Repulsion
| release date | October 3 1965 |
| studio | Royal Films International |
| director | Roman Polanski |
| writer | Roman Polanski, Gérard Brach |
| starring | Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Yvonne Furneaux |
| tagline | From the Award-Winning "Knife In the Water" |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
8 Comments
Masterful stuff. Deneuve is fantastic. Probably my favorite Polanski film. I like it more than Rosemary’s Baby. Highly, highly recommended.
Absolutely fantastic! My second favorite Roman Polanski film, next to Rosemary’s Baby, which is my favorite film of all time. Catherine Deneuve gives an amazing performance as a sexually repressed woman that slowly descends into madness through out the film. It’s beautifully shot, extremely claustrophobic, and it’s got an excellent use of sound too, especially during the dream sequences, were you can only hear the ticking of a clock as she hallucinates about being attacked. Polanski is a master at creating suspence and paranoia. One of the best and most realistic psychological horror films I’ve ever seen. A true classic!
Every good filmmaker knows that black-and-white photography equals instant surrealism, as long as that’s what you’re aiming for. That is what Roman Polanski was aiming for when he made “Repulsion”, which is shot in those gloriously dream-like (or nightmarish) two colors. It’s one of the director’s best films, if not only for the memorable surrealistic scenes. It’s a horror film, a thriller, a psychological drama, and even a bit of a tragedy, all rolled up into one. Some will call it a mess; I call it a work of art.
If this is a horror film, then it’s a really, really good one. But then again, I’m not so sure that one could call it a film of such a genre, even though it does have its share of frightening and nightmarish surrealistic imagery and situations. It is an honest depiction of madness, and it inspired many films to follow. Polanski’s follow-up to “Knife in the Water” could not have been more controversial, more darkly beautiful, or more mysterious and wondrously dreadful. This film is not pleasant, and instead, it’s actually quite “unpleasant”. To call it “anti-entertainment” would come off as insulting, while calling the film “entertaining” would be a tad misleading, on my part.
Did I say “madness”? The film is about a shy woman named Carole. She is so shy that she hasn’t even approached romance or sexual pleasures, and she’s “of age”. Her sister is her polar opposite, and often times scores big when it comes to men. Perhaps “romance” is not a word that Carole finds particularly fascinating, but when a man expresses interest in her, this kind of gets her blood pumping. Initially, I’d say this in a good way, but as the plot thickens, we see that everything just isn’t “alright” with poor Carole.
In fact, she’s going completely bonkers. When her sister leaves her alone for a couple of days, Carole is tortured by psychological images of sexuality, rape, and violence. Carole is raped, and she murders, whilst hallucinating such things; and the film then becomes a surrealistic nightmare. Thanks to a lack of music (for the most part, at least) and a lot of genuine atmospheric chills, this film does indeed get the job done when it comes to complex story-telling involving a duel with the human mind. As far as those films go, this one’s a classic.
Horror movies, and I’m not saying that “Repulsion” is one, need a character. Yes; just one. Not a lot, because too often do horror films try to balance multiple people, and too often do they fail. The character, Carole, is played by Catherine Deneuve. Now, what’s special and haunting about this performance is that fact that somehow, Deneuve finds a way to get under your skin. She brings a seemingly impossible amount of claustrophobic tension to this film with her chilling looks, actions, and voice. And all-around, this film is just freaky. There’s a memorable scene in which Carole is running through the house, while hands are coming out of cracks which have formed in the walls. Of course, this is a hallucination, and of course, it’s down-right brilliant. The cinematography is spell-binding; and even more fascinating is the stuff that it’s capturing. I kid you not; “Repulsion” is masterful filmmaking from a master filmmaker, he being Roman Polanski. Controversial not only for his films, but also for his life, Polanski will be remembered; for the better or for the worst. This is one of his best films. Polanski has a knack for chills, spills, and thrills. So does “Repulsion”. And that’s what I love about it.
*Fun Fact, for all you “Black Swan” fans: this films served as inspiration for Aronofsky’s film, an so did the ballet-themed film, “The Red Shoes”.
Like watching black & white paint dry for 2 hours. If you enjoy artsy fartsy films then knock yourself out. If you want to watch a good horror movie … then avoid this horse shit like the plague. On the other hand – I highly recommend Polanski’s far superior movie The Ninth Gate. A must see.