Ian McKellen is quietly chilling as Kurt Dussander, a former Nazi who has changed his name to Arthur Denker and assimilated into contemporary society. He's the first and most obvious villain, but more unnerving than his war crimes is how easily a person with such a monstrous past can slip into the role of your average next door neighbor. When he unearths proof of Denker's former identity, he blackmails the old man into describing the inhumanity the Nazis perpetrated, all in crystal detail. Renfro imbues the role with a perfect mix of curiosity and sadism, and in many ways his character becomes the greater of the two evils. As his interest grows into obsession, he unleashes a Pandora's Box of information that was best taken to the grave.
Imagery also delivers the chills without going overboard.
There is something otherworldly in the way Denker appears dressed in full Nazi attire. The image itself opens a dark chapter in human history. Director Bryan Singer has worked out an impressive follow-up to his previous effort, The Usual Suspects . WHAT'S BAD Regular readers of King's work will undoubtedly recognize similar elements from his other stories. The shower scene that raised so much trouble for the studio is all too reminiscent of the shower scene in It and even Carrie .