Repulsion

Carol Ledoux, a shy Belgian manicurist in London, struggles with everyday social interaction. Colin pursues her with fervent interest, while Carol remains distant and uneasy about forming a relationship. Her discomfort is amplified by the tense dynamic between her sister Helen and Helen's lover Michael.

Colin spots Carol on her walk home, offers her a ride, and drives her back to her apartment. He repeatedly tries to kiss her, but she pulls away and retreats upstairs to brush her teeth and cry. The encounter leaves Carol shaken and increasingly withdrawn.

Back at the salon, Carol becomes noticeably distant, barely speaking to coworkers or customers. Her erratic behavior alarms her colleagues, and her boss sends her home early for the day. The social friction foreshadows a deeper breakdown.

That night, Helen and Michael leave for Italy on holiday, leaving Carol alone in the apartment. The absence of others heightens her sense of isolation. She begins to confront a space filled with Michael's belongings and the echo of their relationship.

Over the following days, Carol experiences unsettling signs of a fraying mind: a crack appears in the pavement, a dark figure seems to loom in the mirror, and she is haunted by unseen footsteps. She misses three days of work as her grip on reality loosens. The apartment closes in around her as fear grows.

One morning she runs a bath and leaves it running, letting it overflow. A wall behind the bathroom begins to crack, and she locks herself in her room while hearing footsteps. She experiences a rape-like hallucination, further blurring the line between dream and reality.

Returning to the outside world, Colin tries to reach Carol by phone, but she refuses to answer and hangs up. The interruption reopens the emotional wound left by their earlier encounter. Her distance toward others remains unbroken.

At the salon, Carol accidentally cuts the finger of a client during a manicure, triggering concern from coworkers. A coworker later discovers an uncooked rabbit head in Carol's purse, a grotesque sign of her deteriorating mental state. The alarming incident foreshadows the violence to come.

Back at the apartment, Carol stares at an old family photo and the wall behind it shatters like a mirror. The image seems to reflect her fractured perception of reality. The room's strange changes intensify her confusion and fear.

Colin arrives at the apartment and Carol refuses to open the door, so he breaks in. He proclaims his love, and Carol responds with lethal resolve, bludgeoning him to death with a candlestick. She then cleans the blood, barricades the door, and places the body in the bathtub, while the rape hallucination continues in her sleep.

After the murder, Carol wanders the dark hallway where hands seem to reach from the cracks in the walls and grab her. The claustrophobic space becomes a living threat as her paranoia deepens. The line between sleep and wakefulness remains obscured.

The angry wife of Michael calls, seeking Helen, but Carol cuts the telephone wire to prevent being found. The act underscores her severing ties to the outside world. The apartment settles into a deafening, silent tension.

The landlord arrives to collect rent, but Carol has barricaded herself away. He tries to rape her when she does not respond; she pushes him off and uses Michael's straight razor to hack him to death. The violence drags her deeper into her mental abyss.

Helen and Michael return to a ruined apartment, and Michael discovers Colin's corpse in the bath. Helen finds Carol under her bed in a catatonic state as neighbors flood the room. Michael carries Carol out of the apartment, a chilling smile on his face as the scene collapses into chaos.

In the living room, a family photograph shows a young Carol, seemingly glaring at an older male figure in the image while others smile for the camera. The shot hints at a troubling past and a deep-seated loathing that haunts her. The ending leaves the viewer with a haunting sense of psychological collapse.