What the Peeper Saw (1973)

Wonderful character development!

Admirable film.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

A wealthy author's second wife (Britt Ekland) begins to suspect her 12-year old stepson (Mark Lester) may have murdered his mother whom mysteriously died in a bathtub accident. Hardy Krüger ("Sundays and Cybele") plays the father.The film was directed by James Kelley ("The Beast in the Cellar"). The Italian version of the film credits the prolific Andrea Bianchi as writer and director, under the pseudonym Andrew White. The cast is strong, with child star Mark Lester ("Oliver!") and Bond girl Britt Ekland ("The Wicker Man") appropriately cast.As of 2014, the cut version is available on CrypticTV (and probably YouTube), with the uncut now out on Blu-ray from VCI. Although, the latter is very, very pricey. Depending on how you see it, of course, the sound and picture will vary in quality. Overall, though, well worth seeking out for fans of 1970s Italian horror / suspense movies.

Night Hair Child has all the elements to be a disturbing and dark thriller; especially considering the sick and twisted plot line. However, despite a few interesting ideas; this film doesn't capitalise on them, and unfortunately it's only an average film that is nowhere near as disturbing as it could have been. The plot basically focuses on the idea of a 'problem child' causing problems between his parent and a new significant other. The problem child idea has been done many times throughout cinema; but a less common variant is a film like this, where sleaze take centre stage. However, such is the disappointment of Night Hair Child; not even the sleaze is all that prominent. The plot focuses on Elise; a beautiful young woman who has married older man Paul. Paul's wife apparently died in a strange bathtub incident and this has had a damning effect on her son Marcus, who unluckily for Elise, has returned home from school early and has took it upon himself to wreck their marriage by way of getting in between them with lies and bad behaviour.The main problem with this film is definitely the acting. A plot like this needs strong performances from the leads and it just doesn't get them. Britt Ekland has been good in other films where a great performance is not needed; but she just doesn't have the talent for this role and despite looking nice, she doesn't deliver what is needed. Her opposite number is Mark Lester. I can completely understand the attraction of having the star of Oliver in a role as a twisted sex pervert; but unfortunately, he's a terrible actor that never conveys any emotion at all and simply does not convince in his role. He's also very irritating and every scene he features in is a struggle to get through. The plot is nowhere near as interesting as it could have been either; the exchanges between the central characters lack imagination, and only the scene where Britt Ekland strips for Mark Lester is really memorable; and it's not as memorable as a similar scene in Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling starring Barbara Bouchet. Overall, it's a shame but I wouldn't really say that this film is even worth a look.

Seeing that this flick was about a pervert kid I almost instinctively picked it up. Even though I was intrigued about the story-line, the expectations of this flick was pretty low. I was pretty much just hoping for a couple scenes of nudity, ya know, some bosoms. Not only did I get some bosoms, I also was treated with a decent lil flick.The story's main focus is on a lady named Elease who's now the wife of a very wealthy man named Paul. Somewhat recently Paul's previous wife, Sara, accidentally died in a bathtub mishap. Paul and Sara had one child together, and that is Marcus, the original problem child. ;) Marcus, Paul and Elease are trying to begin a new life together, but not all is going so smoothly and things begin heading down the wrong path.The Night Child aka What the Peeper Saw was definitely a neat little flick, that surprised me on a few accounts. With only three main characters really, and what seems to be moderate acting abilities in all, the film still managed to keep the viewer (me) interested in what the next scene would bring. Elease and Marcus lead the show. With Elease's beautiful face and ability to keep the viewer (me) waiting for more nudity, she did a fine job with her respective role. But the kid who played Marcus did a very good job as the weirdo, neurotic lead. His mature, intellectual approach really was well-done and pretty damn entertaining. Even though he felt robotic at times, it seemed to add to his weirdass vibe.With a story that involves a bizarre little kid, and where you're second guessing his motives and his behavior, and a lead actress who is gorgeous, you've got the makings of a very good film. The pacing does have it's problems and some scenes do go on for a tad too long, but overall The Night Child was a nice surprise.

The very dark plot could have worked, but its all too exploitative, sleazy and cheesy. As interesting as it is to see Mark Lester play a different character to that he plays in Oliver, it doesn't stop him being incredibly wooden. Also, every time something f&*ked up happens in the film, the characters show very little reaction to it, which is infuriating. Its a mess too, the end especially, which is very shocking, and was probably one of my favourite moments, but it seems almost tacked on as an afterthought it happens so randomly.Basically its just twisted soft porn (disturbingly almost verging towards child porn at times) masquerading as an intelligent thriller.Don't listen to the other reviewers, its not worth tracking down.