I am a woman who has watched many repellant films in my time, in fact it is my hobby to watch as many as I can and then write about them. There is something very satisfying about watching repellant movies - it's like levitating - a bizarre unique experience - except for the Japanese and Italians for whom watching repulsive movies is a national pastime respectively. I have catalogued below a wide range of repellant films. Despite their putridness, each of them have a cult following, proving that there are a lot of cinema viewers out there who like watching disgusting things happen on the screen. It's not just me and rotten.com.
20. Dans Ma Peau (2002)
A seemingly ordinary young woman has an accident which requires stitches. She becomes fascinated by her wound and unpicks all of the stitches. Whilst juggling career concerns and the pressure of a romantic relationship, she becomes addicted to self harm - carving her self up in ecstasy. Eventually she moves onto self cannibalism, booking herself into a hotel so she can blissfully enjoy the consumption of her own flesh. Dans Ma Peau is an 'interesting' look at self harm. One can understand the basic motivation behind self harm - it relieves tension, displaces mental pain onto the body, acts as a form of self punishment and as a statement of self loathing. But the self cannibalism in the movie I do not understand. Nor do I want to. It is pretty repellant to watch a woman hacking at herself and gobbling up her own flesh. This is what art house films can get away with these days. Repellant is a la mode.