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Murdering prostitutes is merely a sideline for Mark, taking from his real occupation as a studio focus-puller and moonlighting trade of soft-porn photography. In a studio above a news-agents, whose owner supplies salacious "views" to old men in long coats, Mark takes shots of willing, buxom models like Milly (Pamela Green). A few suggestive poses are enough for the punters but provide scant interest for Mark; he is far more taken with the disfigured face of another girl, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. At home he is the prefect example of reticence, even though he owns the building and rents out most of the rooms. The other tenants are often found in idle chatter around the stairs, but not Mark - he's too eager to race upstairs and watch his films.
However, it happens to be Helen Stephens' (Anna Massey) 21st birthday and even though she lives downstairs with her blind mother (Maxine Audley), they've never met. Interested in the mysterious Mark, she almost manages to charm him into joining the party, but has to settle for taking him a piece of cake. Unknown to her, Mark is engrossed in his recent snuff film when she knocks on the door. Thus, when she presumptuously asks for a present, he offers her the chance to see his movie! Luckily his nerve fails and he drags out some film of his childhood, which is plenty disturbing in its own right. Helen is much intrigued by the softly-spoken Mark, finding his mystery a definite attraction. If only she really knew of his nature and plans for studio colleague Vivian (Moira Shearer).
Beneath the visible layer of death, filming and general weirdness, the naked emotion of fear resides. Revealed by Peeping Tom, Mark is shown to be fascinated by this feeling, driven to find it wherever he can, driven into madness by this warped desire. The root of Mark's psychosis is economically established during the private screening for Helen, where his father's chilling experiments are chronicled. Never given a moment of peace, frequently disturbed to assess his reactions, it's now wonder that Mark is subject to his fixation. Combined with his almost sexual devotion to his camera, the combination of external innocence and internal corruption is both attractive and repulsive.
The essential aspect which allows Peeping Tom to emerge from the sordid pit of its theme is that Mark is redeemable. He recognises his sickness even as he gives in to it, and it's just possible that Helen could unwittingly save him from his crushing loneliness. Her acceptance and affection provide a much needed boost, a signpost to a better future. Alternatively, Mark could turn on Helen as time runs out for his documentary of fear, a project he is compelled to finish whatever the consequences. Böhm's underplaying of this dilemma is superb, obsession dwells within his eyes, reflecting the inner torment of someone who knows what it means to be decent but can't quite achieve this. Massey is also good, as the pushy, strong-willed young lady who skips lightly into the lair of the monster. However, if Mark is really as sick as he appears and all of those hidden reels are his, how can these be his very first victims?
With its palpable sense of unease, Peeping Tom constructs a climate of terror without resorting to hackneyed devices. Mark's destroyed life is the key but Michael Powell cleverly implicates the viewer in his preoccupation, highlighting the voyeuristic quality of cinema and other media. It's a repugnant observation and utterly accurate (particularly clever is the moment when Mark claims to be from "The Observer"). Increasingly the most intimate instants from human relationships are laid bare for public scrutiny, a trend which is frightening when considered in any depth. Peeping Tom doesn't provide judgement on whether this good or bad though, it simply provokes through psychological horror and lets the viewer fill in the blanks.
This film was nominated for review by Steve Crook.
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