Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.
Stripped of its color and some excellent photography plus imaginative direction by Michael Powell, the plot itself would have emerged as a shoddy yarn.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
19 Sep 2007
fresh:
It still packs a wallop. Maybe that's because, in cinema, we're all peeping toms. And the camera, in skillful hands, can be an exquisite instrument of terror.
– Michael Wilmington,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Oct 2013
fresh:
Peeping Tom reminds us of the scary, primitive power of movies by putting us, as viewers, in the position of its peeping protagonist. As the psychopath sets up his victims for the kill, we see them through his eyes.
– Jay Boyar,
Orlando Sentinel,
5 Oct 2013
fresh:
Fear, as it turns out, is the most frightening thing in the world, and Peeping Tom makes us feel it palpably as few films have been able to do.
– Kenneth Turan,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Oct 2013
fresh:
Michael Powell's Peeping Tom is the best movie ever made about the voyeuristic allure of making and watching movies.