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Repulsion (1965)
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Reviews Counted:31
Fresh:19
Rotten:12
Average Rating:2.8/10
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.
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: REPULSION, starring the incomparable Catherine Deneuve, was director Roman Polanski's first movie filmed in English. It chronicles the descent into schizophrenia of a sexually confused, isolated... REPULSION, starring the incomparable Catherine Deneuve, was director Roman Polanski's first movie filmed in English. It chronicles the descent into schizophrenia of a sexually confused, isolated young woman named Carol who works at a beauty parlor and shares an apartment with her sister Helen (Yvonne Furneaux). One day Helen and her boyfriend, Michael (Ian Hendry), go off on vacation together and Carol is left alone in the empty apartment, where the only sounds are the constant ticking of a clock, faucets dripping, and the invasive ringing of a telephone. Extremely paranoid, Carol refuses to let anyone in and never leaves the building herself, in effect breaking off all contact with the outside world. In this claustrophobic environment, she begins to lose her grip on reality, suffering from hallucinations of being attacked by a phantom rapist and hands reaching out from the walls to grab her. Highly acclaimed and extremely gripping, Polanski's disturbing film can be seen as a prelude to his later work in the field of psychological horror: ROSEMARY'S BABY and, especially, THE TENANT. [More]
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, Yvonne Furneaux, Patrick Wymark
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, Yvonne Furneaux, Patrick Wymark, James Villiers, John Fraser, Renee Houston, Valerie Taylor
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
Producer: Gene Gutowski
Composer: Chico Hamilton
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Reviews for Repulsion
... nothing short of a godsend for fans who have spent years enduring subpar, borderline unwatchable public domain editions.
It's hard to know how to take Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965) at this point, and not just because of the inescapable echoes and resonances it sets off relating to his own grotesque, tragic life.
Polanski's first English-language film very much retains its power to shock.
Polanski doesn't explain, he just explores with imaginative detail, eerie imagery... and clinical detachment as the fragile girl slips into helpless madness.
One for the ages, Repulsion is a master class of hypnotic movie brio, the visual and audio keyed impeccably and disturbingly to the psychological.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
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| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
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| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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