Best movie of this year hands down!

You won't be disappointed!

Don't Believe the Hype

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This film that, so loathed by everyone in 1960 that it effectively ended the film career of a prestigious director, feels a good decade ahead of it's time. It seems a bit puzzling at first that "Psycho" could be released in the same year and be a success for Hitchcock, and that this film would ruin Powell, but it makes sense when you really look closely at the films. Hitchcock's film has shocking content, but the shocks have a somewhat safe and innocuous character to them. Hitchcock wouldn't really delve into the sort of perverse and unseemly violence you find in this film until "Frenzy", over a decade later. Powell's film delves into the mix of sex, voyeurism and violence that De Palma would delve into in the 70's and 80's, and while this is not simply "a De Palma film made 20 years earlier" (it's less slick, but also a bit more artful), the comparison shows why it took so long for anyone to appreciate this film.

Some films are so innovative, so ahead of their time, so wholly engaging, that they leave the audience in a perpetual state of "wow" as they watch; Peeping Tom is one such film. Directed by Michael Powell in 1960 explores voyeurism and hypocrisy in a similar fashion to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho released the same year. Starring Karlheinz Böhm and Anna Massey, Peeping Tom delves into the emotional psyche of a man who uses his camera to kill people while simultaneously using it to film their dying reactions. Powell manages to tap into the sexual interest of voyeurism of his principle characters as well as the hypocrisy of what constitutes art in amazing ways. Showing such stark juxtapositions to illustrate hypocrisy was stunning. To watch this film in 2017, it's possible to miss just how revolutionary this film was for 1960, but nonetheless, Powell deserves to be recognized and praised for his innovative film.Mark Lewis (Karlheinz Böhm) is an introspective, shy man who works as a production assistant on British films. When he is not working on the film set, Mark takes pictures of naked women to be sold somewhat secretly by a store in town. Mark attempts to take artistic shots but is always brought back by the owner of the shop who constantly reminds him to only photograph naked women, as that is what sells. When Mark is not on film sets, or at a porn shoot, he spends the majority of his spare time tucked away in a bonus room in his flat watching reels of footage, that he makes, trying to chase his dream of becoming a filmmaker. The unsettling aspect is what Mark is viewing, Mark shoots murders, ones that he commits, and then watches them later in his flat. Mark's sexual repression is never more clear than when he is watching these films and becoming aroused by them. It becomes clear that Mark is obsessed with the effect of fear, and how it is experienced by others. Believing he is doing somewhat of a service by continuing his father's work on fear and the central nervous system, Mark views his films as research, thereby absolving himself of any guilt of committing murder. Mark fills his life with the different forms terror assumes, becoming obsessed with the emotion and willing to chase it no matter the cost.The most mesmerizing thing that Peeping Tom does is explore hypocrisy. Mark has the drive to create art, he wants to be a filmmaker, creating something for the rest of mankind, but is continuously denied the chance. Mark has taken to photographing subjects believing it to be an artistic outlet until he realizes he is supposed to take the most carnal of photos. Art is only valuable if it sells, and the naked women are all that his boss is interested in selling. Powell's ability to make such a statement on art and the way it is created and consumed was masterful. Peeping Tom is a wonderful suspense film, with each line of dialogue and image shown to the camera having a distinct place in the film. Any decent suspense film is dependent upon its score, and Peeping Tom has the perfect score for a suspense film. Another stand out technical aspect of the film is the interesting way in which color is used. Powell creates a world in Peeping Tom and uses color as an aid in such a way that the audience actually feels drawn into Mark's screening room. Karlheinz Böhm absolutely makes the film, creating a creepy yet unassuming Peter Lorre-type of performance, demanding attention from even his most subtle times on screen. Peeping Tom laid a foundation for many films to come yet continue to hold the respect of being one of the first of its kind, that "originals" often lose.

This wonderfully creepy 1960 horror film predates Psycho by about 3 months and predates the "slasher" film by about 16 years and, in braving new ground which deviated from the Gothic Horror film movement spawned by Hammer Films in 1957, helped move horror from the Gothic castles to the house next door. Michael Powell's film presents us with a young man who is so fascinated by the subject of fear, that he stalks young women and kills them while filming their deaths with his movie camera. In to the young man's world, comes a young woman who only wants to understand him and love him, but will she find out his horrible secret before its too late? However, on a cerebral level, Peeping Tom retains its capacity to disturb. Rarely has a film depicted the process of a killer being created so chillingly, nor the manner in which such individuals are capable of conflicted, dualistic personalities. Consider how many serial killers have been described to be charming and kind by others who knew them (Dennis Nilsen or Ted Bundy for example).The scenes showing this transition from shy man-child to confident killer are masterful, with Carl Boehm overcoming other more obvious limitations in his casting (the accent mainly) to portray this aspect unerringly. Peeping Tom has been an incredibly influential film for today's filmmakers, as its influences can be seen in films from Road to Perdition to Red Dragon. I highly recommend it to any fan of film and film history.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

According to the friend who played it for me, "Peeping Tom" ruined the career of its director, Michael Powell. That's a shame, because to my "modern" tastes and perceptions, this is an interesting, layered film that works on several layers at once, and deserves at least as much fame as its obvious inspiration, "Psycho".Carl Boehm's performance as a repressed, shy and emotionally damaged individual is amazing - he seems to simultaneously channel Tab Hunter, Mr. Rogers, and Peter Lorre. And the movie abounds with odd touches and changes of pace (for instance, the doomed stand-in's "warm up" dance fills the scene with gamine energy that makes what happens next all the more tragic.) Minor characters deliver amazing lines, and the actors playing them invariably give grabbing and memorable performances.The art direction and visual setups and reveals keep the eye happy, and there isn't a wasted moment in the film...except for the darkly humorous asides and obvious "in jokes" for fans of Hitchcock and British cinema. Yes, it's a "horror" film, but "Peeping Tom" is a lot more than that. I'm glad I got to see it, and if you like this sort of thing, you'll be glad you saw it, too.