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.

A psychological horror film shot almost entirely in a London flat, REPULSION delves into the case history of a mentally disturbed, hallucinogenic, homicidal girl repelled by sex. Good suspense and clever shocks mark this recommended film, Polanski's first English-language effort.

Theatrical release: October 3, 1965.

REPULSION won the Silver Bear Award at the 1965 Berlin Film Festival and was screened out of competition at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival.

The Coen brothers cited REPULSION and THE TENANT as having influenced their own BARTON FINK, which won the Palme D'Or at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival--the jury that year was headed by Roman Polanski.

DVD Features:

Region [unknown]

Catherine Deneuve: French actress
Ian Hendry: British Actor
Yvonne Furneaux: French Actress
Patrick Wymark: British Supporting Actor
James Villiers: British Actor
John Fraser: British Actor
Renee Houston: British Actress
Valerie Taylor: Ngt Photographer

Roman Polanski: Director/Screenwriter/Actor

Gene Gutowski: Polish-American Producer

Chico Hamilton: 

Alastair McIntyre: Sound/Dubbing/Editor

"Polanski uses all his tricks to convey Deneuve's increasing disconnect from the world, from striking visuals...to a sound design that rivals that of Robert Wise's THE HAUNTING for sheer, skin-crawling unpleasantness." -- Grade: A
"...[Deneuve is] heart-stoppingly gorgeous....Chilly alienation." -- Rating: A
"...An all-time chiller..."
"...Polanski ups the horror ante with stylish, Hitchcockian filmmaking that makes the most of shadow and nuance and is chock-full of symbolism and subtext..."