What the Peeper Saw

Precocious 12-year-old boy, a thief and a liar--and possible sociopath--has been expelled from boarding school for voyeuristic behavior and for killing an animal; now, he's turned his attentions to his new stepmother, a sympathetic young woman in her 20s who comes to suspect (over her husband's objections) that the lad is spying on them...and was instrumental in his own mother's death. Deranged tale with a perverse, uncomfortably sexualized scenario that puts great demands on its two main players, pre-teen Mark Lester and beautiful (if sulky) Britt Ekland. Both seem to struggle with this material, which is often ridiculous when it means to be shocking and titillating. The narrative is choppy and fails to hang together, particularly in the third act which darts around hoping to set up a delicious twist ending but instead makes the participants look foolish. *1/2 from ****