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Peeping Tom

Play trailer Poster for Peeping Tom 1962 1h 49m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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96% Tomatometer 67 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Loner Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) 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 (Anna Massey), the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making. She sneaks into Mark's apartment to watch it and is horrified by what she sees -- especially when Mark catches her.

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Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom

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Critics Consensus

Peeping Tom is a chilling, methodical look at the psychology of a killer, and a classic work of voyeuristic cinema.

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Critics Reviews

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Budd Wilkins Slant Magazine 05/24/2024
Michael Powell’s elegant and disturbing Peeping Tom turns its camera eye on an unhealthy obsession with all things cinematic. Go to Full Review Anton Bitel Little White Lies 01/10/2024
Here voyeurism itself looks outwards and inwards, confounding perpetrator and victim, filmmaker and viewer, camera and phallic weapon, while observing a pathology as metacinematic as it is psychiatric. Go to Full Review Kevin Maher The Times (UK) 10/27/2023
5/5
The film remains dangerous and brilliant... Go to Full Review Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl 02/01/2025
8/10
...an astonishing film that doesn’t lose its power upon repeated viewings. Go to Full Review Sharai Bohannon A Nightmare On Fierce Street Podcast 12/30/2024
3/5
'Peeping Tom' is an interesting predecessor for many subgenres we know and love. There are moments when the camera work is stunning and the film has so much to unpack that it's worth a few rewatches. Go to Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills 08/30/2024
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger together created films of unusual conceptual ambition and high style for UK cinema... Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Ivette G. @Ivettecita 6d Really enjoyed this strangely compelling movie. Anti See more Jeremy B. @Cubs_N_Bears1978 Apr 13 Bad. Slasher? I don’t think so. See more nick s @Nick_S Dec 25 Too shocking for their time, too humdrum for ours. This slow, drawn out thriller has few thrills. However I will take a second look at focus pullers with dinky tripods from now on. See more Ryan A. @ranthony249 Dec 13 Well ahead of its time. See more Sean R. @SeanR Aug 26 Interesting movie. I see where slasher tropes started. At times the film looks good but at times everything seems so fake. The characters are all very awkward. But the story and pacing are good. Very middle of the road movie for me. See more Jonathon J @RT54007015 Jul 14 Thematically, I found this to be a successful movie - thinking about how fear works, trying to capture absolute terror, the effect of seeing one's own fear. The idea of the camera itself as a murder weapon is also thematically interesting. The finale was quite effective as well. Physically, the murder weapon makes no real sense at all - it's slow and awkward, would only work if the victim stays exactly still. But again, as a metaphor for voyeurism (especially relating to us, the audience) it works. See more Read all reviews
Peeping Tom

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Cast & Crew

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Michael Powell

Director

Karlheinz Böhm

Mark Lewis

Moira Shearer

Vivian

Anna Massey

Helen Stephens

Maxine Audley

Mrs. Stephens

Esmond Knight

Arthur Baden

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Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom (1960) Peeping Tom (1960) Peeping Tom (1960) Peeping Tom (1960) Peeping Tom (1960) Peeping Tom (1960) Peeping Tom (1960) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Loner Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) 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 (Anna Massey), the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making. She sneaks into Mark's apartment to watch it and is horrified by what she sees -- especially when Mark catches her.
Director
Michael Powell
Producer
Michael Powell
Screenwriter
Leo Marks
Distributor
Astor Pictures Corporation, 20th Century Fox, Image Entertainment Inc.
Production Co
Anglo-Amalgamated Productions
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 15, 1962, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$23.0K
Runtime
1h 49m
Sound Mix
Mono