Review of Rosemary's Baby (1968) by Kevin D — 14 Oct 2010

Rosemary's Baby is not so much of a "nightmare causing" horror film. In reality this is a domestic character study that doubles as a thriller/mystery film that delves into horror movie themes. At times, this film can be quite disturbing and squirm inducing, but the reason for that is not because of gore or monsters. This movie went the Jaws route and declined to show any monsters. The reason why this movie was so effective, and horror movie directors and writers should take note here, because this is important, is because the characters were so well-developed and the movie was presented in a realistic fashion.

If you watched the first hour or so of this movie and had no idea it was the infamous Rosemary's Baby, you would have no idea that it was a horror film. The first hour of Rosemary's Baby gave exposition and introduced the audience to very interesting characters. This film's screenplay is one of the greatest adapted screenplays of all time. I can't remember seeing a better written film since Inglourious Basterds, In Bruges, and Network. The dialogue in this movie runs as smooth as anything in a Broadway play.

In addition, the characters were great and I got to know them all: Rosemary, a young woman that wants to have a family and is also annoyed, yet charmed by her neighbors. Rosemary's husband, Guy, who is an up and coming actor that is infatuated with his neighbors. Then there are the aforementioned neighbors: Minnie and Roman Castevet. Minnie was played by Ruth Gordon (Harold and Maude) in an Oscar winning role. Minnie was an intrusive, yet caring and charming neighbor of the title character and her husband. Roman was Minnie's husband. Roman was a great story teller and his character claimed he had been to nearly every city worth going to. Those were four great characters in this movie and I haven't even got to Hutch or the doctor yet.

The first hour of this movie could have easily worked as its own movie: a young married couple trying to settle into a new home. The plot thickens when conspiracy and witchcraft enter the plot. What follows is an effective and mind bending thriller not to be forgotten. Like a lot of the classic horror films (Psycho, Night of the Living Dead, Dracula) this movie places an importance on story and characters above all else. That factor makes the raw emotion of horror come into effect.

This movie is not really scary as most people claim it to be, but I like what it is: great dialogue, skilled actors portraying well thought out characters, and a director/child rapist (Roman Polanski) at the top of his game. This was an old school movie done to perfection and its effects making a lasting impact because the movie feels so realistic that after a while the implausible starts becoming plausible. This was a thoroughly rewarding movie experience.