"Daring Shadows: Unveiling 'Peeping Tom,' the 1960 British Flop That Pioneered the Slasher Movie Genre"
In the annals of cinema, Michael Powell's audacious 1960 horror film, "Peeping Tom," stands as a daring outlier that both disgusted critics and nearly derailed the director's career upon its release. Paradoxically, this overlooked gem is now recognized for being at the forefront of the slasher movie genre, bringing together elements that would later become synonymous with the quintessential American horror subgenre.
Set against the unremarkable backdrop of American suburbia, "Peeping Tom" introduces audiences to a blade-wielding, unapologetic killer, haunted by past trauma and driven to lure strangers into gruesome deaths. The protagonists, typically young and filled with desire, find themselves in mortal peril, with only a potential "final girl" exhibiting the resilience and moral purity to survive. This familiar outline has become the blueprint for countless slasher movies, entrenched in classics like "Halloween" (1978), "Friday the 13th" (1980), and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984), shaping the Golden Age of the genre.
Interestingly, the origins of these now-iconic tropes trace back almost two decades before the Golden Age, and not in America but in the work of British filmmaker Michael Powell. However, when "Peeping Tom" first graced the screen in 1960, it garnered anything but adulation. Powell, having recently separated from his long-time creative partner Emeric Pressburger, known for their spellbinding collaborations, embarked on a different trajectory with "Peeping Tom."
Teaming up with World War II codebreaker-turned-screenwriter Leo Marks, Powell sought to innovate in a genre that would later become a staple of horror cinema. Despite its initial rejection, "Peeping Tom" now stands as a testament to Powell's foresight, influencing the very fabric of the slasher genre and earning its place as one of cinema's groundbreaking horrors.
"In the Murky Shadows: Peeping Tom's Audacious Exploration of Changing Cinema in the Late 1950s"
As the late 1950s witnessed a relaxation of film censorship, a shifting societal stance on taboos, and the burgeoning competition with television, Hollywood and UK cinema underwent a transformation. Dr. Matthew Asprey Gear, a tutor at the Edinburgh College of Art, notes that films of this era embraced a "lurid and titillating" nature, delving into the shadows to captivate audiences. With increasing depictions of sex and violence, moral certainty in crime portrayals waned, giving rise to a more brutal and morally ambiguous noir in the 1950s.
In this evolving cinematic landscape, Michael Powell, an unexpected maestro known for works like "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp," took an audacious step with "Peeping Tom." Against the backdrop of a grubby, post-war London, the film follows Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm), an aspiring director working in a film studio and moonlighting as a photographer of pornography. However, Mark's true passion lies in a disturbing documentary concept – attaching a bayonet to his camera, he captures the final moments of women, documenting their horror as he murders them.
This unexpected creation by Powell, described by Gear as akin to "Merchant-Ivory doing a slasher," shocked critics upon its release in 1960. The reactions were visceral and condemning, with reviewers expressing disgust, appall, and nausea. The Observer's reviewer was "disgusted," the Sunday Dispatch was "appalled," and The Star felt "nauseated." Derek Hill of Tribune even suggested the film's disposal down the nearest sewer. Such was the revulsion that Peeping Tom's British distribution was canceled, and Powell's controversial masterpiece was forgotten for nearly two decades.
The film's financial backer, Nat Cohen, sought swift separation from the controversial project, fearing accusations of handling pornography that could jeopardize his chances of receiving an honor. In the wake of such harsh criticism, Peeping Tom was relegated to obscurity, only to later emerge as a groundbreaking exploration of the shifting cinematic landscape and the discomfort it could evoke from its unsuspecting audience.
"In the Shadows of Neglect: Peeping Tom's Descent and Redemption"
In the aftermath of its ill-fated release, Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom" faced a grim fate. Powell, reflecting on the aftermath in his memoir "Million Dollar Movie," recounted the swift cancellation of British distribution and the hasty sale of the negative to an obscure black-marketeer. The film, along with its director, faded into obscurity for two decades. Powell, relegated to sporadic directing, lived in near-poverty until the late 1970s when Martin Scorsese, recognizing the brilliance of "Peeping Tom," initiated a resurrection of both the filmmaker and his controversial masterpiece.
"Daring to go deeper," "Peeping Tom" wasn't the sole horror film of its time pushing the boundaries as cinema censorship loosened. Dr. Lindsay Hallam, senior lecturer in film at the University of East London, points to contemporaries like "Horrors of the Black Museum" (1959) and "Circus of Horrors" (1960), collectively known as a grisly "Sadian trilogy." Additionally, Brogan Morris mentions Georges Franju's macabre "Eyes Without a Face" (1960) and Hammer's sexually suggestive "The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll" (1960).
However, "Peeping Tom" stood out, earning the strongest negative reaction among its peers. Often considered a counterpart to Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960), released two months later in the US, Powell's film faced unanimous disgust from critics. While "Psycho" went on to become Hitchcock's commercial triumph, "Peeping Tom" rendered its director almost unemployable after a botched release.
The divergent fates of the two films can be attributed in part to circumstance. Hitchcock's self-funded "Psycho" strategically avoided press previews and directly reached eager US audiences, benefitting from a masterful marketing campaign. In contrast, Powell found himself at the mercy of a nervous distributor and conservative British critics who, ironically, also delivered scathing reviews to "Psycho" upon its UK release.
Yet, beyond circumstance, the stark difference in reception also reflects the content. Powell's audacity to delve deeper into the unsettling realms of true slasher territory distinguished "Peeping Tom," making it a pioneer in a genre that would later garner acclaim. Ultimately, the film's descent into neglect and subsequent redemption mirrors the complexities of navigating artistic innovation in the face of societal unease and critical backlash.
"Through the Lens of Terror: Powell's 'Peeping Tom' and the Birth of Slasher Tropes"
In the intricate tapestry of cinematic history, Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom" emerges as a groundbreaking force, a film that not only defied conventions but laid the foundation for what would later be recognized as slasher tropes. While Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" often claims the spotlight, Powell's creation stands as a distinct pioneer, carving its own path in the evolution of horror cinema.
Unlike Hitchcock, who opted for black and white in "Psycho" to temper potential gore, Powell embraced the lurid Eastmancolor palette in "Peeping Tom." The vibrant colors, particularly red, became as integral to the slasher genre as monochrome is to noir. This bold choice exemplifies Powell's departure from traditional horror settings, placing his film in a seedy, modern world where the protagonist, Mark Lewis, hunts his prey.
Examining the dynamics of victim selection in both films reveals another stark contrast. While "Psycho" adheres to slasher rules by shifting Norman Bates' focus from the sexually active Marion Crane to characters on his trail, "Peeping Tom" maintains a different narrative. Dr. Lindsay Hallam points out that in Powell's film, only "sexual, promiscuous women are the victims," while Anna Massey's character, Helen, emerges as a quintessential "final girl" – a symbol of purity who survives from beginning to end.
Perhaps the most significant departure lies in the narrative approach. "Psycho" masterfully conceals the killer's identity until the end, fostering suspense and mystery. In contrast, "Peeping Tom" boldly reveals Mark Lewis as the killer from the first scene, employing the killer's POV shot technique. This innovation, forcing the audience to witness the atrocities through the eyes of the killer, became synonymous with the slasher genre in later films like "Halloween."
While early examples like "Thirteen Women" (1932), "The Leopard Man" (1943), and "The Spiral Staircase" (1946) hinted at elements later associated with slashers, it was Powell's "Peeping Tom" that synthesized these elements for the first time. Through its audacious choices in color, victim selection, narrative perspective, and visual technique, Powell's film not only defied the norms of its time but paved the way for a new era in horror cinema, leaving an indelible mark on the genre's evolution.
"Beyond the Shadows: Powell's Personal Odyssey in 'Peeping Tom'"
Contrary to common expectations, Michael Powell, the visionary director behind "Peeping Tom," didn't embark on this cinematic journey with a penchant for horror. In fact, he eschewed the genre label, preferring to characterize his creation as a "film about Freud" rather than a conventional horror flick. Thelma Schoonmaker, Powell's wife from 1984 until his passing in 1990 and introduced by none other than Martin Scorsese, revealed in a recent podcast interview that Powell would likely disapprove of the film's classification as a precursor to slasher movies. According to Schoonmaker, Powell, despite inadvertently setting the stage for a new genre, wouldn't find joy in being associated with the legacy of horror aficionados.
Surprisingly, "Peeping Tom" held a deeply personal significance for Powell. As the director stepped into the role of Mark's tormentor father in the film's sinister home movie footage and cast his own son as the young Mark, it became a canvas for exploring Powell's own psyche. Originating from an abandoned film project centered on psychoanalysis, during which Powell's collaborator Leo Marks had the opportunity to scrutinize the director, "Peeping Tom" transcended genre conventions, offering a glimpse into Powell's intricate mind.
Despite his reputation for crafting cozy films, Powell harbored a darker streak. Maxine Audley, who played Helen's blind mother in "Peeping Tom," once recounted an incident where Powell, known for his meticulous approach, placed an actor on a perilous perch, exploiting the actor's vertigo while recognizing the individual's desperate need for employment.
In "Peeping Tom," Powell, who once professed, "I don't think there is anything more frightening than a camera," transformed the camera into an instrument of terror. The film, shot in vibrant Eastmancolor, delved into a seedy contemporary world, challenging viewers with close-up murder scenes presented through the killer's point of view. The audience, in true slasher fashion, became unwitting accomplices, forced to confront the unnerving allure of Powell's cinematic creation.
In the end, "Peeping Tom" stands not only as a trailblazer in the evolution of horror but as a deeply personal odyssey, a venture into the recesses of Powell's psyche that left an indelible mark on the landscape of cinematic innovation.
"The Cinematic Alchemy of Michael Powell: 'Peeping Tom' and the Birth of Meta-Slashers"
While Ghostface, the infamous killer in Scream, attributes the genesis of slashers to "Peeping Tom," Michael Powell's film transcended its role as a mere precursor. Dr. Lindsay Hallam emphasizes that "Peeping Tom" not only birthed the slasher but also pioneered the self-reflective essence that would later characterize meta-slashers like Scream. In the landscape of cinema, Powell's creation, unleashed in 1960, predated the meta-commentary that would become a hallmark of the horror genre.
Upon revisiting "Peeping Tom" today, its narrative takes on a quasi-satirical tone, offering a knowing commentary on the subgenre it birthed. The protagonist, a filmmaker with a morbid obsession for capturing sex and violence through his camera, exists in a world where women are reduced to objects of desire or helpless damsels awaiting salvation. This self-awareness, a precursor to Wes Craven's Scream, prompts viewers to contemplate the act of watching itself, challenging them to reflect on the motives behind consuming such content.
Michael Powell, a cinematic maverick perpetually out of sync with British cinema, consistently found himself ahead of his time. Even in the 1940s and 1950s, his emotionally charged films with collaborator Emeric Pressburger were deemed "too exotic" for Britain. Ironically dismissed in its home country, "Peeping Tom" faced a resurrection at the hands of American filmmakers. Powell's creation, initially rejected, eventually became a catalyst for an enduringly popular American subgenre—one characterized by summer camps, sinful teens, and middle-American suburbs.
As the BFI Southbank showcases "The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger," celebrating the visionary duo's impact until December 31, Michael Powell's legacy lives on. "Peeping Tom" stands not only as a trailblazer in horror but as a testament to Powell's ability to shape cinematic landscapes far beyond the confines of his native country—a British masterpiece that became the blueprint for an American subgenre.
In the realm of cinema, Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom" emerges not just as a pioneer but as a cinematic alchemist, blending horror with self-reflection to birth the slasher genre and lay the groundwork for meta-slashers. As the infamous Ghostface in Scream rightly acknowledges, Powell's creation transcends its role as a precursor, offering a prescient commentary on the act of watching itself. Today, the film plays like a knowing satire, prompting audiences to question why and how they engage with such content.
Michael Powell, perpetually ahead of his time, faced dismissal in his homeland, yet "Peeping Tom" found redemption in the hands of American filmmakers. Resurrected and repurposed, Powell's creation became the cornerstone of an enduringly popular American subgenre, challenging the conventions of horror and leaving an indelible mark on cinematic landscapes.
As the BFI Southbank celebrates "The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger," the legacy of Powell and his groundbreaking film persists. "Peeping Tom" not only birthed a genre but also stands as a testament to Powell's ability to transcend borders, crafting a British masterpiece that became the blueprint for an American cinematic movement. In the ever-evolving tapestry of cinema, Powell's visionary spirit endures, inviting audiences to reflect on the profound impact of a film that dared to gaze into the dark corners of both horror and self-exploration.