

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.
Acting
McKellen's magnetic monster; Renfro's chilling boy-next-door rot
Direction
Singer's clinical framing makes evil feel domestic, almost cozy
Writing
King's novella sharpened into surgical dread

Director
Bryan Singer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Brad Renfro was only 14 during filming; Ian McKellen requested script changes to make their dynamic even more ambiguously intimate.
The film's production was plagued by lawsuits from extras alleging Singer created a hostile environment — a dark meta-layer given the film's subject of hidden monstrosity.