Peeping Tom (1960)

In 1960, Michael Powell’s career was put to a sharp stop with his at-the-time completely utterly horrible shocker Peeping Tom. Watching it fifty years later, I both can understand why and not understand why at all. First off, the movie is effective. It may not be completely and utterly terrifying, but it is a decently scary flick. About as scary as Poltergeist, not being completely terrifying or completely laughable by today’s modern horror standards, just a really good film. It stars Carl Boehm as Mark Lewis, a camera-worker at a film studio with a decent amount of childhood issues, who begins murdering women with a blade that pops out of a camcorder he uses. While he brutally murders these women, he films their expressions to find pure, honest, fear. All this filming leads up to a grand finale, one final death, one for the road. But poor serial killer Mark’s plans begin to halt when he meets Helen (Anna Massey), a sweet, kind-natured woman who takes a liking to the secluded cinematographer. But not even her can save this demented man. She asks him once, “Will you film me?” Mark responds with, “No. Not you. Never you.” At that point in the film, we realize that we are dealing with a truly messed up man. This entire movie is about a messed up man. It is about as much a horror movie as The Walking Dead (brilliant show, by the way) is a show about zombies. Is it a crucial element? Yes, of course. But at its core, we have nothing other than a character study. And a very good one at that. Peeping Tom is a brilliant horror drama, with a decent amount of very tense scenes thrown in. Just don’t go in expecting to have found another A Nightmare on Elm Street.
9/10