Repulsion (1965)

Repulsion (1965), directed by Roman Polanski.

Beautiful Catherine Deneuve is a timid manicurist, vague and dissociated from everything around her. When her sister leaves her alone for two weeks, her dread and fear of men comes to the front and she begins hallucinating. She (and we) can no longer tell what is real and what is not, but she begins striking out, shadows or no.

Initially a psychological thriller, it becomes a full-blown horror film, a bit gruesome for that era. If you enjoy the "disintegration of reality" films of David Lynch and Darren Aronofsky, this would be a good one to add to that shelf.

It's an English film, despite the continental cast and crew. Dramatic visual composition. Jazz score.

A perennially favorite "sex in the cinema" topic is "When did they start doing....?" In this case: the passion noises people -- particularly women -- make during sex. When did that first appear in movies? Here is a data point from a Euro film of 1965, as the younger sister lies awake listening to the older in the next room with her married boyfriend.

Criterion Blu-ray with an excellent image.