Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

What the Peeper Saw Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 23, 2017

James Kelly's "What the Peeper Saw" (1972) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of VCI Entertainment. Th eonly bonus features on the disc are an original trailer for the film an archival TV spot. In English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Let's play a different game

James Kelly’s What the Peeper Saw is one of the creepiest thrillers that I have seen in a very long time. It completely caught me off guard, and when I thought that I had it all figured out, it did it yet again. VCI Entertainment deserve a lot of credit for saving this film from obscurity and then reconstructing it so that folks can see it as it was meant to be experienced. I think that it is a minor masterpiece.

The film opens up with a short prologue in which a very beautiful woman is seen experiencing some sort of a powerful shock while taking a bath. She quickly dies and the camera pulls away from her. The action then moves to a stunning villa somewhere in the Spanish countryside where the beautiful Elise (Britt Ekland, The Man with the Golden Gun) and her future husband Paul (Hardy Kruger, Sundays and Cybèle) have arranged to meet. While awaiting Paul’s arrival, Elise begins to build a relationship with his 12-year-old son, Marcus (Mark Lester, Oliver!), who immediately signals that he is determined to humiliate her in more than a few ways. At first Elise assumes that the boy is simply playing a silly game to hide his shyness, but the more she interacts with him, the more she begins to realize that he is incredibly intelligent and anything but shy. Eventually Paul arrives and also attempts to help Elise and Marcus form a bond, but the boy uses a silly incident to turn him against Elise and even begin doubting her sincerity. It is then that Elise concludes that it is time to confront Marcus like an adult, expose his lies, and make Paul realize that he has been seriously underestimating his son. Much to her surprise, however, Marcus correctly guesses each of her moves and then uses them to further discredit her. In a desperate attempt to reestablish her authority and regain her credibility before Marcus, Elise agrees to see the respected psychiatrist Dr. Viorne (Lilli Palmer, Body and Soul), but when she shares her findings about Marcus with her she refuses to believe her and openly suggests that as a stepmother she ought to approach the boy in an entirely different way.

The rest of the film is like a labyrinth with all sorts of misleading signs. I could see some of them showing up early and I avoided a few, but when it counted the most I definitely slipped and came to the wrong conclusion. Late into the second act, for instance, where the role of the woman from the prologue is discussed and Marcus opens up to Elise, I was confident I knew how the relationship between Elise and Paul will evolve, but I guessed wrong. And I have to say that it wasn’t because I had figured out the possibilities but ended up picking up the wrong one -- I absolutely did not see the right one coming. It was really great.

The integrity of the entire film basically depends on Lester’s ability to sell his character and he delivers big time. Ekland is equally convincing as the young stepmother who has to make all the right choices so that she does not disappoint the boy and her future husband. The insecurity and and anxiety that she reveals later into the film are terrific. Kruger is the crucial piece that brings balance to the story until eventually he also switches in a ‘guessing-mode’.

Kelly shot What the Peeper Saw with two legendary cinematographers: the Englishman Harry Waxman who worked with Robin Hardy on the cult shocker The Wicker Man, and the Spaniard Luis Cuadrado who collaborated with Victor Erice on the famous period thriller The Spirit of the Beehive.

To top it all off, Kelly also secured the services of the prolific Italian composer Stelvio Cipriani, who scored various popular genre films for the likes of Mario Bava (Rabid Dogs, A Bay of Blood), Massimo Dallamano (What Have They Done to Your Daughters?), Umberto Lenzi (Nightmare City), and Domenico Paolella (Stunt Squad), amongst others.

What the Peeper Saw Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-2 and granted a 1080p transfer, James Kelly's What the Peeper Saw arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of VCI Entertainment.

The release is sourced from what is essentially a remastered reconstruction of the film that includes the controversial footage that was previously cut. I don't have a DVD or VHS release of this film in my collection to compare and confirm if all of the original cut footage is reinserted, but if there is anything that is sill missing it is very difficult to tell because the transitions are very good. On the other hand, it is very easy to tell that whatever elements were available to do the reconstruction -- my guess is that a print of some sort plus an old home video release might have been accessed -- time was not particularly kind to them because density and delineation are not at optimal levels. Though mostly stable and nicely managed, colors very clearly should have better saturation and overall balance as well. Some very light degraining corrections appear to have been performed to rebalance the image, but the overall integrity of the image is still intact. Obviously, the major limitations here come from the original condition of the available elements. All in all, while there is clearly room for substantial improvements, I would say that this is a fairly decent presentation that makes it rather easy to enjoy the film. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

What the Peeper Saw Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The dialog is very easy to follow, but minor fluctuations are present throughout the entire film. The good news is that there are no serious distortions, audio dropouts, or other major age-related imperfections. Basically, the audio was transferred without any major optimizations or enhancements.

What the Peeper Saw Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for What the Peeper Saw. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• TV Spot - original television spot for What the Peeper Saw. In English, not subtitled. (1 min, 1080p).

What the Peeper Saw Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I would place James Kelly's What the Peeper Saw right next to Lucio Fulci's A Lizard in a Woman's Skin and Romolo Guerrieri's The Sweet Body of Deborah, and enthusiastically argue that it is a minor masterpiece that was way ahead of its time. I can't describe how happy I am that VCI Entertainment decided to reconstruct the film and save it from obscurity. If you enjoy risky but very intelligent and stylish thrillers, pick up a copy for your collection. Trust me, you are in for a very special treat. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.