Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Unfortunately for his American fans, Roman Polanski is remembered more in the USA for his interpretation of Lolita than he is for his films. In fact, word is that if he steps foot on American soil again, he would be arrested (hence Ninth Gate filmed totally in Europe). Obviously, Roman Polanski's morals are not cream of the crop, but I believe that it would be a shame to overlook his contribution's to the film industry just because of his own personal problems. He was (emphasize "was") one of the greatest directors of his time, and what better way to introduce yourself to Polanski's finer works than to start from his first English-speaking film, "Repulsion."

"Repulsion" is the first film of what Polanski fans call "The Apartment Trilogy." The movies within this trilogy, "Repulsion," "The Tenant," and "Rosemary's Baby," are not sequels or anything; they simply share the same setting of the horror...huge urban apartments. "Rosemary's Baby" is the most popular of the three, due in part to the big-name cast and a more mainstream flavor, but probably the worst. Anyway, enough rambling on about Polanski. Onto the film...

Repulsion is a movie about an innocent, beautiful, and withdrawn virgin named Carol (Catherine Deneuve), who despises men and is "repulsed" by sex. Carol's daily socializing only comes from three sources: 1)her job as a manicurist 2)her sister (Yvonne Furneaux) who serves her in a more motherly type of role 3)and a dapper man who is attempting to court her. Unfortunately for Carol, the sister decides to go on vacation and leave the poor innocent alone in the apartment. A psychological plunge pursues, and a number of eerie happenings take place, ultimately sending Carol into the abyss of her sexually-repressed mind.

Much of the story is told through long visual sequences, leaving dialog to only the first half of the movie. The success of this movie without using much dialog is perhaps what makes "Repulsion" stick out in a crowd. I'm not going to lie and say that Polanksi's execution of this style is flawless, but if you can sit through "Castaway" you can gladly sit through this.

For those of you who care, the special effects of this film surpass anything you'll see after 1992. Sure, the hands in the wall look a bit silly, but the rest of this film's special effects are flawless. The apartment is constantly changing size (or is it), the cracks in the wall, the gooey paint thingee, it's all done through camera tricks or actually doing the effects in real-time. You won't find any cheesy computer graphic monsters in here, or even dated and obviously fake effects; what Polanski films is what you get. (NOTE: I have a strong bias against computer FX in case you were wondering)

The flavor of "Repulsion" is somewhat of a fusion between Alfred the Great and surrealism. I am a die hard fan of film surrealism, so I was pleased to see that Polanski threw a bit of my favorite style into the mix. An example of this is Polanski's way of telling time: a rotten rabbit corpse and a potato. Another example of surrealism is the constant changing of the apartment size to perhaps show how far Carol's mind is into insanity. The Alfred the Great comparisons are inevitable, but very much deserved. Polanski was a Hitchcock disciple, and no one comes as close to perfecting suspense as those two. Please note that I am not suggesting that Roman Polanski "ripped off" Hitchcock, I am explaining that Polanski (like most other directors) has learned much from Alfred the Great, and uses those learnings, along with others, to recreate his vision. In fact, at the time of Repulsion (mid-60's), many critics felt that it was a BETTER movie than "Psycho," and its not hard to see why they could have felt this way. Of course, "Psycho" grew into the mass audience's favorite psychological horror of all-time, while "Repulsion" fell into the bargain bin at your local video store. Perhaps unjust, but perhaps the critics were just plain wrong about Repulsion's value.

"Repulsion," just like many of the adventurous classics of the mid-sixties, doesn't come flawless. The score is tediously dated, although thankfully it is only noticeable in two walking sequences that takes place during the first half of the film. This score features jazz-fusion, BUT before jazz-fusion was supposedly invented by Miles Davis with his 1969-70 album, "B*tches Brew." So, appreciation of the soundtrack's innovation ultimately softens the blow delivered by the dated tune.

Even though I am a big Polanski fan, I wouldn't recommend his films to everyone. "Repulsion" can only be truly appreciated by either suspense genre fans or people who seek originality and art in their motion pictures. If you are a student of cinematography, you should definitely buy this film to learn the many lessons within.

NOTE: This film contains disturbing imagery and scenes of rape and brief nudity - NOT FOR CHILDREN.

"Repulsion" is best watched when alone, and with the sound cranked.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age