I know a character like this is more commonplace than ever, but I can't even imagine how shocking and truly disturbing this movie was in 1960. The simple premise of a killer who has a compulsion, a psychological need to film and document his murders on film is truly horrific and the movie can almost be a character study into Mark Lewis' demented psyche, is not only very effective in 2025 but a damn good movie all around. Which unfortunately was not the case when the movie premiered, essentially shattering the director Michael Powell's career, was considered so shocking and foul that the movie got pulled from cinemas within five days of release, and even to this day the unedited film has never been released in the UK. It is a fascinating film to watch since we get very cozy with our voyeuristic killer, spending the majority of the film following him as he works on movie sets, photographs neglige models, and offs several women. The performance by Karlheinz Bohm is truly memorable and easily unsettling, yet the movie also takes a tragic and even slight sympathetic lens to his character which for a proto-slasher film is certainly unique, just every minute he is on screen there's so much tension and unease because you know what he does and his somewhat shy and awkward demeanor makes him feel exceedingly real. In a day and age where everyone has a device in their pocket that can photograph and record with such ease and even isn't looked at twice it's actually a more egregiously creepy thing to even contemplate more than ever. Anna Massey as the love interest Helen is odd, but yet also understandable as she does get a little apprehensive around Mark's demeanor and yet wants to help him break his permanent attachment to his camera, a potential saving grace for him to reform and live a normal life which again is rather original to this genre. It's such a good looking film too, both the director and the director of photography were kinda having a field day, with an abundance of shots framed with certain use of color, playing about with the combination of light and shadow, there is some artsy shots presented here and you just don't see many movies even back then that look like this! The musical score comprising entirely of a piano can be both moody and beautiful as well as ramp up the tension and build toward a kill. You don't even really see any of the murders or a money shot of an effect yet it still works, maybe even better than if you actually did see something. It's a unique beast that I really do not hear many talk about, and it's definitely a more unconventional choice for October yet what I found was a creepy, intriguing, original movie that if you do decide to watch will no doubt present several tropes and familiar elements that have taken on a life of their own in this genre. Horror is one of the most multifaceted genres in history, mainly due to the simple fact of there is something that scares everyone and while I myself have no scopophobia, even this movie got under my skin just a notch. I give it 3 stars, 7.5/10, and tomorrow will be another movie I have heard little about yet feel compelled to see for myself.
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