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. Read critic reviews

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Repulsion Photos

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Movie Info

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.

Genre:

horror
Original Language:

English
Director:

Roman Polanski
Producer:

Gene Gutowski
Release Date (Streaming):

Jan 2, 2014
Runtime:

1h 45m
Production Co:

Compton Films, Tekli
Sound Mix:

Mono
Aspect Ratio:

35mm

Cast & Crew

Catherine Deneuve
Carole Ledoux

Yvonne Furneaux
Helene Ledoux

Ian Hendry
Michael

John Fraser
Colin

Patrick Wymark
Landlord

James Villiers
John

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Repulsion

All Critics (64) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (3)

The rest of the film has that gurgling, soapy sound of muffed intentions going down the plug hole like bath water.

March 31, 2020 | Full Review…

Peter John Dyer
Sight and Sound
Deneuve, as the woman whose fear of sexual contact is at the base of her neurosis, has seldom been less like her icy self.

January 4, 2013 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
A film that expertly shows without ever telling, even while the symbolism is a mite heavy handed.

January 3, 2013 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

David Jenkins
Little White Lies
There can't be many other films which so plausibly show an entire, warped world created from a single point of view.

January 3, 2013 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
It's been an inspiration ever since for films about claustrophobic hysteria, but not necessarily in a good way ...

January 3, 2013 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
Roman Polanski's first English-language film is still a creepy little horror masterpiece.

July 23, 2009 | Rating: A | Full Review…

Chris Nashawaty
Entertainment Weekly
Were we supposed to have found it entertaining? There's more horror latent in this notion of the movie audience than in the film itself.

February 27, 2020 | Full Review…

Pauline Kael
Vogue
The purest exercise in homicidal mania yet made, and the most singleminded.

August 14, 2019 | Full Review…

Dwight MacDonald
Esquire Magazine
Repulsion is far more shocking, in fact, than anything Hitchcock ever made, because it can produce in the spectator the added shock of self-recognition, the hallmark of a real artwork.

June 27, 2019 | Full Review…

Wendy Michener
Maclean's Magazine
How much one remains held by all this probably depends on how much one is interested by the case-book aspect of Carol's story, but at least there are ample visual compensations.

March 16, 2015 | Full Review…

MFB Critics
Monthly Film Bulletin
The young Catherine Deneuve (she was 22 at the time of filming) gives a performance so unsettling and so precise, I can barely believe she grew into such a confident screen presence.

October 21, 2014 | Rating: 4.5/5 | Full Review…

Simon Miraudo
Quickflix
Roman Polanski takes us on a deeply disturbing, hallucinatory trip into Catherine Deneuve's mental breakdown in this British psychological thriller,

October 6, 2013 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

Tom Hutchinson
Radio Times

View All Critic Reviews (64)

Audience Reviews for Repulsion

May 09, 2018

This slow-burning psychological horror is quite disturbing and unsettling, more because of what it implies than what it actually shows as it delves into the fractured mind of a beautiful woman who cannot bear living - and being crushed - in a world where men are potential rapists.

Carlos M Super Reviewer
Apr 06, 2015

If you don't have a patient mindset, you should probably avoid Repulsion. Some amongst us love it and I'm one of those. Polanski's first english language film, the timeless blonde beauty in Catherine Deneuve resonates brightly even in black and white, yet the ugliness of the story and set contrast her appearance perfectly. Bleak and unforgiving, Repulsion is a desolate venture in the mindset of a "virgin's dreams". Really terrifying and has definitely stood the test of time.

Harry W Super Reviewer
Feb 17, 2014

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Directors C Super Reviewer
Jan 11, 2014

A creepy and unsettling horror movie with a surplus of atmosphere and suspense, Repulsion is a great early film from Roman Polanski, although Rosemary's Baby is still superior.

Joey S Super Reviewer