9 Horror Movies That Were Ahead Of Their Time

If Thirteen Women inadvertently semi-invented slasher movies, two 1960 films truly codified the subgenre. One, Psycho, was an immediate hit with audiences and critics alike. The other, Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom, saw viewers turn away and the erstwhile-celebrated director vilified.

It’s understandable to a point why Peeping Tom was subject to criticism. Its protagonist, Mark, is one of cinema’s most subtly sinister characters. Played blankly by Carl Boehm, he’s a young cameraman who murders women while watching the action through the viewfinder, later screening the footage for himself to relish the victims’ fear.

Like Psycho, Mark is given the kind of psychological profile that slasher writers would later lean on (in both cases - as with many films - it’s parental abuse that turned the boy bad). Peeping Tom allows very little light into proceedings; aptly enough, we view almost everything through Mark’s eyes. There’s no hero coming to save the day here.

It took a long time for critics to come round to Peeping Tom, but it has since been recognised as one of the finest British horrors ever made, not to mention one of the most influential. Even if regular audiences weren’t watching it at the time, you can bet directors were.