Repulsion

A repressed young woman (Catherine Deneuve) slowly comes unglued when her older sister leaves on vacation.

Repulsion is a classic psychological horror that remains effective over forty years later.

Director Roman Polanski offers a slow and deliberate portrait of a young woman’s descent into madness, replete with hallucinations, violent outbursts, and delusional fantasies.

Granted, the film starts slow. With no background music and little in the way of action, the first half of the film can be something of a grind, but each of these slow scenes pays off in the second half, when Deneuve’s character’s mental dysfunction becomes more apparent.

That said, the film still isn’t perfect. While it’s clear where Polanski was going with John Fraser’s character’s obsession with Deneuve’s, it’s just not believable that he wouldn’t pick up on something related to her psychosis. Sure, he wants her because he can’t have her, but there’s also a line where most men would simply say she’s crazy and move on.

Ultimately though, Repulsion is a very well crafted psychological horror, as evidenced by its longevity. Though the fashions may date it, the film doesn’t feel timid or diluted, and remains deeply unsettling, even to modern audiences. Polanski’s excellent use of shadow and minimal special effects, combined with the inclusion of several running visual motifs, pack a hell of a punch, and the closing shot is the knockout blow.