A Penny a Peep Review: Staring at People Staring at Boxes

If you have ten minutes and want to see how people melted their brains before smartphones, A Penny a Peep is a pretty fun watch. But if you need an actual plot or characters who do more than squint into wooden boxes, you will absolutely hate this. 🤷‍♂️

It’s basically a movie about people watching movies.

We follow this incredibly stiff family as they walk into a dusty penny arcade.

The dad looks like he is wearing a suit that is three sizes too small, and his excitement is honestly adorable.

They drop their pennies in, and then the camera cuts to what they are seeing inside the viewers.

It is mostly old-timey footage, including a quick glimpse of a very young Mary Pickford doing her thing.

I swear, the way the camera lingers on the back of the dad's head while he watches is the longest five seconds of my week.

Why did the cameraman think we wanted to stare at his dusty collar? It is hilariously awkward.

The kids in the background just stand there like statues.

They look like they're waiting for the director to tell them they can finally go eat lunch or go play outside.

Honestly, it reminded me of that weird feeling you get when you watch someone else play a video game.

You are just waiting for your turn, but your turn never actually comes.

Still, there is a really cool vibe to the whole thing.

The flickering black-and-white light makes the arcade look like a ghost story, even though it’s supposed to be a light comedy.

It doesn't have the grand drama of something like The Redeeming Sin.

It’s just... people looking at things. And us looking at them looking at things.

At one point, the mom gets this look on her face like she just remembered she left the oven on at home.

She doesn't say anything, she just stares blankly past the camera with this wide-eyed panic. 😳

I love small, unpolished mistakes like that in these ancient films. It feels so real.

If you've ever dug through weird archives or liked old novelty shorts like Cupid's Victory, you’ll get a kick out of this.

It’s a tiny, dusty window into how we used to waste time. It's greatest charm is how simple it is.

Just don't expect a masterpiece, because it really is just a silly little peep.