Movie Review: Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Halloween Horror Marathon Movie #8
“Rosemary’s Baby” is a stylish, iconic horror touchstone that set the stage for the ‘Scary Children’ horror classics of the 1970s (Exorcist, Omen, Shining, etc.). It’s a thoughtful, harrowing, and patient film, and though I often forget to give it a re-watch, I never ever regret doing so.
ICYMI: Rosemary Woodhouse is a sweet, urbane New Yorker, married to Guy, a struggling actor played by John Cassavetes. They get a great deal on a massive apartment1 and begin settling in. The couple is initially put off by their new, aggressively nosy, older neighbors, the Castevets (Ruth Gordon (perfect) and Sidney Blackmer), whom they begrudgingly befriend. One night, after being fed a drugged desert, Rosemary dreams that she’s sexually assaulted by the devil while a crew of naked elders chant and watch.
After that, she gets pregnant, Guy’s career suddenly and mysteriously begins to improve, and the Castevets begin to dominate every aspect of her life. Rosemary (and the audience) are subsequently lied to, gaslit, and mistreated by Guy, the Castevets, and unctuous obstetrician, Dr. Sapirstein, until she becomes convinced that they’re a coven of witches…
…and maybe she didn’t just dream that night with the devil…
Farrow is a massive style icon in her adorable maternity outfits and trend-setting vivid pixie-cut, but she also puts in an astonishing performance, dominating nearly every shot as she transforms from naive bride to desperate mother. This subjectivity puts the audience squarely in her shoes, which - paired with her unreliability as a narrator - makes her emotional journey so affecting and visceral. Her overwhelming horror at seeing her child for the first time (pictured above) will send chills down your spine.
Writer and forefather of American independent cinema, John Cassavetes, turns Guy into one of the most enraging gaslighters ever, cajoling, negging, and thought-terminating Rosemary into madness. Ruth Gordon (Harold and Maude) starts out dotty and quintessentially New York, slowly turning more and more menacing without ever tipping her hand. Magnficent.
“Rosemary’s Baby” is a very slow burn, and is honestly better the second time through. Knowing where the journey goes hugely informs the destination. The photography goes from misty wide shots to fish-eyed close-ups as the pressure on Rosemary ramps up. Dizzying, harrowing, and incredibly subtle. A glorious slice of horror-drama.
Streaming on Paramount+.
How many films feature a too-good-to-be-true real estate deal as the inciting incident? How many films feature finding a too-good-to-be-true apartment in New York City as the inciting incident? How many specifically horror movies? Might need to get Dan from Cobwebs to do a top 10 Real Estate list…