Repulsion | 100 Movies Bucket List

I hadn't heard of this film before seeing it on the bucket list. The premise was an interesting one that could go in a few different directions, so I was interested to see how it would play out.

I have mixed feelings about this one.

The film moves slowly at first. We spend a lot of time getting to know and understand our main character, Carole, but because it's a psychological horror, with so much of it being centred on Carole's thoughts and emotions, having this time to understand her is beneficial.

This is a psychological horror in the truest sense. All of the horror starts from Carole's mind, and for most of the film that's where it stays. And even when this horror becomes real, this happens as a result of Carole's thoughts.

It's really interesting watching the character's descent into paranoia and madness. Seeing the way things escalate to mirror her state of mind really allows the audience to see what she's thinking, and it's fascinating to discover how far her mind can be pushed.

That being said, the film is very odd. The tone feel strange, you can't quite work out what you're supposed to think or feel, if anything at all. Some of the characters also don't feel like they fit into this world as well as they should have. At times it feels like some characters are in a completely different movie than Carole is.

It's also not a particularly engaging watch. While the subject matter isn't supposed to be 'enjoyable', there are moments when it loses your attention and doesn't try hard enough to get it back. It moves slowly throughout, and the moments that are exciting are bookended by slow scenes that don't always move the plot forward.

The best thing about the film is the turn Carole takes. Without spoiling it, the strength of the character, the turn to almost villainy, coming from a woman, and in particular a woman portrayed the way Carole is at the start of the film, makes the story feel really unique. Even through a modern lens, when we are getting more and more female characters like this, it's still fascinating to see.

So overall, while I do think the film has a lot of merit, and some great aspects, I didn't like it as much as I wanted to.