Blog Monster Movie Monday: Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) 
Starring: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, and Sidney Blackmer
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Written by: Ira Levin (novel) and Roman Polanski (screenplay)
Production Company: William Castle Productions
Starring: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, and Sidney Blackmer
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Written by: Ira Levin (novel) and Roman Polanski (screenplay)
Production Company: William Castle Productions
Rosemary’s Baby is considered one of the greatest horror films of all time. I certainly can’t disagree, though I have to admit it’s not my preferred type of horror film. It feels almost more like a psychological thriller than a horror film. I mean, where are the shocks, the gore, the killings?
What do you have? You have the Woodhouses who have just moved into a new apartment building. Like many residences that have been around for a while, The Bramford has a collection of weird occurrences in its past…but all coincidences, right?
Every film where the apartment complex plays a major role, you’ve got strange neighbors, and the Woodhouse’s neighbors, the Castavets, certainly fill that roll. They seem nice enough. An older couple which is a little more intrusive than the Woodhouses feel comfortable with, but nice enough. But soon, Guy can’t seem to get enough of them. Rosemary, on the other hand, is uncomfortable with their seemingly constant presence, especially after she finds out she’s pregnant. But when Minnie recommends a better gynecologist than the one she’s going to, she agrees to change. When the new doctor recommends she stop taking prenatal vitamins and start drinking an herbal drink made by Minnie, she agrees.
Things turn from pleasant, if not a touch annoying, to panicky as Rosemary’s pregnancy progresses. She has a constant pain. She’s losing weight, not gaining weight. She’s pale. Her doctor just keeps telling her these things will pass, but they don’t. Rosemary wants to see her old doctor for a second opinion, but Guy and the Castavets insist it would be a waste. But when friends tell her that the pain, the weight loss, these things aren’t normal…Then the fear begins, even when the pain suddenly stops…We know it’s not normal.
Polanski’s film doesn’t need shocks and gore to scare us, and had he gone that route, it would have taken away from the mood and tone. Polanski paces his creepy moments and weird events carefully to keep us from really thinking it’s just a drama. Guy gets an acting job after another actor suddenly goes blind. Rosemary’s original doctor oddly falls into a coma and dies. A young woman who was living with the Castavets jumps to her death. We’re not hit with these events all at once, as is often done, but spaced and timed allowing us to relax and forget that things aren’t quite right. In fact, it’s easy to forget how Rosemary got pregnant…the strange dream of being raped by an inhuman thing.
Polanski’s film isn’t about shocks and gore. It’s about finding yourself surrounded by people you can’t trust at one of the most vulnerable times of a woman’s life. From the opening creepy lullaby to the climactic ending, Polanski builds the suspense, the fear, and the dread steadily and realistically. It really is a great film…as long as you know what you’re expecting.
What do you have? You have the Woodhouses who have just moved into a new apartment building. Like many residences that have been around for a while, The Bramford has a collection of weird occurrences in its past…but all coincidences, right?
Every film where the apartment complex plays a major role, you’ve got strange neighbors, and the Woodhouse’s neighbors, the Castavets, certainly fill that roll. They seem nice enough. An older couple which is a little more intrusive than the Woodhouses feel comfortable with, but nice enough. But soon, Guy can’t seem to get enough of them. Rosemary, on the other hand, is uncomfortable with their seemingly constant presence, especially after she finds out she’s pregnant. But when Minnie recommends a better gynecologist than the one she’s going to, she agrees to change. When the new doctor recommends she stop taking prenatal vitamins and start drinking an herbal drink made by Minnie, she agrees.
Things turn from pleasant, if not a touch annoying, to panicky as Rosemary’s pregnancy progresses. She has a constant pain. She’s losing weight, not gaining weight. She’s pale. Her doctor just keeps telling her these things will pass, but they don’t. Rosemary wants to see her old doctor for a second opinion, but Guy and the Castavets insist it would be a waste. But when friends tell her that the pain, the weight loss, these things aren’t normal…Then the fear begins, even when the pain suddenly stops…We know it’s not normal.
Polanski’s film doesn’t need shocks and gore to scare us, and had he gone that route, it would have taken away from the mood and tone. Polanski paces his creepy moments and weird events carefully to keep us from really thinking it’s just a drama. Guy gets an acting job after another actor suddenly goes blind. Rosemary’s original doctor oddly falls into a coma and dies. A young woman who was living with the Castavets jumps to her death. We’re not hit with these events all at once, as is often done, but spaced and timed allowing us to relax and forget that things aren’t quite right. In fact, it’s easy to forget how Rosemary got pregnant…the strange dream of being raped by an inhuman thing.
Polanski’s film isn’t about shocks and gore. It’s about finding yourself surrounded by people you can’t trust at one of the most vulnerable times of a woman’s life. From the opening creepy lullaby to the climactic ending, Polanski builds the suspense, the fear, and the dread steadily and realistically. It really is a great film…as long as you know what you’re expecting.
posted by Bodog at 12:20 AM
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