Repulsion (1965)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Roman Polanski (original screenplay) &
Gérard Brach (original screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 October 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Horror | Drama

Tagline:

From the Award-Winning "Knife In the Water"

Plot:

Left alone when her sister goes on vacation, a sexually repressed young beauty goes insane with surreal fantasies of seduction and rape.

Plot Keywords:

Hallucination | Seduction | Rape | Purse | Sister Sister Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Catherine Deneuve	...	Carole Ledoux
Ian Hendry	...	Michael
John Fraser	...	Colin
Yvonne Furneaux	...	Hélène Ledoux
Patrick Wymark	...	Landlord
Renee Houston	...	Miss Balch
Valerie Taylor	...	Madame Denise
James Villiers	...	John
Helen Fraser	...	Bridget
Hugh Futcher	...	Reggie
Monica Merlin	...	Mrs. Rendlesham
Imogen Graham	...	Manicurist
Mike Pratt	...	Workman

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1965) (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (1993) (uncut) | Finland:K-18 (1965) (cut) | UK:15 (2004) | Hungary:16 | Iceland:16 | UK:15 (theatrical re-release) | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:M | Norway:16 (original rating) | Norway:18 (video rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1984) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Earl's Court, London, England, UK

Company:

Compton Films

Trivia:

Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 25 Most Dangerous Movies".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Carol gets back home from work she takes off her shoes. A moment later, in the bathroom, she has them on her feet again.

Quotes:

Hélène Ledoux: Why did you throw Michael's things away?
Carole Ledoux: They don't belong there.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Commune (2009)

a truly psychotic picture- one of Polanski's best

Sometimes not saying anything in a horror movie, and letting a character lose his/her mind in a setting can really get the goosebumps going, more so than with the recent 'shockers' of late that all seem to take place within a haunted house or have some kind of ghostly secret. The most frightening thing about Repulsion, Roman Polanski's first film in English (and filmed in England) is that everything that can terrify the audience is within the lead character's mind. In this case, the young Catherine Deneuve plays Carole, a part-time manicurist who spends most of her time inside of her apartment she shares with her sister. Polanski piles on the atmosphere like fudge on a sundae- we literally get thrust inside of her mind as she goes into this down-ward spiral.

It would be one thing if the film was a great success just because of Polanski's tricks with adding true fear into the audience, but Deneuve is a big factor in this too. It may be a triumph of under-acting, or even over-acting from a point of view. All through the movie she plays her paranoia and sexual frustration (if not repression) almost like a kind of doll, following orders we can't quite understand. Sometimes she interacts or sees things that are strange (i.e. a cooked and eaten rabbit; the cracks in the walls springing up), but then as the film winds into its climax, she becomes perfected into this kind of traumatized, crazed creature. She is a beautiful person who plays a not too beautiful being, but she somehow pulls it off, even better than in her role in Belle du Jour. Bottom line, if you're tired of getting disappointed with the latest horror films where unexplained phenomena in a house terrorize its main character(s), take a look at this film and see if it will leave you when you're finished with it. A+