One of the most shocking films of the "New Hollywood" era of films, Rosemary's Baby uses a sense of unease and fear brilliantly. It's unique style and pacing builds the film to its brilliant finale.
The film follows Rosemary Wood and her husband Guy who works as an actor in New York. They both move into a new apartment and begin associating with their elderly neighbors The Castevets. As Guy's career begins to take off, Rosemary becomes pregnant. But as time goes on with her pregnancy she begins to think that Guy and the Castevets have a dark secret regarding her unborn child.
What Makes Rosemary's Baby stand out among other horror films is its use of building the tension and not showing the true horror until the end. The film proceeds without anything outlandish, but some subtle scenes and events tell you that something is wrong. This is done in a series of tragic events throughout the film. Guy's career takes off only when a fellow actor suddenly wakes up blind allowing Guy to take the part. Rosemary and Guy's former landlord falls into a coma and dies before he can tell Rosemary of his findings regarding The Castevets. The most disturbing instance of this is during a night when Guy and Rosemary try to conceive a baby she falls into a state of half-sleep and seems to have a nightmare where a demon-like figure rapes her.
Mia Farrow's performance as the titular Rosemary is what really sells this approach to the film. She does an excellent job of selling the role of a victim of unforeseen circumstances. As Rosemary becomes pregnant, she begins to lose weight, her skin becomes chalk white, and she begins experiencing abdominal pain. You really feel for her in these scenes because of Farrow's talents on display here.
Another terrifying thing about the film is how Writer/Director Roman Polinski uses normalcy to scare us. Throughout most of the film's runtime, everything feels like something you see every day, including The Devil worshipping Castevetes. They and their associates seem like average people you pay no attention to. But that's what makes it horrifying, the idea of these neighbors that you see every day being into these dark things is a disturbing thought.
Rosemary's Baby over 50 years later still packs a punch and stands as a staple of the horror genre and has continued to inspire modern filmmakers today.
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