Review of Rosemary's Baby (1968) by Heressssss J — 03 Jan 2012

Rosemary's Baby is a horror film directed by Roman Polanski, and stars Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, and Sidney Blackmer.

Rosemary Woodhouse and her husband Guy move into an old New York apartment occupied by meddlesome tenants. After only a few weeks in the apartment, strange things begin to occur and Rosemary becomes pregnant. The closer Rosemary's due date comes, the more convinced she is that the tenants are conspiring to harm her baby.

Rosemary's Baby is one of those rare horror films that manages to be unsettling simply by the established atmosphere. The story is rather simple but manages to keep you guessing about different characters motivations and thoughts. Are the tenants really trying to kill her baby? Is her husband Guy conspiring against her? Is Rosemary's paranoia simply misplaced? You really don't know until the end of the film, and thats one of its strongest aspects.

I adore the way Polanski uses atmosphere and dizzying hallucinations over all this jump scare garbage you see today. Polanski's films, especially his Apartment Trilogy, are incredibly dizzying and make you feel incredibly uncomfortable. The apartment almost has a claustrophobic feel to it, like a dark never ending maze with no real exit. There are also some extremely disturbing scenes that once you witness, stay ingrained in your mind for a very long time. The film's musical theme is noteworthy as well and successfully helps to establish a creepy tone in the beginning scenes.

Another major strength of this film is the cast, there is not one bad performance to be found. Mia Farrow gives here career defining performance as Rosemary, easily one of the greatest female performances of all time. Rosemary's descent into paranoia and fear can plainly be seen as time goes on, and Farrow portrays these particular traits to the audience masterfully. John Cassavetes plays Guy, whose performance and chemistry with Farrow's Rosemary are spot on. Ruth Gordon plays the elderly but lively, nosey but harmless, homey looking Minnie Castevet living with here husband next door. A performance that won Gordon the Best Supporting Actress Oscar and rightly so.

Overall, Rosemary's Baby is a classic horror film that successfully manages to get under your skin. I recommend this film to anybody, horror fan or not. It's one of those movies everyone should at least watch once. It's a cliche to say, but they don't make them like this anymore.