Repulsion is the 1965 psychological horror film directed by Roman Polanski and starring Catherine Deneuve.
Deneuve plays Carol Ledoux, a withdrawn young woman whose increasingly disturbing experiences unfold after her sister leaves their London flat. The film presents events largely through Carol’s subjective perspective, turning ordinary spaces, sounds, and objects into sources of menace.
Repulsion was Polanski’s first English-language feature and followed his 1962 Polish film Knife in the Water. It was shot in London on a modest budget of about £65,000, with interiors built at Twickenham Studios. Polanski and Gérard Brach wrote the screenplay, while Gilbert Taylor’s cinematography helped create the film’s claustrophobic visual style.
A common mix-up is confusing Repulsion with The Haunting or The Innocents, which are also celebrated psychological or supernatural horror films. Repulsion is especially associated with psychological breakdown, sexual anxiety, and expressionist images such as cracking walls and threatening hallucinations.