Danny Blankenship
"What the Peeper Saw" is an okay erotic B suspense movie type that's filled with drama and a past that haunts the central character. And the movie is spiced up okay with some sexy skin scenes from model Britt Ekland. The film has a plot that involves A beautiful woman(Britt Ekland)who's married and her husband has a little boy from his previous marriage and her little innocent looking stepson(Mark Lester)supposedly murdered his mother.All of a sudden signs are seen that this little boy is crazy and may murder again as strange things start to happen yet after some bonding and trust is made the film takes an unexpected twist at the end as what comes around goes around karma!
Leofwine_draca
This is one of those psychological chillers which gradually creeps up on you, starting off slowly and later turning into something very strong indeed. It's an ultra-rare obscurity which has one of the most sinister children ever to appear on film - forget those young uns from VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED, this kid is the real thing, the spawn of the devil. Or is he? It's one of those films which doesn't feel the need to tie up loose ends - instead much is left unexplained and to your imagination. We never positively know whether the child is evil or not, only that he perhaps might be. The pacing is deceptively slow to begin with but soon builds up as more and more disturbing events begin to appear. And we've got it all in this film - voyeurism, incest - all involving the young 12 year old boy. This may sound a bit sick to you, but instead it's a decently handled film which uses the themes for the purposes of disturbing the viewer rather than disgusting him or her. In fact, there is no violence or nudity - instead, this is pure psychological horror, with little in the way of visual menace.This film scores on many levels. Filmed in Spain, there is some lovely sun-drenched scenery to look at. The camera-work is involving and rarely are there any conventional shots - all scenes are shot to show the increasing madness of the situation. The acting is top notch - from Mark Lester, excelling in the pivotal role - to Britt Ekland, who is actually VERY good as the woman who may be discovering the truth or alternatively losing her mind. Harry Andrews also pops up in a commanding cameo while Hardy Kruger lends a masculine, powerful figure to the film.This is somewhat unforgettable, dealing with adult themes which few others have dared to touch over the years. It breaks many boundaries and thereby becomes much more frightening than the conventional Hammer films of this period. It may be a little confusing towards the end, but it's a film that isn't afraid to take chances or underestimate the viewer and should be lauded for doing so. Once seen, always remembered.
HumanoidOfFlesh
Twelve year old Marcus is a pure bad seed.The boy has the history of animal abuse,sexual perversion and possibly murder.His mother died mysteriously during so-called tragic accident.Marcus is a manipulative and cruel boy.His rich father Paul marries Elise played by Britt Ekland.Marcus becomes obsessed with her and tragic occurrences follow."Night Child" aka "What the Peeper Saw" is an unsettling psychological thriller with few controversial set-pieces including the scenes where Elise strips in front of Marcus,shots of Marcus caressing Elise's breasts and finally short bed scene between Elise and Marcus.The acting is decent and Britt Ekland is truly one of the most beautiful women ever seen on screen.Be sure to track down an uncut version!
MARIO GAUCI
I'd always been intrigued by this controversial film, given its cast and subject matter; being an international production between Spain, Great British and Italy, it was released under various titles DIABOLICA MALICIA in Spain, LA TUA PRESENZA NUDA in Italy and several more in English-speaking countries, but perhaps most popularly as the obscure NIGHT HAIR CHILD (which is how I knew it) and the lurid WHAT THE PEEPER SAW; the print I watched, then, omitted the middle word from the former and left it at that! Anyway, the film is notorious for turning Mark Lester, the cute protagonist from the musical OLIVER! (1968), into a true nightmare of a child: liar, sadist, voyeur, lecher, murderer! As I said earlier, he's surrounded by other notables: Britt Ekland (at the height of her beauty) is his bewildered stepmom; Hardy Kruger plays the boy's clueless and over-protective father; and, also appearing in bit parts, are Harry Andrews as the headmaster of Lester's school (who's forced to expel him due to gross misconduct) and Lilli Palmer as a psychiatrist (intending to analyze the boy, she ends up checking in Ekland for treatment!).The film is undeniably sleazy, as we get to see Ekland stripping in front of Lester (at his behest, but to which she acquiesces in order to get at the truth of his mother's mysterious demise!) and even getting into bed with him stark naked (though this is presented as a mere hallucination on her part, witnessed by a cackling Kruger!); however, it's lifted out of the exploitation rut by all-round credible performances and a typically nice score by Stelvio Cipriani. The scene, then, in which Lester imagines his mother's corpse (whom he has callously killed in the film's very opening scene) in the pool is effectively macabre; the finale, too, is worth waiting for: the boy almost coerces Ekland (no sooner has she been released from the asylum) into murdering Kruger and becoming his lover since he tells her she's closer to his own age (Lester being 12 and Ekland 22, while Kruger's 42!); she gives him the impression of agreeing with this latest scheme of his but, realizing the kid will never change, Ekland immediately provides herself with the opportunity to get rid of Lester once and for all
Incidentally, co-director Bianchi would go on to make an even more explicit 'monster child' effort on his home turf with MALABIMBA THE MALICIOUS WHORE (1979); as for Britisher Kelly, his only other film was the passable Tigon production THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR (1970). By the way, I have two more of Lester's vintage films to check out MELODY (1971) and another Italian-made "Grindhouse" flick, REDNECK (1973); while I'm at it, I should try to get my hands on EYEWITNESS (1970), the well-regarded Hitchcockian thriller he starred in that was entirely filmed in Malta.