HORROR
Peeping Tom 15
UK | 1960 101 minutes
DIRECTED BY
Michael Powell
STARRINGKarlheinz Böhm | Anna Massey | Moira Shearer
Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom is today widely regarded as one of the most significant psychological horror films ever made, though at the time of its release it was met with outrage and condemnation. The film’s exploration of voyeurism, violence, and cinema itself positioned it years ahead of its time, foreshadowing the slasher genre while challenging audiences to confront their own complicity in the act of looking. Such reflexive commentary on the nature of cinema was radical in 1960, particularly in Britain, where critics lambasted the film as obscene and morally corrupt. The controversy effectively derailed Powell’s career, relegating him to obscurity for decades.
The story follows Mark Lewis (Karlheinz Boehm), a reserved young man who works at a film studio and moonlights as a 'glamour' photographer. Beneath his quiet demeanour lies deep psychological trauma, the result of being the subject of disturbing childhood experiments conducted by his scientist father. Obsessed with the act of watching, Mark films women as he murders them with a sharpened tripod, capturing their final moments of terror on camera.
The film’s reputation underwent a dramatic reassessment in the 1970s, especially after it was championed by influential directors such as Martin Scorsese. Now, Peeping Tom is celebrated as a masterpiece of psychological horror, studied alongside Hitchcock’s Psycho (also released in 1960). While Hitchcock uses suspense and suggestion, Powell confronts audiences with an unflinching depiction of the pleasures and dangers of cinematic voyeurism.
13 October 2025 MONDAY 19:30
GREEN ROOM
Tickets £3.00!