One weekend, Helene Le Doux (Furneaux) and boyfriend Michael (Hendry) leave Helene's withdrawn sister Carole (Deneuve) in the London apartment they share, and we witness Carole's mental disintegration, rooted in a visceral contempt for men. Pretty as she is, it's difficult for the opposite sex to leave Carole alone, including ardent admirer Colin (Fraser). Colin has definitely picked the wrong girl. Still, we're not sure whether Carole's deadly acts are real, or whether they exist only in her mind...

Roman Polanski's first English-language film makes for a potent shocker, as we watch a human psyche unravel with violent implications. The young Deneuve, only a year after premiering as the picture of innocence in "The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg," is mesmerizing as the demented Carole, a tragic but terrifying creature well past the point of no return. Unsettling, first-rate psychological horror.