I made a film that nobody wants to see, director Michael Powell said, and then, 30 years later, everybody has either seen it or wants to see it. One of the reasons for that turnaround in opinion is Peeping Toms lead character, whos one of the most fascinating in horror cinema. One of filmdoms first POV killers, Mark Lewis murders women to capture their terrified expressions on film, his fascination stemming from his bizarre childhood. You see, Marks father used him as a guinea pig while studying the behavioural aspects of fear, and as he lures another young girl to her death, the viewer is left feeling the experience stuck in his craw a tad. If the combination of familial angst and obsession with death makes Mark sound like a poor mans Norman Bates, be aware that Peeping Tom opened in the UK 2 months before Psycho, but while Alfred Hitchcocks movie earned critical plaudits and reaped huge box office receipts, Powells film was vilified for being voyeuristic. Opinion began to shift in the 1970s, with even Hitchcock following the films lead by casting its lead actress, Anna Massey, in Frenzy (1972).
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
