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Roman Polanski was still a newcomer to the world of cinema when he unleashed this unforgettable exercise in skin-crawling terror. Repulsion was the Polish director's first film in English, but that hardly mattered: much of the movie is as wordless (and as weird) as the silent Nosferatu. The young Catherine Deneuve plays a Belgian girl stranded in '60s London, a shy beauty with no social skills. When her sister leaves their shared flat, Deneuve goes gradually, quietly, completely mad. Her world becomes Polanski's paintbox, as the devilish director distorts reality via a series of surrealistic touches (grasping hands that protrude from elastic walls) and out-and-out murderous horror. Very few films cast the kind of eerie spell that this 1965 classic achieves, and it clearly points the way toward Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. As with most of the director's work, what is unsettling is not the overt violence, but the terrifying sense of emptiness and isolation, and the boiling unease inside one's own mind. --Robert Horton
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Daffy Bibliophile
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
Roman Polanski's tale of a young woman's descent into insanity. Catherine Deneuve plays Carol, a Belgian woman living in London with her older sister. Her sister is Carol's tenuous attachment to reality. Carol teeters on the edge of insanity from the beginning of the movie and when her sister leaves town on vacation Carol falls completely into her own world of delusions and hallucinations with her attachment to reality fractured completely.
This is not a "thriller" in the strict sense, it's a psychological study of a troubled young woman who retreats from the real world in order to deal with her past. To me, it seems that the repulsion that Carol feels towards men and towards sex is the result of childhood sexual abuse by a family member. "Repulsion" is a very frightening movie; it shows the fragility of the human mind and how easy it can be for any of us to have the seemingly solid floor beneath us crack asunder.
The look on the face of Carol as a child, shown in a family photo at the very end of the movie, will haunt you for days afterward.
This is not a "thriller" in the strict sense, it's a psychological study of a troubled young woman who retreats from the real world in order to deal with her past. To me, it seems that the repulsion that Carol feels towards men and towards sex is the result of childhood sexual abuse by a family member. "Repulsion" is a very frightening movie; it shows the fragility of the human mind and how easy it can be for any of us to have the seemingly solid floor beneath us crack asunder.
The look on the face of Carol as a child, shown in a family photo at the very end of the movie, will haunt you for days afterward.
By Federov
Format:Blu-ray
My copy says "Director Approved" and I am ticked off. I saw this film on its initial release in 1965, and the horrific scene of Deneuve crawling on the floor with the rabbit in her hand has stayed in my memory for 45 years. Now that scene is gone, along with the original wrap-up scenes from the film. I'm not going to get overly excited about a DVD but this is not the movie I thought I was buying. At the least, the editors could have included a 'deleted scenes' feature in the extras.
My rating reflects my disappointment. I'm still a fan of Polanski's films.
My rating reflects my disappointment. I'm still a fan of Polanski's films.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:VHS Tape|Amazon Verified Purchase
A wonderful film, but the current video transfer is quite poor; grainy image, and annoying audio hum throughout.
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3.9 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very creepy
Even on her good days, Carol lives on the edge of sanity; she stares endlessly at sidewalks cracks, feels things crawling on her body, and doesn't respond to people. Read more
Published on Nov 22 2008 by Kona
3.0 out of 5 stars
Peculiar
Some people talk about the apartment Trilogy ,refering to three of Polanski's films. The Tenant, Rosemary's baby and Repulsion. I think Repulsion is not as good as the other two. Read more
Published on Dec 14 2006 by Eric Simard
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gives cinematic expression to madness
The film begins with the shot of an eye (of the actor Catherine Deneuve) beginning with the pupil and slowly moving out, and the film ends with a shot of the same eye, albeit taken... Read more
Published on Dec 15 2003 by Ian Muldoon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scary
One of the greal psychological horror movies I've ever seen. It raises an interesting question; is the world hell or do we create our own hell??
Published on Nov 6 2003 by Dhaval Vyas
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bo o o oring
The sound track is so bad as to render most of the dialogue useless if not downright irritating; it might as well have been produced as a silent film. Read more
Published on Sep 27 2003 by Alvin H.Safanie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Scary!
Roman Polanski sets up a tense atmosphere for this macabre tale where every black-and-white shot is subjectively motivated by the deranged character played with quiet brilliance by... Read more
Published on Jun 18 2003 by Tom Servo
2.0 out of 5 stars
psychological? ok, entertaining, no!
this movie is all pychological [stuff] about a woman all fearful of sex. but that's it, nothing really happens. Read more
Published on Jun 13 2003
4.0 out of 5 stars
Phantasies
Roman Polanski let his imagination run wild and the result is this film about a young London beautician's decent into madness. Read more
Published on May 4 2003 by Cody
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eeerie, Challenging, Powerful (4 1/2 stars)
Perhaps not one of the widely viewed horror films of the 1960s and certainly not as famous as Polanski's later Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion is nevertheless a crowning achievement in... Read more
Published on Feb 6 2003 by Mr. H. Walker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lights out fun.
This has got to be one of the greatest movies ever made if you can stand to watch it. The best way is to curl up with a frined of the opposite sex, turn the lights off and the... Read more
Published on Dec 30 2002
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