1960 Movie
Dir. Michael Powell · United Kingdom · English
A cameraman goes on the quest to photograph fear in the controversial first slasher film ever made
You know how many films depict the magic and wonder of cinema in such gorgeous, magnificent scenes? Peeping Tom does the opposite. Sure, it has director Michael Powell’s signature flair, with excellently framed and colored shots, but he takes a much more violent route here, swapping spectacular fantasy with the psychological terror of how the act of filming and watching can be. Given the title, it won’t be a surprise that the film involves voyeurism, but rather than of the sexual kind, Powell hones into the morbidity of the camera gaze, the twisted pleasure that’s felt when the audience sees someone terrified, despite the violence done upon them. It’s because of this that the film was so controversial, but eventually, Peeping Tom garnered critical acclaim for breaking ground as the first slasher film ever made.
Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.
"Here voyeurism itself looks outwards and inwards, confounding perpetrator and victim, filmmaker and viewer, camera and phallic weapon, while observing a pathology as metacinematic as it is psychiatric."
— Anton Bitel
Shy, reclusive cameraman Mark Lewis lives a double life. In the daytime, he works at a film studio, with pin-up photos on the side. At night, he’s pursuing a terrifying passion project: a documentary on fear, recording the reactions of victims as he murders them.
We can talk about the direction and the then-original point-of-view shots that have become popular in horror films, but I think it’s important to mention how Carl Boehm’s performance and Leo Marks’ screenwriting made the protagonist feel compelling. It’s not just that Lewis is a voyeur– he’s made into one, and it’s only until Helen’s kindness that he even starts to question his life– and it’s why the film is so memorable.
Very scary. Really influential. Interesting novel idea. Now take that, and consider that we’re all currently living in a world that’s constantly surveilled through the lens of social media.
Berlin
1 nom
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
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