I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

"What the Peeper Saw" is much more of a psychological drama than a horror film, or even a thriller. It focuses heavily on the antagonistic relationship between Elise (Britt Ekland), the new wife of an older man, successful author Paul (Hardy Kruger), and her stepson Marcus (Mark Lester of "Oliver!" fame). They initially seem to get along all right, but Elise becomes increasingly frustrated by this enigmatic, aloof kid, who acts much older than his actual age. She comes to suspect that he had murdered his biological mother Sarah (Colette Giacobine), and now has similar designs on her.As directed by James Kelley ("The Beast in the Cellar"), you can't ever expect a lot of tension in this film. That doesn't seem to be its primary concern. It DOES have a sexual charge about it, however. Hell, the uncut version opens with a scene of nudity. The evolving relationship between our heroine and bratty antagonist does play up this quality. (Still, it must be noted that you don't ever see the kid indulge in the act of peeping on screen.) The single most memorable sequence involves the two main characters exchanging clothes for information, as Elise strips in front of Marcus in order to get some truths out of him.And this kid is one truly cagey character. One thing you can expect is that the scenario turns into one of "he said, she said", and Elise is understandably flustered that she can get almost nobody to believe her about this bad seed.Ekland is no great shakes as a dramatic actress, but she just looks so damn fine that some viewers probably won't mind very much. (She DOES give the proceedings an earnest effort.) Kruger is fine as the dad, but the film belongs to young Lester, who's quite amusing throughout. Lilli Palmer and Harry Andrews are excellent in special guest appearances as a psychiatrist and school headmaster.The out of nowhere violent ending is downright hilarious, even if it's probably not intended to be that way.The Italian version is credited to Andrea Bianchi ("Strip Nude for Your Killer", "Burial Ground").Six out of 10.

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.

Night Hair Child (a.k.a What The Peeper Saw) is a pretty depraved thriller that largely embarrasses its well-known cast. It is quite uncomfortable to watch a 12-year old lad engaging in a game of sexual cat-and-mouse with a 22-year old woman, but the film might have just about got away with it if a subtler approach had been adopted. When we have such scenes as the woman performing a strip to tease information out of the boy, or climbing into bed with him whilst naked in a bizarre dream sequence, the film goes beyond the boundaries of good taste. Things that could have been effective if implied suddenly become explicit… and the potential for a dark psychological thriller is replaced by an emphasis on exploitation and sleaze.After the death of his mother in a bath accident, Marcus (Mark Lester) goes away to boarding school while his father Paul (Hardy Kruger) buys a villa in a remote region of Spain to escape the memory of his loss. A couple of years later, 41-year old Paul has remarried to a 22-year old woman named Elise (Britt Ekland). Marcus, now 12, arrives at the villa unexpectedly while his father is away, claiming that his school has been shut down due to a chicken pox outbreak. It is the first time Elise and the boy have met. It soon strikes her that young Marcus is quite a disturbed boy – and her fears grow when she learns that he has actually been expelled from school after torturing then killing a cat. Paul cannot seem to accept that there is anything wrong with his son, but Elise is sure of it. Things get even creepier when young Marcus starts to make sexual advances towards her and, in his ultimate mind game, confesses to her that he actually murdered his real mother two years earlier. Elise is trapped in a vortex of lies, mind games and sexual threat, and her sanity is pushed to the brink… It would take some mighty fine performances to make these characters work and none of the three leads manage it. Kruger doesn't react believably to anything that happens; Ekland can't shrug her sex symbol image to bring conviction to the role; and Lester is mostly wooden when he should in fact be chilling us to the bone. It is left to a pair of guest stars – Harry Andrews as the school headmaster and Lilli Palmer as a callous psychologist – to deliver the film's only memorable performances, but their roles are so peripheral to the main story that they can't rescue the film. The plot is rather intriguing – there's always something morbidly fascinating about child villains in the movies – but the handling fails to do it justice. On the whole, Night Hair Child is a let-down, a film that has the potential to be chilling but wastes it, instead emerging as a sleazy melodrama with too much focus on sensationalism at the expense of actual psychological thrills.

This underrated '70's psycho-thriller is aided by a strong cast, which includes Mark Lester(of OLIVER! fame) as the disturbed youngster, Britt Ekland as the terrified stepmother, Hardy Kruger as the boy's well-meaning, but clueless father, and Lilli Palmer as a seemingly level-headed psychologist. Admittedly, it's little more than THE BAD SEED with a sex change and a few kinky, voyeuristic sequences thrown in for good measure, but the wonderful cast has done wonders with their roles, particularly Lester who gives a startlingly mature and downright chilling performance as the evil child. After seeing him go at it as the little stepson from Hell, it's hard to believe that this is the same little boy who captured our hearts in the award-winning musical "OLIVER!". It takes a good actor to play two wildly different roles so convincingly, and that's Lester. After seeing him in these two films alone, I'm convinced he's one of the finest child actors of all time! After doing some research, I've discovered that the magnificent Lester has retired from show business and is now an osteopath. The medical profession's gain is our loss.