1960 brought forth some remarkable suspense films, notably Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom. Heartthrob calls to mind Peeping Tom; however, I find myself feeling some understanding for Tom, who was an abused child turned psychopath and ended his life in a manner mirroring his killings. It seems completely unreasonable to extend that same kind of empathy toward Heartthrob's Henry. The f…

1960 produced some remarkable suspense films, notably Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom. Heartthrob brought Peeping Tom to mind; however, unlike my feelings toward Tom—a traumatized child who became a psychopath and ended his life mirroring his victims' deaths—I couldn’t muster any empathy for Heartthrob’s Henry. The narrative centers on the unsettling nature of his fixation with a woma…