Ekel

So ähnlich wie in Rosemaries Baby erzeugt Roman Polanski auch hier das Gefühl der Beklommenheit und Paranoia auf der Fläche einer Wohnung. Diesmal sogar mit noch minimalistischeren Mitteln: ein Schwarz-Weiß-Bild, fast keine Musik und nur eine Protagonistin. Und obwohl es ihm dank der Regie-Ideen und der ausgezeichneten Catherine Deneuve sehr gut gelingt, wirkt der kalte und didaktische Charakter, der für seine frühen Werke typisch ist (z. B. Wenn Katelbach kommt), ein bisschen abweisend. Rosemaries Baby war emotionaler, was mir persönlich mehr gefällt. (28.08.2004)

Films about a person falling apart sometimes captivate me, sometimes not at all. Repulsion managed to end half-way. Some parts of Polanski’s film are really impressive and unsettling, but by the most part is not that good. The performance of the protagonist is questionable at best, I was unable to relate to her. 6/10 (26.01.2011)

Stellenweise unglaublich stickig, lästig und suggestiv. Der Trick in die anfangs rational funktionierende Welt, die Produkte eines krankhaften Geistes der Hauptheldin zu übertragen, funktioniert hervorragend und kreiert eine ähnlich destruktive Unsicherheit wie Kubricks Shining. Gelegentliche selbstzweckgerichtete Ausrutscher sowie der Eindruck einer Übertreibung mindern die Auswirkungen des katzenjämmerlichen Horrorfilms etwas. Als hervorragend bezeichnete ich das Zusammenspiel des Visuellen mit dem Soundtrack und insbesondere die schauspielerische Leistung Catherine Deneuves, deren glasiger Ausdruck vielleicht der beängstigendste ist, was der Film Ekel nur zu bieten hat. Jedenfalls ist dies ein sehr erfolgreicher Versuch Polanskis, einen psychologisch orientierten Film mit einem Horror zu verbinden. (08.09.2008)

That manicurist is a bit weird, and it’s not just because she puts six sugars in her coffee. A hauntingly filmed intimate unsettling borefest; which is not necessarily a negative in this case. (27.12.2012)

The filmmaking qualities and intentions are unquestionable, but Repulsion is still far from a highly evocative experience. There is a relentless subjectivisation towards a protagonist who’s similar to the later Rosemary, but that one had an excellent Mia Farrow, interesting supporting characters and an emotionally powerful, perfectionistically escalating development. Repulsion, in contrast, has the beautiful but dull Deneuve and inventive direction, but it can't quite eclipse the insanely lengthy exposition and the routine subject matter itself. The second half, however, thanks to the unpleasant soundtrack and the enormously growing sense of mental and physical isolation caused by the aforementioned subjectivisation and sophisticated camera work in relation to the bizarre environment, is a truly powerful cinematic experience that you can't just wash out from your skin. It's a pity Polanski doesn't keep that level throughout... 70% (28.09.2018)

Although this first representative of the master Polanski's "Apartment Trilogy" is almost fifty years old (!!!), its age certainly doesn't detract from its intensity, quite the contrary. Comparing Repulsion to contemporary horror or psychological thrillers is probably not appropriate, so I'll leave it by saying that Roman Polanski, with his specific minimalist approach, has once again managed to get the near maximum out of the given material. Catherine Deneuve is perfect in her role of a paranoid schizophrenic and identifying with her character is a prerequisite for final "enjoyment" of the whole film. :)) It is also worth mentioning that instead of dissecting and searching for the causes of what is happening to the main character (of course, the separation from the sister and frigidity are the obvious causes, but this is not elaborated much further), Polanski focuses more on the "action" itself and, as is his habit, on building up a paranoid atmosphere, when you really start to question what is still paranoia and what is really happening. I can't say for sure which of the three films (The Tenant, Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion) is the most frightening or the most intense, but in all cases they are very good works that get the viewer where they want to go by carefully building a thick atmosphere. Suggestive, REPULSive, and compelling. (25.10.2012)