Review of Repulsion (1965) by Jason G — 12 Mar 2008

One of the best horror movies ever made. Deneuve is exceptional in a role about as far removed as the romantic heroine I fell in love with in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg as ever there could be. Polanski fires on all cinematic cyllinders--this is one of those movies that makes me want to pick up a camera and go out and make a great work of art.

But what makes this really great is the heartbreaking and exceptionally conveyed psychology it's really "about." I'm not sure if I entirely buy into the final shot--or at least not the notion that it can explain away everything--but I don't think it's a cop out either.

I'm pretty sure this is about the most awful thing I'll ever say in my life, but it's very true--this movie (and its painful subjectivity) helped me to better understand a few women I've known very well.

The crumbling reality, the fragmentation of the self, and particularly the genuine terror of anything nearing sexuality (even, as with Deneuve's ill-fated prospective boyfriend, in a potentially healthy environment), which leads to the heroine's increasing nightmares of rape, and ultimately an excessively violent hatred for men and for herself.

Polanski throws the slasher film on its head, making Deneuve both female victim and victimizer. Mind-blowing, pulce-enhancing, and heart-breaking.