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Repulsion

Play trailer Poster for Repulsion 1965,  1h 45m,  Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Stream Now Watchlist 96% 70 Reviews Tomatometer 86% 10,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
96% Tomatometer 70 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
In Roman Polanski's first English-language film, beautiful young manicurist Carole (Catherine Deneuve) suffers from androphobia (the pathological fear of interaction with men). When her sister and roommate, Helen (Yvonne Furneaux), leaves their London flat to go on an Italian holiday with her married boyfriend (Ian Hendry), Carole withdraws into her apartment. She begins to experience frightful hallucinations, her fear gradually mutating into madness.
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Critics Consensus

Roman Polanski's first English film follows a schizophrenic woman's descent into madness, and makes the audience feel as claustrophobic as the character.

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Critics Reviews

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Andrew Sarris Village Voice Jul 27, 2021
Repulsion is the scariest if not actually the goriest Grand Guignol since Psycho. Go to Full Review
Peter John Dyer Sight & Sound Mar 31, 2020
The rest of the film has that gurgling, soapy sound of muffed intentions going down the plug hole like bath water. Go to Full Review
Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard Jan 4, 2013
4/5
Deneuve, as the woman whose fear of sexual contact is at the base of her neurosis, has seldom been less like her icy self. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Oct 29, 2024
3/4
The real focus is on detailing how the callous treatment of Carol by practically everyone around her only further serves to denigrate her standing as a “real” person rather than just a desirable beauty. Go to Full Review
Diana Tuova Spotlight on Film Aug 2, 2024
5/5
Led by Deneuve’s committed performance, Repulsion is an innovative, atmospheric and effective psychological horror, which is clever in a way it uses its entire low budget cinematic arsenal to induce one particular sense of apprehension and dread. Go to Full Review
Jorge Loser Espinof May 29, 2024
5/5
... A subjective portrait of mental illness that has become almost a manual to describe psychological breakdowns, especially the dimension of trauma and female repression. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Albus G Dec 24, 2018 Polanski's greatest film. And amazing movie about mental illness.
Leia S Oct 1, 2018 this film is more boring than even watching the paint dry !
Finn P Sep 21, 2018 This movie wasn't for me. I didn't find it claustrophobic or tense at all. Didn't find it scary or even spooky. It was very slow for most of the time. Considering it's incredible ratings, I'm likely in the minority. See more
Theodore M Sep 6, 2018 Yes, I have to admit that after 50 years the movie is still creepy and claustrophobic. The point is that I found the creepiness bothersome, more than entertaining. See more
Luke S Jul 29, 2018 The use of nightmarish visual imagery for effect, and the reliance on the setting to illustrate Carol's mental state made me think that Repulsion is a film adaptation of one of Alfred Tennyson's poems directed by David Lynch! I'm not a fan of movies that rely so much on allegory. However, I loved Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive. But to be honest, I wasn't invested in these movies as much as I should. Nevertheless, I found Repulsion very engrossing, and I was deeply invested in the character of Carol. Polanski managed to evoke an atmosphere filled with dread and fear. but to make it more disturbing, he used another atmosphere that's quiet different and contradictory to the main one he used to depict Carol's paranoia. This contradictory atmosphere is actually very similar to the one that's used in french new wave films. Yes, it's already seems very weird and creepy! Almost every hallucination scene leaves you with a chill in the spine. Catherine Deneuve gave a very accurate, precise, and unsettling performance. Carol Ledoux could have been monotonous, and tedious due to her tepid nature. Instead, and thanks to Deneuve's captivating performance, Carol turned out to be so sympathetic and relatable that I felt for her. As for issues, I think the first act was longer than it should be, and the movie took a long time to reach the climax of its plot, but it was never boring, and built up tension very well. From the tracking shots to the use of the unsettling sounds, you can see that Repulsion has a big influence on Aronofsky, especially his most recent, and most controversial work, mother! Also, the closing shot of this movie must be up there with the closing shots of The 400 Blows, Fight Club, Inception, Seven Samurai, Stalker,..... As a matter of fact, Repulsion's final shot isn't just beautiful, profound, or thought-provoking, but it's very important and absolutely necessary to complete Carol's character arc. (9/10) See more
Poe L Jun 29, 2018 Roman Polanski's 1965 masterpiece Repulsion holds up today as an eerily effective, chilling psychological horror bolstered by a quietly nuanced performance from Catherine Deneuve. See more
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Repulsion

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Movie Info

Synopsis In Roman Polanski's first English-language film, beautiful young manicurist Carole (Catherine Deneuve) suffers from androphobia (the pathological fear of interaction with men). When her sister and roommate, Helen (Yvonne Furneaux), leaves their London flat to go on an Italian holiday with her married boyfriend (Ian Hendry), Carole withdraws into her apartment. She begins to experience frightful hallucinations, her fear gradually mutating into madness.
Director
Roman Polanski
Producer
Gene Gutowski
Screenwriter
Roman Polanski, Gérard Brach, David Stone
Production Co
Tekli, Compton Films
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 16, 2010
Runtime
1h 45m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm
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