Peeping Tom, Creepy Guy Slays English Dolls

You know them...those guys that just creep you out. Maybe you dated one...or maybe you have one as a cousin. Can't quite put your finger on it...but everything about him is creepy. Today we have a movie about one, an English film from 1960, "Peeping Tom." Directed by Michael Powell, this film will see so many beautiful UK chicks die horribly. Who knows, our antagonist in this one may bare a striking resemblance to...well, say your boss...a guy at church...a neighbor...or a guy who is right now fantasizing about your murder.

Mark (Karlheinz Bohm) is a cameraman. He films everything. As our story begins he hires a sultry prostitute and films her as he murders her. He takes the film home, develops it, and gets off on it. Mark photographs beautiful women and all will be endangered as this film advances. Uh oh...21 year old beauty Helen (Anna Massey), a tenant in Mark's building, comes on to him. He likes her, too. Helen is kind of thick and doesn't pick up on Mark's weirdness factor (which is off the chart). Then there's Helen's blind mother, Mrs. Stephens (Maxine Audley)...she senses it.

Mark is also working on a film set and agrees to film dancer, Vivian (Moira Shearer). Bad move for Vivian, she wants him to film her in secret. This will be a heartbreaking scene as Mark...well...you'll see...so sad. Why is Mark this creepy? Helen's nosiness reveals this. In flashbacks we see some really sick and perverted acts Mark's dad did to him...its all on film. As Mark arranges more private shoots with London's most beautiful women, Helen finds herself falling deeper into his world.

Just how dumb does Helen have to get before Mark films her murder? What exactly does the blind Mrs. Stephens see in Mark? Is Mark a mere metaphor for the misogyny and unrealistic expectations of western European men toward the fairer sex? This is an uncomfortable murder tale. After watching this film, the portrayal of Mark will have you hitting the showers to wash off the ickiness. Enjoy "Peeping Tom," and find yourself in the world of the perverse and insane for 100 minutes.