Rosemary’s Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968): USA

Reviewed by Kevin Tran. Viewed on DVD.

I don’t believe Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby is a great horror movie – it’s simply a great film (my favorite from Polanski). The confusion comes from its subject matter, but to reveal that would take away from your experience of watching and understanding it. It’s a very dark film whose scariness doesn’t come from an invincible axe murderer, but from something within one’s self. The film is darkest at moments you’ll least expect and its ending is shockingly haunting.

Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse move into an apartment in a building with a bad reputation. They discover that their neighbors are a very friendly elderly couple named Roman and Minnie Castevet, and Guy begins to spend a lot of time with them. Then, strange things begin to happen, starting when a woman Rosemary meets in the washroom dies a mysterious death. Rosemary then has strange dreams and hears strange noises. Guy becomes remote and distant. Then Rosemary falls pregnant and begins to suspect that her neighbors have special plans for her child.

Mia Farrow’s performance is first class as Rosemary: the housewife, the paranoid, and the insane. Rosemary is so incredibly detailed and natural. Farrow didn’t get cast for her role because of her vocal chords. She is in the movie because of her versatility and her ability to act.

Polanski reinvented the horror “B-Movie” into something part drama, part thriller, and part, well, horror. Unlike the typical slasher, sci-fi, monster kind of horror film, Rosemary’s Baby is astonishingly slow paced and meditative. Here is probably where the film will lose most of its audience, which is a shame because the final turning point of the film is brilliant.

If you go into Rosemary’s Baby looking for quick jolts or badass super villains, you’ll be very let down. However, if you are looking for a film that will stay with you because of its beautiful imagery and dark tones, see it and pray for Rosemary’s baby.


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