''The Stalker's Apprentice'' is a single British television

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

film, based on the novel by author M.S. Power, that was the first broadcast on ITV on 25 May 1998. The film stars Gideon Turner as Marcus Walwyn, a book editor who is driven to murder after reading a draft novel composed by Helmut Kranze (

James Bolam James Christopher Bolam (born 16 June 1935) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Terry Collier in ''The Likely Lads'' and its sequel ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'', Jack Ford in ''When the Boat Comes In'', Roy Fi ...

), a former serial killer recently released from prison who is writing under a pseudonym. The film follows Walwyn as he embarks on a series of murders relating to Karen Scott (

Natalie Walter Natalie Walter (born 24 December 1979) is a British actress and writer who is best known for her film, theatre and television roles. During her career, Walter has worked with film and theatre directors including Peter Hall (director), Peter Hall ...

), a young woman that he meets on the train to work, and the subsequent police investigation by D.I. Maurice Birt ( Peter Davison), commander of the local police force. The film co-stars

Paula Wilcox Paula Wilcox (born 13 December 1949) is an English actress. With a career spanning over 50 years, she is best known for her role as Chrissy in the popular ITV sitcom ''Man About The House'' from 1973 to 1976. She has also had roles in TV shows ...

, Peter Forbes and

Liz May Brice Elizabeth May Brice (born 8 September 1975) is an English actress. She is known for roles such as the convicted murderer Pat Kerrigan on ITV1's '' Bad Girls'', and Agent Johnson in '' Torchwood: Children of Earth''. Career Brice was born in R ...

in her breakthrough TV role. An independent review from ''Movie NZ'' said of the film; " thas a wonderfully methodical cool to it as we watch Gideon Turner, accompanied by a voiceover, putting into use the methodology from the killer's book. However. partway in, ''The Stalker's Apprentice'' abruptly becomes a policier as we follow detective Peter Davison and assistant Peter Forbes as they piece clues together. These scenes hold one's attention, although not as absorbingly as the stalker element. Eventually, the film works through a tight plot filled with sharp twists and considerable tension." The film was released on DVD in the United States on 7 March 2006, via Koch Media. A Region 4 release followed on 19 May 2010. The film has yet to be released on

Region 2 DVD DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...

. The film is often repeated on

True Entertainment True Entertainment was a former British free-to-air television channel that was launched on 3 August 2009, replacing Showcase TV. The change was originally scheduled to happen on 1 July 2009, but a late change put the change "on hold until f ...

as part of their semi-regular 'British Thrillers' season.

Plot

Marcus Walwyn (Gideon Turner) is a reader at a publishing firm. He reads a manuscript entitled ‘Death in Santiago’ by Helmut Kranze (

), which gives detailed accounts of how to stalk victims and commit perfect murders. At the same time, Marcus becomes fixated on waitress Karen Scott ( Natalie Walters) after he encounters her on the subway. He stalks and gathers information about her, while befriending her at the café where she works. However, Karen's friend Sharon (Vanessa Hadaway) gets in the way and Marcus learns that Karen has a boyfriend, Darren (Guy Leverton). He then contrives to kill both Sharon and Darren, using the advice in Kranze's book. On both occasions, he carves an asterisk into the victim's forehead as his signature. Police inspector Maurice Birt ( Peter Davison) investigates. Clues all point to the killer being Marcus but they are unable to find any direct evidence that ties him. At the same time, Marcus discovers that in reality Kranze is convicted murderer Herbert Zanker and that the crimes in the book are ones that Zanker is boasting about having conducted himself.

Cast

* Gideon Turner as Marcus Walwyn * Peter Davison as D.I. Maurice Birt *

as Helmut Kranze *

as Heather Walwyn *

as Karen Scott * Peter Forbes as D.S. Ray Wilson *

as Heather Brazier-Young * Vanessa Hadaway as Sharon Hayes *

Marc Bannerman Marc Bannerman (born 15 August 1973) is an Irish-born British actor. He played Gianni di Marco in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. His character was introduced in 1998, but was written out three years later by the executive producer of ''East ...

as Paul Cornell * Guy Leverton as Darren Cornell * Michael MacKenzie as Harry Rutherford * Marytn James as Richard Brazier-Young * Angela Chadfield as Patricia Brazier-Young

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stalker's Apprentice, The 1998 crime drama films 1998 films 1998 television films 1990s British films 1990s English-language films British courtroom films British crime drama films British drama television films Films about dysfunctional families Films set in the 1990s ITV television dramas Scottish television films Television shows produced by Scottish Television