Most people believe that so-called “modern” horror movie (those without a supernatural or fantasy element and with a contemporary setting) began in 1960 with Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO but in fact modern horror began 3 years earlier in England and with not a single movie but 3. All 3 films are set in the present (ca. 1959) and feature then graphic depictions of gruesome deaths which are usually committed by a maniacal killer. There had been maniacal killers in movies before (THE BAT (1926), THE CAT & THE CANARY (1927), DOCTOR X (1932), MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933) all classified as mysteries) along with plenty of vividly depicted gruesome deaths but never were all three elements in a mainstream film until the arrival of what came to be known as the “Sadian Trilogy”.
This term was coined by British film critic David Pirie in his book HERITAGE OF HORROR. It refers to a trio of films all produced under the banner of Anglo-Amalgamated which were in contrast to the Gothic films being produced at Hammer. They were partially financed by American producer Herman Cohen who specialized in teenage exploitation drive-in movies such as I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF. Anglo’s purpose was to make low budget fare for the British market which then could be exported to play in American cinemas and drive-ins. Among their offerings for 1959 were 3 movies that were shot at 3 different studios and helmed by 3 different directors. One of them was Michael Powell of THE RED SHOES fame. His film, PEEPING TOM, virtually destroyed his career.
All 3 movies, though different in style and execution, deal with the theme of voyeurism and mark the turning point in British horror cinema away from using 19th century Gothic sources to focusing on 20th century tabloid fodder. The first of these, HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM, is the most lurid and obvious. Michael Gough plays a crime reporter, who with the help of an assistant, commits a series of brutal murders so that he can write about them in his column in order to satisfy the ever increasing public demand for such material. He has even written a book about crimes of violence called “The Poetry Of Murder.” The infamous opening shot of a young woman blinded by spikes from a set of binoculars sets up the movie’s theme of voyeurism and its consequences.
The next film, CIRCUS OF HORRORS, is my personal favorite of the set. Part of this stems from the fact that I love old school circuses and circus pictures. And also, this film comes with a clever and engaging plot. After botching an operation on a wealthy socialite, a fugitive plastic surgeon (Anton Diffring) leaves England and hides out in a small European carnival. When the owner is accidentally killed, he takes over the circus and turns it into an international success by filling it with disfigured people he has transformed through his surgery. The catch is that those who wish to leave meet with “accidents” while performing, and this leads to even more box office success for the circus as audiences come hoping to witness these calamities. COH even features a song “Look For A Star ” which became a hit on the pop charts. The ending is ironic and appropriate.
The third and by far the most notorious of the set is PEEPING TOM which was met with howls of protest from critics and audiences alike upon its release. There were two main reasons for this. 1) The director, Michael Powell, was an establishment figure who had made THIEF OF BAGDAD, BLACK NARCISSUS, and TALES OF HOFFMANN before directing this psychological thriller. The American equivalent to this would be having PSYCHO produced by Walt Disney. 2) The storyline follows a cameraman who murders women while photographing their reactions to their imminent deaths and then returns to his apartment to watch his movies in private. While not explicit, it’s very unpleasant to watch. Met with outrage in 1959, today PEEPING TOM is considered a classic of modern cinema.
Over the last 50 years hundreds of horror movies with contemporary settings have come down the pike, each one trying to outdo the other in murder, mayhem, and explicit content (think HALLOWEEN, FRIDAY THE 13th, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and their numerous sequels). Today the “Sadian Trio” seems quaint by comparison although there is a degree of intelligence in each of their screenplays and in the settings and performances which is mostly missing from the horror films of today. Although you won’t find these in most video stores, they are available from Amazon online and can be rented from outlets like Netflix. With Halloween just around the corner, you may want to check out these pioneer films to discover just how far we haven’t come.
POSTSCRIPT 2024: This article was originally written in 2009 to mark the 50th anniversary of these movies. That was 15 years ago. Many more horror movies have appeared since then…some of them good, most of them bad. Of course that’s a purely subjective opinion as that’s the way all movie articles and reviews are. Nevertheless, I do believe that anyone interested in horror movies or the history of them should see these 3 films.
The Capsule Critic 