Review of Peeping Tom (1960) by Jose Miguel G — 02 Oct 2015
Peeping Tom holds a coveted place in film history as being the very first film to have a POV from the villain/killer and was even more controversial than, Psycho which was released the same year. The film was met with such criticism that it actually ruined the career of it's director, Michael Powell who became blacklisted from Hollywood and never made a comeback.
The story is quite disturbing; an aspiring "filmmaker" murders women using a spike on the tripod of his camera and catches their last moments on film to watch and obsess over later. While I appreciated what the film has accomplished, it is undeniably slow-paced and hard to get through today with unengaging characters and a tedious plot.
The best moment arrives at the ending when we learn that not only does the killer get to see his victims' last moments, but he has a mirror attached to the front of the tripod so they too get to watch their own dying moments and that is twisted to say the least.
It's a dated film with ideas well-ahead of it's time (evident by the backlash it received) and I admire it's place in history more than the film itself; but this is a film that could actually benefit from a remake with tighter direction and actual terror.
This review of Peeping Tom (1960) was written by Jose Miguel G on 02 Oct 2015.
Peeping Tom has generally received very positive reviews.
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