Repulsion
Repulsion
Beautiful young manicurist Carole suffers from androphobia (the pathological fear of interaction with men). When her sister and roommate, Helen, leaves their London flat to go on an Italian holiday with her married boyfriend, Carole withdraws into her apartment. She begins to experience frightful hallucinations, her fear gradually mutating into madness.
Michael Foster reviewedMarch 9, 2025
The first Roman Polanski film of what later became known as ‘The Apartment Series’— Repulsion, which preceded Rosemary’s Baby, I just love. The grainy 16mm black/white shots, the staging, the music, the editing, specifically the sounds that are highlighted like a ticking clock or church bells, all to be tied-in later to trigger trauma. Today this would be completely scored over. Her hallucinations and dreams are so well constructed. If you’ve ever had night terrors where your surroundings are familiar but out of proportion, it’s spot on. The final film in the series is The Tenant, which stars Polanski himself. All three films tell the story of a character going mad within the confines of an apartment.