Night 17: ‘Peeping Tom’ (1960)
It’s a little difficult to believe that this film was released in the same year than Bava’s ‘Black Sunday’, which I watched the previous night. While the latter feels dated, as if made during the silent films era, ‘Peeping Tom’ feels current, even in 2018, as it uses the mise-en-scene boldly and mesmerizingly.
It tells the story of Mark (Karlheinz Böhm / Carl Boehm), a young man obsessed with photographing and recording everything, who hides a little secret: he is the mastermind behind a string of mysterious murders that has been haunting the city.
But, when the lovely Helen (Anna Massey) manages to connect with Mark and start a relationship with him, the secrets that have been his sole companions throughout his entire life will begin to haunt him.
From the very start, the film uses some clever symbolism to let you know the situation the main character –the murderer himself!- is in. Elements that look like eyes, mentions to mirrors, images, the act of observing, etc. plague the first few minutes of the movie. The character is surrounded by the very thing that obsesses him. He can’t escape it, and now neither can we.
To support this intricate connection between camera, observation and murder, the writers also retort to some ingenious choices: from making his main foe a blind woman, to linking his use of the camera with sexuality and death.
Throughout the entire movie, we follow this tortured soul during every murder and every moment of doubt. The film is great at making us feel for him despite his psychotic nature. He is humanized to the extent of making us feel bad for the things he went through as a child, and the cursed experiment he is forced to complete after his cruel father’s passing. His death is both a deserved punishment and a heartbreaking ending.
‘Peeping Tom’ also manages to create genuinely tense yet beautiful scenes through a masterful use of color and light. Every moment is spellbinding, and it’s a joy to watch even the most morally questionable events.
It’s also a film that speaks to our generation, so obsessed with having visual documentation of every single moment. And it’s particularly poignant when it comes to recording obsessively the experiences of children. In Mark’s case: to prove his father’s theories; in our generation’s: to obtain a widespread ‘viral’ reaction.
If there’s any weakness in the movie, it is probably the rushed detective plot. And yet, it serves its purpose without overstaying its welcome. The movie focuses on what it should: Mark’s journey towards figuring out his place in the world.
And what a fascinating endeavor that is!
Grade: 8/10. Worthy of some obsessive watching.
Scare Factor: a lot of tense and disturbing scenes.
Gore/violence: nothing too graphic. Only hinted at.
Nudity/sexual situations: some scantily clad dames.
Next: ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935)
