Peeping Tom (1960)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Peeping Tom (1960) – M. Powell

Essentially Michael Powell’s last film of interest (after decades of work with Emeric Pressburger) – in effect, this film killed his career.  But oh is it bold!  Not unlike Hitchcock’s move to darker (if still playful) material with Psycho, Powell’s film also plays with audience expectations – after all, don’t we expect a serial killer to be unsympathetic?  But Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) seems gentle and shy in his everyday interactions and particularly with his “love interest” Helen (Anna Massey).  Yet, he’s twisted inside, due apparently to some vicious experiments by his biologist father (played by Powell himself, in a brief filmed clip) who wanted to understand reactions to fear in children.  This, too, makes us want to “understand” Mark – who is still creepy due to his tendency to film everything he sees (and his sideline shooting nudie pics).  Powell indicts the moviegoer for his/her voyeuristic tendencies (as does Hitch in Rear Window) – or perhaps he is indicting himself for wanting to control what is being filmed?  Mark imposes himself on reality and films it – but his terrible childhood seems to incline him toward filming women’s reactions to fear, as he kills them.  He then plays the footage back in his own hidden projection room – private snuff films that may or may not arouse him.  No doubt, it’s clear just how volatile and challenging this material would be in 1960 – and it still retains the ability to shock today.