REPULSION, Polish director Roman Polanski’s answer to Alfred Hitchock’s PSYCHO, also follows the violent decline of a lonely, troubled person haunted by the demons of the mind. Released in 1965 and part of Polanski’s influential “apartment trilogy” (followed by 1968’s ROSEMARY’S BABY and 1976’s THE TENANT), REPULSION begins a special nine-day engagement with a new, sharp 35mm print at New York City’s Film Forum (209 West Houston; [212] 727-8110) from October 31 through November 8. Named one of FANGORIA’s Top 300 horror films of all time in issue #300, REPULSION remains essential viewing for fright aficionados.

The achingly beautiful Catherine Deneuve stars as Carol, a Belgian immigrant living in a London flat with her sister, Helen (Yvonne Furneaux). Carol, who works in a high-end beauty salon, is painfully shy and distracted. But that’s not her only problem. She’s also sexually frigid (she recoils from even the most innocent touch of a man), depressed and prone to frightening hallucinations. When her sister decides to go on a holiday with her philandering boyfriend (Ian Hendry), Carol, left alone, goes off the deep end and undergoes a schizophrenic break, murdering any man unlucky enough to walk through her door.

We spend most of REPULSION watching Carol come apart as her nightmares take hold of her fragile psyche. She sees the walls split by earthquake-sized cracks…disembodied arms grasp her from the hallway corridor…a sweaty man molests her in bed… REPULSION’s omnipresent sound design also puts us in a state of unease; the few things interrupting the silence of Carol’s apartment include a loud clock and the young nuns playing in the courtyard below (an interesting contrast: the religious ladies below are joyful in their chastity, while Carol herself is destroyed by it). This story won’t end well for Carol…

REPULSION marked Polanski’s English-language debut, and to nail down his financing from British producer Tony Tenser, he had to make several artistic compromises and up the exploitation ante (cue the straight razor). The producer told Fango (issue #128) that he and his director battled over REPULSION’s tiny budget, though Polanski ultimately won out and the film (originally titled LOVELIHEAD and set in Paris) cost twice as much to complete. The movie also proved an exhausting experience for Deneuve, who’s in almost every shot. Though Polanski holds praise for the actress’ work in REPULSION, he later dismissed the final product as his “shoddiest” effort.

Genre fans will, of course, find much to love in REPULSION. During a recent screening in NYC, audiences were still gasping during the shock scenes. The film’s stark B&W cinematography (note the close-ups of the dinner plate of rotting uncooked rabbit) add to the escalating terror. Besides REPULSION, director of photography Gilbert Taylor spent years fruitfully toiling on fantasy films, including DR. STRANGELOVE, STAR WARS, 1976’s THE OMEN, 1979’s DRACULA and many more. The cast also comes stocked with genre favorites: Deneuve went on to play Miriam Blaylock in THE HUNGER; Furneaux got stalked by Christopher Lee in Hammer’s version of THE MUMMY; Hendry played a victim of the Antichrist in DAMIEN: OMEN II; and Patrick Wymark, who plays REPULSION’s sleazy landlord, appeared in subsequent ’70s-era Tenser productions WITCHFINDER GENERAL and BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW. And would you believe, REPULSION co-writer (and frequent Polanski collaborator), Gerard Brach, went on to write Dario Argento’s take on the PHANTOM OF THE OPERA?

Future Oscar winner Polanski, meanwhile, hit more homeruns in the fear field following REPULSION, with 1967’s THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS (the best film Hammer never made), ROSEMARY’S BABY, THE TENANT and 1999’s underrated THE NINTH GATE. Hopefully the 79-year-old filmmaker will continue to plumb the dark side.

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