In her first English speaking role Catherine Deneuve plays the part of Carol, a beautiful but deeply disturbed manicurist who has a phobia towards men. She lives with her sister in a London flat and she seems strangely disconnected from life, unenthusiastic, cold and frigid. When her sister goes off to Europe with her lover, leaving Carol behind, she begins to slide into psychosis. Cracks appear in the wall as well as the famous molesting hands. Strange men come and assault her in bed at night. But most sinister of all, Carol becomes a murderess. When the landlord shows up for the rent, he makes an opportunistic pass at Carol and she responds by slashing him to ribbons with a razor. The end of the film shows Carol in a catatonic state, and it is clear she isn't coming back to earth any time soon. A psychological horror film, Repulsion is critically adored and it is still as eerie and disturbing as it was when Polanski made it back in the 1960s. It was an auspicious start to Deneuve's career - for such a young woman in such an intense and psychologically demanding role she pulled it off with great aplomb.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
