I felt very indifferent while watching Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom. Personally, I am not a huge fan of scary movies. They give me nightmares and tend to make me feel overly uncomfortable. Embarrassingly enough, I cannot even watch Steven Spielberg’s Jaws without getting anxious. Although both films made me uncomfortable, there is something a little more bearable about Peeping Tom. The main character, Mark Lewis, was an extremely troubled man, which made me feel sorry for him more so than scared of him. These opinions formed over the course of the film. I feel like most people are disturbed by movies depending on how realistic they are, but for me, it is the opposite. I find myself trembling at the thought of a practically indestructible shark more so than a mentally ill murderer. How is that possible?

Peeping Tom took on the movie from the murderer’s perspective. The audience followed Mark throughout the movie forcing us to form a relationship with his character. From the beginning, it was apparent he was up to no good but we continued to watch. We found entertainment in his sick actions while we learned more about his horrific past, including his relationship with his father. We began to form a soft spot for him. As Mark’s feelings for female housemate, Helen, become more apparent, his troubling past continues to unravel. Originally, most people were probably very turned off by Mark but once his struggles were clear and a positive side was shown by his feelings for Helen, he became more likeable. His will to protect her from himself exemplifies that his actions are not out of a sick joy for killing people but a disturbed soul. The original fear transformed into confusion and pity. Viewers become more able to justify his awful behaviors because of the slight exposure to his gentle and remotely sane side.

What does that mean for a scary movie? In my opinion, Peeping Tom has a creepy storyline, but the fear factor is toned down by the relationship we, as viewers, were able to form with his character. Any narrative containing a murderer can make a person anxious but I think opinions and fear are defined by the relationship the audience is able to create. By the end of the movie, more viewers are inclined to feel indifferent than horrified because of exposure to the antagonist in which builds an understanding. Although Mark was still deemed as creepy and weird by many in the class and many people also felt disturbed by the realistic aspects of the film, not many people solely blamed Mark for his wrong-doings. The audience was able to stick up and justify his ill-minded behaviors.

When I compare Peeping Tom to other horror films, the comparisons and contradictions are endless. I find that many psychological horror films lose their edge depending on two aspects: the point of view and justification. When a movie is portrayed in favor of the sick minded, the audience can easily justify their wrongs because in a sense, they “know” the character. When the film focuses more so on the story’s prey, the film’s fear factor increases due to the lack of ability to justify the antagonist’s actions.