Excellent psychological thriller. Few films about voyeurism have been this good. Making the killer as human and sympathetic as they do, makes you feel quite uneasy. It didn't deserve the reception it got. It's definitely a classic.
Still as relevant in digital today, and allows you to sink into the mind of the killer. There were many moments that the plot could have taken off in other directions because there are many layers to the central character worth exploring.
An aspiring director named Mark Lewis films everything, using his cameras as a means to satisfy his voyeuristic obsession. That obsession leads to serial killings and an uneasy relationship between viewer and voyeur.
This feels very much like the kind of suspense and warped perspective provided by so many Hitchcock films. That's not to say that director Powell is a Hitchcock clone, it's just a great way to explain what the film is like. It's not possible to see how any fan of "Rear Window", "Psycho", or "Vertigo" will not appreciate "Peeping Tom".
Carl Boehm plays Lewis and is amazing in the role. He generates sympathy for his illness, which was undoubtedly brought about by his biologist father, who cruelly experimented on him as child. Further, he filmed and recorded young Mark as he tortured him. This all sounds grizzly but the old grainy home movies that show these horrors are very tame when compared to today's violent movie fare. Yet Powell generates tension and thrills through the shadows and darkness of city streets and Lewis's darkroom.
There are some great scenes but most enjoyable involved interrogation of Lewis by sweet but curious neighbor Helen, a police detective investigating one of Lewis's murders but primarily when he's confronted by Helen's blind mother, who is the only person suspicious of Mark based solely on his mannerisms, detected without her sight.
"Peeping Tom" is a classic demonstration of suspense and the ability to present terror and psychological horror without buckets of bloodshed.
[MUBI] One of the most disturbing movies in film history. The camera as an instrument of obsession and death. Never has a dance caused so much suspense. We, the viewers, are as voyeur as the protagonist. That eye in close-up gives betrays us. There is no escape.
When your girlfriend discovers your porn stash...
The heavy, classical style of writing / acting is compensated by the beauty of the directing.
Starts out feeling like some lame 60s slasher/exploitation film. But give it a bit. Picks up a little way through. Characters are well fleshed out, a lot of grey areas instead of simply things being black and white. Was pleasantly surprised.
Shout by MueroVIP 8BlockedParent2019-12-20T19:44:56Z
The best line in the movie: "He won't be doing the crossword tonight."