicker at its obviousness.

The New York Times Elvis Mitchell

Both actors play their roles so trickily that tensions escalate until the horror grows unimaginatively gothic.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Largely free of generic horror-movie elements, such as exploitative torture and murder scenes. Those it does contain draw attention to the difference between the conventions of psychological drama and those of pulp horror.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

It's not perfect King, but it is jarringly close, which these days remains pretty much all one could hope for.

Los Angeles Times Jack Mathews

Despite the riveting performances of Renfro and McKellen, we're left with classic horror-movie sociopaths, evil-doers without conscience, or much to say about the nature of evil.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Do director Bryan Singer and screenwriter Brandon Boyce really mean to suggest that the roots of genocide lie in homosexual desire?

Variety Todd McCarthy

A creepy, well-acted story of contagious evil, Apt Pupil has more than enough chilling dramatic scenes to rivet the attention but suffers from some hokey contrivances and underlying insufficiencies of motivation.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

No matter how you judge it -- as a strict morality play or simply a psychological thriller -- Apt Pupil just doesn't make the grade.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

When bodies are buried in cellars and cats are thrown into lighted ovens, the film reveals itself as unworthy of its subject matter.

Newsweek David Ansen

In the end, artifice overwhelms art. Apt Pupil is too serious to work as a genre movie, and too contrived to be taken seriously. [12 October 1998]

Film Threat Merle Bertrand

A creepy, if disjointed exploration of the nature of evil. But compared to its predecessor, it's also a bit of a disappointment.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Perhaps the most disappointing thing about Apt Pupil is the lack of sustained tension generated by director Bryan Singer.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Scares, to be sure, which is certainly one promise on which it delivers. But the film offers little insight into what it seems to be saying is essentially a mundane fact of life: When one devil leaves the world, there is always another one waiting just outside the door.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

This sensationalistic tale doesn't delve very far into the issues it raises.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Ultimately the movie disintegrates due to its own clumsiness. It's far too coincidence-driven to be believable.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Heartless piece of ill will.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

McKellen is fine, of course, but the film as a whole offers about as much insight into evil as Ming The Merciless in a “Flash Gordon” serial.

The New Yorker David Denby

Overwrought and unpleasant nonsense.