31 Days of Halloween: Peeping Tom (1960)

Hello, Bloggers, for today, I decided to do another review, and another Retro Review. Just on a side note, tomorrow or the day after, I will do a Top Ten List, although I am not sure what of yet. Anyhow, today's review is of a British classic that is said to be the original slasher film that came before Psycho, and that film is known as Peeping Tom.

                                    Story:
                        Peeping Tom is about a lonely photographer named Mark (Carl Boehm) who is a serial killer that picks off women one by one and uses his camera to film his victims scream in terror as they die.

                              What I Liked About It:
                        One thing that I really liked was the direction by Michael Powell. There are a few scenes where we watch the film through the killer's voyeuristic eye and I liked the way they were shot. Not only that, but I liked how the film gives us an insight into the killer's backstory and gives un an understanding as to why he is the way he is. Usually, when we see horror films that give a backstory to their antagonist, it makes them scarier, like when we realize that Freddy Krueger was a child killer and Michael Myers is the embodiment of all evil. But here, once we understand why Mark is the way he is, we actually feel sympathy for him and we want to see him overcome his demons. So, it makes the story and the main character more tragic. I don't want to go into details about his backstory because I want you guys to see the movie for yourself, especially if you are aspiring to be a director, so I'll just leave it at that.

                            What I Didn't Like About It:
                         Nothing.

                            Consensus:
                       Overall, Peeping Tom is a masterfully directed yet underrated horror gem. If you are aspiring to be a director and you are looking for a film that has special directing techniques or artistic measure, I would definitely recommend giving this a watch. But because this pretty much is a slasher film and may be one of the first of its kind, if you are expecting non-stop violence and such, look elsewhere.

Rating: 4/5