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Repulsion

Play trailer Poster for Repulsion 1965 1h 45m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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Repulsion

Repulsion

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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 Repulsion is the scariest if not actually the goriest Grand Guignol since Psycho. Jul 27, 2021 Full Review Peter John Dyer Sight & Sound The rest of the film has that gurgling, soapy sound of muffed intentions going down the plug hole like bath water. Mar 31, 2020 Full Review Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard Deneuve, as the woman whose fear of sexual contact is at the base of her neurosis, has seldom been less like her icy self. Rated: 4/5 Jan 4, 2013 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 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. Rated: 3/4 Oct 29, 2024 Full Review Diana Tuova Spotlight on Film 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. Rated: 5/5 Aug 2, 2024 Full Review Jorge Loser Espinof ... 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] Rated: 5/5 May 29, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Julian S A stunningly crafted, slow-burn portrait of a person on the brink of madness Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/19/25 Full Review Alain E This is a spectacular achievement from a young filmmaker. One of the most accurate depictions of a person’s descent into psychosis. Catherine Deneuve delivers an impressive performance. The impact is not in hysterics. We can see that this person cannot assess reality anymore. Putting a dead body in a bathtub or behind a sofa doesn’t render them invisible. Tubi has a nicely restored copy. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/19/25 Full Review thiago s Filme bacaninha, o roteiro é mais ou menos, parece que o filme mostra uma garoto com medos de ser tocada, teve duas cenas cenas que ela mata dois caras um foi com uma moderada na cabeça várias vezes e o outro uma faquinha pequena. Eu nem sei se recomendo esse filme. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/12/25 Full Review Sarfaraz A Roman Polanski co-wrote and directed this psychological thriller. Catherine Deneuve plays the lead role. The film is said to be Polanski's debut English-language feature. The story is about Carol (Catherine Deneuve), who suffers from schizophrenia and lives with her older sister, whose married lover occasionally stays at their flat, which annoys Carol much. She dislikes seeing his toothbrush and razor in her bathroom glass. She is not interested in a young man who is madly in love with her and wishes to spend time with her. This solitude and dread cause her to experience hallucinations and spiral into madness. Carol is a quiet person, but not in the way that some people are. She is attentive to her elder sister, although she can be obstinate at times, such as when she does not want her sister's boyfriend to remain in their apartment, much alone use the shared toilet. Carol's sister definitely serves as an interim remedy to stop her fall into madness. Because as soon as her sister left for Italy to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa with her boyfriend, Carol began experiencing hallucinations and paranoia about certain individuals, particularly men. The notion that Carol's past is beginning to haunt her is distracting, because the past has always accompanied her. Catherine Deneuve delivers strong performance. This is meant to be the first film in Polanski's trilogy of apartment movies (Rosemary's Baby 1968 - The Tenant 1976). The cinematography in the film is typical of European-style movies. It is not boring, but not for those who want to see a happy conclusion. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/10/25 Full Review William B Great psychological-horror film Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/05/25 Full Review Wayne K The first English language film from cinematic auteur and reviled human being Roman Polanski, Repulsion uses a very unconventional approach, including limited music, extensive closeups, tight sets and a mix of reality and surrealism to tell a story of a mentally disturbed woman going through one of the most elaborate psychological breakdowns ever filmed. The film feels very empty in places, and its clear that many scenes and evens shots have been overextended to achieve a feature length runtime. It’s disappointing that we get to know so little about our lead, and as a consequence her mental tribulations have less emotional impact. She’s very much a blank slate, with virtually no personality or identifiable traits. Her entire character description could be written on the back of a stamp, and it really undermines a committed and intense performance from Catherine Deneuve. But the imagery of the film is what stands out. The way the film represents a tortured mental state, a world where nothing makes sense and everything that happens has you on edge. It might not be Polanski’s best film, but it’s an interesting window in his filmography, and a decent way to kick off his so called Apartment Trilogy. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/18/24 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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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
Compton Films, Tekli
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 16, 2010
Runtime
1h 45m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm
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