Review of Rosemary's Baby (1968) by Daniel S — 16 Oct 2011

I knew next to nothing about Rosemaryâ(TM)s Baby going into it, but I knew it was acclaimed for its haunting atmosphere. While it does still have that, the film feels a little dated.

A young couple move into a new apartment (and they arenâ(TM)t afraid of its unpleasant history of deaths) to bring up a family. At first they are a regular man and wife settling in, but when Rosemary becomes pregnant their eccentric and nosy old neighbours seem to take a great deal of interest.

The film has a strong, unsettling atmosphere running throughout - and religious messages that surely shook audiences back in the 60s - a lot of this is due to the filmâ(TM)s exceptional ambiguity. Everything is from Rosemaryâ(TM)s perspective, making for anxieties to either be real or part of her own delusions. Mia Farrow certainly puts her heart and soul into the part.

As for the rest of the cast⦠I am not so certain. While they perhaps have the hardest role to sell, its pretty obvious what is going on, and while the lack of actual scares empowers the ambiguity (and is welcome!) the other characters behave so oddly that something has to be wrong. I certainly couldnâ(TM)t bear the old neighbours for more than a few minutes, let alone most of the film!

The ending felt a little unsatisfying. I imagine it was done for controversy sake, but for me I felt it should have ended differently.

It is a very slow, very atmospheric film about an anxious mother-to-be, who finds everyone around her to be against her and her baby. Guaranteed to scare the wits out of any other mother-to-be! For me⦠it was a little too surreal, a little too slow starting.