Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Classic supernatural fare from director Roman Polanski, jumpstarting the whole “Son of Satan” sub genre that was so prevalent in the 1970’s, what with films like “The Omen”, “It’s Alive”, etc. For a film that’s nearly 40 years old, “Rosemary’s Baby” has held up terrifically through the years and remains a stunning and creepy cinematic excursion into the world of the occult and neurotic pregnant women. Blech.

A recently married young couple, Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and her unemployed actor hubby Guy (a shifty John Cassavetes), have just moved into a new apartment building with a rather sordid history. As told from a mutual friend, the couple’s new home has hosted everything from suicides, baby eating tenants, witches, and other niceties during its long tenure. Unafraid, the couple proceed ahead and become quite friendly with many of their neighbors, including a nosy old couple with whom hubby Guy has become overly friendly with. You see, shock of shocks, the old couple and many of the surrounding tenants are honest to gosh Satanists, promising Guy a successful acting career if he will join the Satanic League and allow Old Scratch himself to impregnate his wife. Sound like a good deal? Well…

“Rosemary’s Baby” works on such an underlying and hypnotic level that, at times, it hardly feels like a horror film. Polanski injects a nice combination of creepy subliminal imagery (Rosemary’s fevered dreams, the “rape” sequence) along with the realistic terrors and responsibilities of a young couple, such as marriage, work, and of course, an incoming Son of Satan. Besides all the “devil baby” shenanigans, the film could also be interpreted as a classic paranoia film, as perhaps everything really is taking place in Rosemary’s mind and not in the obvious way. What’s interesting here on this theory is say, for instance, if this happened to yourself in real life you would believe in the “breakdown’ angle, but when you are watching the movie as fantasy, you would believe in the supernatural angle. Hmmm. What’s even more impressive about “Rosemary’s Baby” is how Polanski created such a creepy flick without the use of special effects or utilizing the standard genre clichés. This baby’s vibe all comes from the top-notch acting and the way it was filmed. “Rosemary’s Baby” is classic and classy horror that comes highly recommended.