Peeping Tom

In London, Mark covertly films Dora with a hidden camera under his coat as he trails her into her flat. He uses a blade concealed in one leg of his tripod to kill her. He continues to observe and document the crime through the camera's viewfinder.

Back at home, Mark views the snuff footage in his darkroom, studying his victim's fear. The film is shot from the camera's point of view, emphasizing his control over the scene. His obsession with documenting terror is established.

The next morning, Mark poses as a reporter and films police removing Dora's corpse from her flat. The detective work begins as authorities note the look of utter terror on her face. The camera remains running, blurring the line between observer and participant.

Mark works as a focus puller on a film crew and photographs soft-porn pin-ups on the side, selling them off the books. He is a shy, reclusive man who rarely socializes beyond work. He lives in his late father's house, presenting himself as a tenant to hide his inheritance.

Helen Stephens, living below, befriends Mark after noticing his odd behavior while spying on her 21st birthday party. Her curiosity is gentle, and she reaches out to him despite his secrecy. The budding friendship exposes Mark's loneliness and guarded nature.

Mark reveals through home films that, as a child, his father used him as a guinea pig for fear studies. The psychologist father filmed his son's reactions to various stimuli and even to his mother's deathbed. These tapes deepen Mark's fixation on recording fear.

Mark arranges with Vivian, a studio stand-in, to shoot after hours. He murders her and disposes her body in a prop trunk. The crime is later discovered by Pauline during filming, drawing the set into suspicion.

The body is found on set, and Pauline's antics raise tension on the set. The police link the two murders and notice the same look of utter terror on each victim's face. They interview Mark, who keeps his camera running, insisting the project is a documentary.

Helen invites Mark to dinner and persuades him to leave his camera behind for once. After they return, they share a kiss, briefly bridging his guarded nature with a hint of vulnerability. Yet the film's obsession lingers just beneath the surface.

Helen's blind mother senses something is off and waits inside Mark's flat. She confronts Mark when he returns and demands he leave Helen alone, but Mark cushions her fears and promises not to film Helen. The tension marks a turning point as danger closes in.

A psychiatrist is called to counsel Pauline and speaks with Mark, noting his father's influence. The doctor relays to the police that Mark bears his father's eyes, underscoring the lineage of fear that defines him. The investigation tightens around Mark.

Mark is tailed to a newsstand where he photographs Milly, a pin-up model. Shortly after, Milly is killed in the same manner as the others, deepening the police's suspicions. The pattern of fear on victims' faces becomes increasingly evident.

Helen finally watches one of Mark's films and becomes upset, then frightened when he catches her. He reveals that his father not only filmed the experiments but wired the house, and he broadcasts a recording of Helen with her boyfriend. The revelation confirms Mark's control over both footage and space.

Mark has mounted a mirror on his camera to capture his victims' reactions as they see their own looming deaths. He trains the blade toward Helen's throat, and her terrified reaction distorts in the mirror. He still cannot bring himself to kill her at that moment.

As sirens approach, Mark reveals his meticulous plan by impaling himself on the knife with the camera still running. Helen weeps as the police enter, and a final recording of his father calling him a good boy underscores the twisted legacy of fear.