Repulsion: Digitally Remastered Edition

It's hard to think that now, but at one point Roman Polanski was a relatively unknown European filmmaker was only one film, Knife in the Water, to his name. Relocating from Poland to Britain, he co-wrote and directed his second feature film, Repulsion, which would attract attention from across the Atlantic and lead to him making Rosemary's Baby for Paramount.

Repulsion is set in London, where Belgian beautician Carol is living with her sister. Stunningly attractive but severely introverted, she has problems communicating with people at work and relies on her sister, Helen, to pay the rent, cook and provide friendship. When Helen begins a serious relationship with a married man, Carol begins to unwind, hating the man and his intrusion into their lives, typified by his toiletries in their bathroom. Incredibly timid, Carol suddenly finds herself alone when Helen goes away on holiday with her boyfriend, leaving her sister to fend for herself.

Carol's work at the beauty parlour becomes increasingly bizarre, not turning in one day and cutting a client the next to the point where she doesn't even bother going to work, becoming a recluse and almost entirely shutting herself away in her apartment. Slowly but surely, she feels the walls and ceiling begin to close in and crack as her mental state disintegrates to the point where she no longer notices the decomposing rabbit in the kitchen (whose head she has put in her handbag) and begins to feel simultaneously attracted to, and repulsed by, men. As her fragile mental state begins, like the walls, to crack, Carol changes from being the hunted to the hunter and kills men who may pose a threat to her in her apartment.

In Repulsion, Polanski brought a stunning visual aesthetic style from his film education in Poland and, although he cast predominately English actors, brought two continental actresses to worldwide attention, in particular Catherine Deneuve. Deneuve has an extraordinary look which she uses to devastating effect in what tears, primarily, a silent role. Carol barely speaks in the film, only saying "hello" when she answers the phone, asking her sister why her boyfriend stays over and to say that her auntie is visiting when explaining an unauthorised absence to her boss.


As she spent most of her life surrounded by women in the beauty parlour or at home with her sister, Carol is utterly unprepared for life alone and soon finds her dreams invaded by men who viciously attack her, threatening phone calls from her landlord and silent phone calls which only serves to increasingly destabilise her. It's not long before Colin, who has a crush on her, comes calling only to be met by an utterly psychotic woman who refuses to let him in and, when he barges the door down, is met by a woman with murder on her mind.

Released five years after Psycho and Peeping Tom, which had a sympathetic view of the killer, and showed most things from their point of view, Repulsion is a visually stark film, shot in black and white, which, like the great movies from 1960, shows everything from the protagonist's point of view, getting inside her head and twister your own perception of reality so you're not sure how much of what you're seeing is real, just as Polanski would do three years later in Rosemary's Baby.


Repulsion is a film that is absolutely startling on first viewing, but improves every time you watch it as you can try and distance yourself from the plot and concentrate on the direction and camerawork, so it is a film that works on different levels. It is abundantly clear that you're watching a master at work as not many people could make a scene in which a man is slashed to death with an open razor so chilling, so cold and so utterly terrifying. Polanski has clearly been influenced by the Surrealists, from the opening credits which roll over an open eye, with his name appearing like the open razor in Un chien andalou and I get the impression that this would be what a horror film would be like if it was directed by Luis Buñuel.

This is a great film, one of Polanski's very best and easily up there with Rosemary's Baby, Macbeth and Chinatown. Stylishly directed, wonderfully acted and intelligently written, this has everything you would want from a horror film and it is one of the finest in the genre of the last 60 years.

The Disc

Extra Features
Odeon Entertainment have come up with a release that certainly beats the R1 copy I own hands down. There is an audio commentary which isn't the standard track in which the participant(s) sit in front of a microphone, watching the film and talk about it as Rome Polanski and Catherine Deneuve were recorded separately and their contributions inserted where most appropriate. It's surprising how critical Polanski is of the film but I suppose with the benefit of hindsight, most of us wish we had done certain things differently and, as this was Polanski in his filmmaking infancy, he has the benefit of experience and knowledge to point out what he would change or do differently. Deneuve talks about her experiences on the set, being directed by Polanski and the Playboy shoot that she now regrets. In all, this is an entertaining and informative track that is a must listen for fans of the film.

A welcome addition is the 'Clive James meets Roman Polanski' TV documentary from 1984 in which the Australian inquisitor talks to the director about his life from escaping from the Warsaw ghetto all the way up to his self-imposed exile in Paris. James isn't afraid to pull punches or ruffle a few feathers as he quizzes Polanski on the 'incident' that led to his incarceration in California and what happened on that night.

Also included is a 2010 interview with Stanley Long, the cinematography who was brought in by the producers when the film was running over schedule and over budget. He talks about what a demanding director Polanski was, what it was like working on the film and how he views his contribution. He comes across as a genuinely nice bloke who seems very modest about the work he did on the film.

Also included is the theatrical trailer and a stills gallery.


The Picture
My Region 1 DVD, which I have owned for years, has a Pan & Scan picture, which is far from the ideal way to watch a widescreen movie but thankfully this has been remedied with a fully remastered 1.66:1 transfer. The image quality is superb and, although there is still a slight amount of picture wobble, the contrast levels are reassuringly high and detail is excellent throughout. To say that I've never seen this film looking this good is a massive understatement and the film has been given the treatment it deserves. If I was being picky, I would say it's a shame that this hasn't been released on Blu-ray Disc to really highlight the HD transfer, but it does look extremely good on an upscaled DVD.

The Sound
The Dolby digital 2.0 Mono soundtrack is extremely clear, doing a great job with the dialogue and presenting the thoroughly unsettling and discordant score extremely well. If the visuals weren't disturbing enough, the score adds to the sense of unease and terror with flies buzzing, screeching strings and slashing knives.

There aren't any subtitles, which will be a shame for some people but I guess that Odeon Entertainment weren't sure about whether the expenditure was worth it.


Final Thoughts
Repulsion is a masterpiece of horror by one of cinema's greatest directors. It is a film with a startling central performance by Catherine Deneuve and a real oneiric and hallucinatory feel to events, cleverly drawing you in thanks to its dreamlike, or should that be nightmarish, quality.

Odeon Entertainment have given this superb film the treatment it deserves with excellent AV quality and a very good extras package. If you already own this and are a fan of the film, then now is the time to seriously consider a double-dip but if you don't own it, and consider yourself a horror fan, then this is the release you've been waiting for -- highly recommended.