We are not afforded the luxury of distance. At times, such as in the films opening, we are Mark’s camera. Instead of showing us blood and gore, Powell forces us to watch the horrified expressions of Mark’s victims.

Long before “Disturbia” there was “Peeping Tom.” The obscure British thriller was released in 1960, where after it disgusted audiences and was thrown out of theaters. The film subsequently ruined the career of its director, Michael Powell. Thus it requires some examination.

“Peeping Tom” tells the story of film director Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) who murders young women, using his camera as an instrument of death. He films their terror as they die to relive later in the privacy of his darkroom.

He meets a young woman, Helen (Anna Massey) on the eve of her 21st birthday party. Mark lets her into his life by showing her films of his childhood, made by his father, a biologist interested in the nervous reactions of fear. As the two become closer, Mark finds it harder and harder to hide his life and sadistic desires from her. The films climax is surprising and nail-biting (don’t worry, no spoilers here).

Mark is a voyeur, who prefers to observe from behind his camera. Powell puts the viewer in close proximity with the audience in such a way that it is difficult to separate what he is seeing from what we are seeing.

We are not afforded the luxury of distance. At times, such as in the films opening, we are Mark’s camera. Instead of showing us blood and gore, Powell forces us to watch the horrified expressions of Mark’s victims.

Mark is a very atypical serial killer. He is not outgoing or charismatic. Rather, he is quiet, reserved, and a bit of a recluse. To those around him he is unimportant and nonexistent. When a stand-in on the movie set he is working, he is questioned but never considered a serious suspect. He is so pathetic at times, that he draws sympathy,

“Peeping Tom” also examines the question of nature vs. nurture; the audience is asked to ponder how much of Mark’s behavior can be attributed by his strange upbringing by his father, and how much is just in his nature. There are clearly similarities between Mark’s films and his father’s films.

At times, Mark seems clearly tortured by his actions, which arouses audience sympathy. But the way eroticism of the murders, and the way they excite Mark causes great discomfort.

Powell works comfortably in this dichotomy, exploring how someone can simultaneously elicit compassion and disgust, and how the viewer must sort through these conflicting emotions.

Ironically, “Peeping Tom” was released the same year as “Psycho,” and the two share many similarities, both in their antagonists and storylines. Why, then, the latter received such commercial and critical success, while the former was despised, we will never know.

Some say that “Peeping Tom,” with its rich Technicolor palate and naturalistic filming techniques was just too much to handle. “Psycho’s” monochromatic palate and more stable filming style might have subdued some of the film’s more subversive content.

These days, “Peeping Tom” is hard to come by, at least in America. The only U.S. compatible DVD is sold through the Criterion Collection for $39.95. If you have a multi-region DVD player, more affordable DVDs can be found.

Regardless of how you get it, “Peeping Tom” is a true horror masterpiece, and worth adding to any movie collection.

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