Same year, same blueprint: two killers hiding in plain sight, one with a motel and one with a camera.
This week on CinemaJam Versus: Psycho (1960, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) vs Peeping Tom (1960, dir. Michael Powell). Sebastian brings the British shocker that was rediscovered long after its release. Pablo brings the Hitchcock landmark everyone has copied. Six rounds, Anthony Perkins vs Karlheinz Böhm, Bernard Herrmann's violins vs a score Pablo calls generic, and one question that splits the hosts: is Peeping Tom a slasher film? Plus: thank you for 1,200+ subscribers on YouTube!
What we get into:
- Peeping Tom puts the killer at the center of the movie, a choice Sebastian says he didn't see again until the 2000s: "This is our hero, this is our villain, everything in the movie is around him."
- A killer who tries to look normal vs a killer who never does: Perkins vs Böhm.
- How Hitchcock plants a newspaper in your head and keeps you hooked on it for ten minutes.
- The skull Pablo swears is hidden in the final shot (Sebastian thinks he imagined it).
- Slasher, or something else? In a Violent Nature, Terrifier, and the killer's point of view.
Six rounds, one winner. Watch to find out who survives.
Timestamps:
00:00 Cold open: two killers, one year
01:37 Welcome to CinemaJam Versus (1,200+ subscribers!)
03:08 The matchup: Peeping Tom vs Psycho
04:51 Round 1: Script
09:19 Detour: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
12:23 Round 2: Acting
14:32 ⚠️ Spoiler: Norman Bates and his mother
16:09 Where The Exorcist III got its stairs
16:54 Round 3: Direction
19:49 How Hitchcock hooks you on a newspaper
21:25 Round 4: Soundtrack
24:01 Round 5: Memorable Moments
25:21 ⚠️ Spoiler: how the killer in Peeping Tom works
27:10 ⚠️ Spoiler: the last scene of Psycho (and the skull)
28:45 Round 6: Rewatchability
30:36 The winner
31:51 Bonus: Is Peeping Tom a slasher?
32:19 ⚠️ Spoiler: the ending of Peeping Tom
33:13 In a Violent Nature and the killer's point of view
34:35 Wrap-up
Movies mentioned:
- Psycho (1960), dir. Alfred Hitchcock
- Peeping Tom (1960), dir. Michael Powell
- Psycho (1998), dir. Gus Van Sant
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
- Se7en (1995)
- Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
- The Exorcist III (1990)
- Vertigo (1958)
- Rope (1948)
- The Devil's Backbone (2001)
- The Others (2001)
- Red Rooms (2023)
- Casablanca (1942)
- Citizen Kane (1941)
- Friday the 13th (1980)
- In a Violent Nature (2024)
- Terrifier (2016)
Which came first for you, Psycho or Peeping Tom? And is Peeping Tom a slasher? Tell us in the comments.
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