Rosemary's Baby (1968) User Reviews

A Veneer Of Normalcy

[Lechuguilla · 9/10 · 25 November 2007]

It starts off like one of those 1950's Doris Day movies. Young, idealistic Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and new hubby Guy (John Cassavetes) move into a Manhattan apartment building called the "Bramford". Throughout most of the film we, as viewers, see and hear what innocent Rosemary sees and hears. There's a veneer of normalcy at the Bramford that belies what's really going on, behind our backs. It's the script's POV, therefore, that makes this film so chilling.

At the Bramford, which has quite a colorful history, you can hear through the walls. And, as Rosemary and we viewers soon find out, strange people lurk in other parts of the building. The strangest of all are Roman and Minnie Castevet (Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon), superficially cordial, but a bit too inquisitive. Roman is retired. His wife, Minnie, wears tons of makeup and pawnshop jewelry, and gushes with praise for herbal cures, especially something called tannis-root. And Minnie's friend Laura-Louise (Patsy Kelly) wears thick glasses that make her eyes seem to bulge, and she talks with a strangely deep voice.

"Rosemary's Baby" is one of the great thrillers of all time. Given the underlying subject matter, can you imagine how this film must have come across to viewers in 1968? The strength of the film is the script, which through its plot and dialogue implies and suggests. Not until near the end do we, like Rosemary, find out the presumed truth. Suspense increases toward the end as Rosemary ventures into the inner sanctum of the Bramford.

The film's acting is great, and reinforces the strong script. I particularly liked Ruth Gordon, with her delightfully eccentric behavior and mannerisms. Production design and especially costumes are lavish and colorful. Clothes and hairstyles, as you would expect, are very 1960ish. Visual effects are minimal, and are used to enhance the story, not be the story.

Given the film's POV, the story is rather subjective. Its interpretation is based on Rosemary's perceptions, images, and fears. One could explain that Rosemary suffers from delusions. Or, alternately, one could explain that what happens is real. It's all in the interpretation. Either way, it's a great movie. It holds up well, forty years later, a tribute to its writer and director, Roman Polanski.

An atmosphere like no other.

[Rockwell_Cronenberg · 8/10 · 31 October 2011]

This is how horror films need to be made. Aside from The House of the Devil (a beautiful throwback to this period of the genre) there aren't any films that can so perfectly create this kind of a chilling atmosphere that keeps your skin tingling from start to finish. From the haunting echo of Mia Farrow's voice eerily leading us in, Rosemary's Baby immediately absorbs you into it's world and never lets you out. That's the perfect word for this; absorbing. Roman Polanski is one of cinema's finest directors and what makes him stand as such is how perfectly he can create an atmosphere. Even in his few failures he crafts a unique and full atmosphere that is expertly made for the film he's creating. He's one of the few directors who always know what he's doing and always creates a complete vision that never wavers. That's on display in spades in Rosemary's Baby, a film that drives mystery, supernatural paranoia and the fears of any pregnant woman into the heart of the viewer. With the help of a revelatory performance in terror from Farrow, Polanski creates a truly perfect film.

"Awful things happen in every apartment house"

[Steffi_P · 9/10 · 26 November 2006]

Rosemary's Baby was originally proposed as a project to Alfred Hitchcock. He turned it down, and instead it fell to the up-and-coming Polish director Roman Polanski. It's hard to imagine what the master of suspense would have made out of this tale of devil worship and Catholic guilt, even though there is some Hitchockian psychology and mystery at work. As it was however, it proved to be right up the young Polanski's street, taking his career to new heights, and spawning a run of occult horrors in the late 60s and early 70s, of which this is still one of the few greats.

Polanski had already established himself as a director most comfortable with the confinement of interiors in films like Repulsion (1965). Here he draws us right into the claustrophobic feel of the upstairs apartment, often placing the camera in a room adjacent to the action, with the characters viewed through a doorway. The camera movement is mostly restricted to pans. It rarely tracks or dollys, as if it were trapped in a corner. Even in the exterior scenes the sky is often sandwiched or blotted out altogether between the buildings rising on either side. The actors often appear uncomfortably close to the camera, but not in individual close-up shots. Instead, they come in that close as they move around the set and the camera pans back and forth. Not only does this add to the cramped, awkward atmosphere, but this constantly changing distancing of actors within a single shots makes the audience feel as if they are actually standing there.

Rosemary's Baby may come across as very slow to some viewers. 140 minutes certainly is a long time in the horror genre. There do also appear to be a lot of unnecessary details in the dialogue – we get to find out far more about Rosemary's background than is normal for a character in cinema. But for one thing, Polanski was not interested in making a shock-and-gore horror – Rosemary's Baby is all about the eerie atmosphere, the tension and the mystery. He holds our attention by regularly dropping in clues that something sinister is afoot. Furthermore, all the detail and depth has its significance in the finished product – like the references to Rosemary's Catholic upbringing or the background of the Castavets.

Polanski has never overused flashy techniques – no fast editing, zooms or unusual angles that make for a very obvious directorial style. But there is always great complexity and meaning in the look of things – the set design, lighting, costume and so on. One of my favourite touches is Mia Farrow's extremely short Vidal Sassoon hairdo that she has done halfway through the film. With her bony features and pale skin she more and more begins to resemble a skeleton, especially under the carefully placed lighting in the scene after the party when she realises the pain has gone. It's simple yet significant ideas like that which make Polanski one of the best directors of his era.

There's some great casting in this picture. Careful choice of character actors makes for some quirky supporting roles. Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes are perfect in the lead roles. The musical score – that haunting opening melody, or the atonal violin squeaks – all add to the atmosphere.

Rosemary's Baby is a real landmark in horror. It helped keep the genre alive by pushing the occult - something fairly taboo, and not fully explored in cinema since the days of silents - to the fore. Also the restrained atmospheric horror was doubtless influential, particularly on Kubrick when he came to make The Shining. It inspired a lot, but was rarely bettered.

Psychological Horror at its very best

[RWiggum · 10/10 · 2 July 2003]

One might argue Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby is not a horror film, since it lacks almost everything you'll find in almost all of them: shock moments, vampires, werewolf, serial killers, even blood. The most graphic scene is a nightmare sequence that displays a rape scene so stylized it isn't actually disturbing. But one might also argue that Rosemary's Baby is a horror film in its purest form, since it doesn't depend on all those gimmicks to create its atmosphere. I prefer the latter point of view.

So what is happening in this film? Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse move to a new apartment. Their neighbors are Roman and Minnie Castevet, an elderly couple. Although they are very friendly, there is something strange about them - the sounds that come from their apartment, the fact they remove all the pictures from their walls when the Woodhouses visit and other things like that. While Rosemary tries to keep a certain distance from them, Guy is very fond of the relationship to his new neighbors, and especially Minnie becomes more and more obtrusive, especially when Rosemary finds out she's pregnant - she recommends her another (better, as she says) gynecologist's and mixes a (healthy, as she says) herbal drink for her every day.

The pregnancy, however, develops rather unpleasant: Rosemary keeps feeling pain in her stomach and she becomes thinner (Pregnant women are supposed to gain, not lose weight, a visiting friend observes), and when the pain doesn't stop after several months, she begins to believe that her neighbors, her gynecologist's and even her husband conspired against her and want to harm the baby she's carrying.

All this is told by Roman Polanski in the perfect tone; the mood for the entire film is already set during the opening credits when we hear that weird lullaby, sung by Mia Farrow. And a lot of strange things happen throughout the entire film: Guy and Rosemary are told by Hutch, a friend of theirs, about the horrific past of the house they're now living in, a young girl that lives with the Castevets commits suicide (really a suicide?), Guy, an actor, gets the role he wanted so badly after the contestant who was originally supposed to play it turns blind, and Hutch, who might have found something out that would help Rosemary, suddenly is in a coma and dies three months later; all these (and a few other) events are precisely dosed by Polanski to draw us more and more into the film, while he makes sure on the other hand that the film doesn't become absurd. And he manages to give the film an ending that works, makes sense and is observant, slightly (but only slightly) funny and very disturbing, all at once.

Rosemary's Baby also contains two of the most memorable performances ever: Mia Farrow is haunting as Rosemary Woodhouse. She looks like she is physically suffering from her pregnancy and close to complete despair. And Ruth Gordon is amazing as the curious Minnie Castevet, always friendly, but also giving you the feeling that, hidden behind her generosity, she actually follows her own, obscure motives. If you have a helpful elderly female neighbor, you'll see her with other eyes once you've encountered Minnie Castevet. So, if you think a real horror film needs shock moments, vampires, werewolf, serial killers or at least blood - watch Rosemary's Baby and you'll change your mind.

One of the ultimate horror classics

[Vince-5 · 2 May 2001]

Every bit of acclaim that Rosemary's Baby has earned is totally deserved. The Dakota, located at 72nd and Central Park West, is the perfect setting for the demonic events; all that rich Gothic detail in the heart of Manhattan provides the perfect atmosphere, serving as a dark fairy-tale world of its own within the modern setting. Roman Polanski knows this and utilizes it brilliantly, opening the film with stunning aerial shots of the skyline and focusing in on the ornate castle amongst the skyscrapers and tenements.

The acting is fantastic, particularly Mia Farrow, who is the only person I can envision as Rosemary. Her fine-boned fragility makes her the ideal target for terror. She goes from obliviousness to suspicion to fear to near madness without showing a seam, and we as the audience are with her all the way. And Mia is given a run for her money by the delightful Ruth Gordon, a comical yet sinister presence popping in on a deliberate schedule with pale green drinks and sandpapery advice. She's scary because we know her--a batty old broad with a seemingly sweet nature beneath her caustic surface. That such a person could possibly be a vessel of evil is a thoroughly unnerving concept.

Unnerving is the proper adjective for the entire movie. Unnerving, eerie, and penetratingly frightening in a very subtle manner. The subtlety is key, since a more explicit treatment would've spoiled everything. As the tension heightens, we feel what Rosemary feels: Curiosity, then vague suspicion, then paralyzing terror at the final revelation. At all times, the movie retains its dignity, from the opening and closing shots of the building to the flourishing title script to the beautiful music. Even on TV, this picture can chill you to the bone. The best big-budget horror movie of all time.

Polanski's Baby

[marcosaguado · 10/10 · 13 March 2004]

When people talk about perfect films I don't actually know what they mean. Perfect for whom? Perfect compared to what? I think that perfection is in the brain and heart of the beholder. "Rosemary's baby" is a perfect film to me. Scary in a way that makes you breathless. You're thinking and feeling throughout the film. One of the many sides of Polanski's genius is to suggest. And what he suggest is so monstrous that we don't want to believe it, but we do. The characters are so perfectly drawn that there is no cheating involved. John Cassavettes's superb study in selfishness and egomaniacal frustration is so real that comes to no surprise that he could do what he does to advance his career, but we are surprised, we're horrified. The spectacular Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer are not Deborah Kerr and David Niven, are they? So that they turn out to be what they turn out to be is totally believable, but Polanski presents it in such a light of normality that you can't believe it. Mia Farrow's predicament is as classic as the boy who cried wolf tale and yet, as told by Roman Polanski in the wonderful face of Mia Farrow, is as if we're hearing it, seeing it and living it for the first time. Every silence, every voice in the distance, every door opening. Your heart is always in your throat. There is something there that accelerates a constant state of dread. Very few movies have been able to take me to that place, most of them by Roman Polanski, what about "The Tenant" or "Repulsion"? Other movies that come to mind: David Lynch's "Eraserhead" and Martin Donovan's "Apartment Zero" But "Rosemary's baby" stands alone as a terrifying masterpiece.

Flawless Horror Masterpiece

[alvinatth · 10/10 · 4 September 2007]

Rosemary, in Mia Farrow's performance, is so immediately recognizable that everything that happens to her, happens to us. Her explanation to Dr Hill (Charles Grodin) about the absurdity she's at the center of, is so brilliantly written that she becomes more than just one of us, she becomes us in all the depth of our unspoken fears. To see this film in 2007 is really amazing. Perfection! And that for our benefit. Polanski is not one of those directors who concocts camera tricks to feed his own ego. Everything is at the service of the story. John Cassavettes is a scarily convincing weakling with an ambition bigger than his talent. Ruth Gordon got, what I, in my modest opinion, consider one of the most deserving Oscars in the history of the Oscars. Her performance is beyond superb. Okay, I'm running out of superlatives but let me finish with one more...Roman Polanski is the greatest.

Reassuring to fine it's every bit as good as its staunchest champions would have you believe

[Spleen · 10/10 · 21 April 2001]

Why aren't the horror directors of today as careful with their scripts as Polanski was? Not that this is really horror. Horror as we know it came into being with the slasher flicks of the late 1970s and early 1980s; "Rosemary's Baby" is rather the kind of thing that the term "dark fantasy" was coined to describe, by people of taste who noticed that the word "horror" promised audiences something distinctly unpleasant and nasty.

The film's construction is marvellous. Things start slow - one beat, so to speak, to a bar - and gradually pick up speed so that by the end we are nervously tapping out semiquavers with our feet. Polanski also understands the gentle art of hint-dropping. Many events are filed away as tiny puzzles to be solved later, and they ARE solved later; others we don't attach any particular significance to at the time Polanski invites us to re-interpret in retrospect, AND chooses the right moment to let us do so. And then, at the end, AFTER we've worked everything out, he presents us with a surprise - a delightful, gratuitous twist which nothing had prepared us for, which we couldn't have guessed, yet which doesn't cancel out the story as we'd understood it. (Alas, many people know what this surprise is in advance. I, for one. Yet this foreknowledge did nothing to spoil my enjoyment: a sure sign of superb construction.)

All in all, a film that tempts you to rank it with the best ever made - which is more, but not much more, than it deserves - simply because it's perfect. Everything went right. Rosemary is a wonderfully sympathetic heroine, powerless without being passive, largely ignorant of what's going on around her without being at all stupid, and Mia Farrow makes you care deeply about her. The cinematography is pellucid; the art direction is subtly right; there's also a fine, odd yet tuneful, musical score. I can't believe I waited so long to see this.

Not The Classic "Horror" Movie You Might Expect - More Of A Psychological Mystery

[sddavis63 · 7/10 · 29 September 2018]

This movie is a classic, and 50 years old, and yet strangely enough I had never watched it until now. And, to be honest, it wasn't really what I was expecting it to be. I had the impression that "Rosemary's Baby" was more of a straight horror/thriller type of movie. Instead what I found was more of a suspense/mystery type of story. I didn't find there to be anything particularly frightening in it. It was more mysterious, and for me the question hanging over the whole story was whether any of what Rosemary came to believe was real or if it was just a figment of her imagination. I'll give credit to Roman Polanski, who both directed this and wrote the screenplay - there are plenty of scenes and events in this movie that add to that uncertainty. Things happened or would be said that maybe at first seemed innocent, but as they added up I could see how they began to appear suspicious to Rosemary. But there's also enough going on that causes you to think - "No - this is just Rosemary's imagination going wild." So, although I have to confess that at first I was struggling with this just a bit (probably because it was so unlike what I was expecting) after a while I became quite fixed on the story. Once you're into it (even if you have to struggle a bit with the beginning) you have to see it through to the end. And I will say this about the ending (which I won't give away) - I don't think the resolution was as clear as some make it out to be. I was still left thinking that what was happening could be real - or maybe was still in Rosemary's mind. If I could hazard a guess I'd say that the intent was that what Rosemary believed turned out to be true, but it just wasn't crystal clear to me.

I had mixed reactions to the performances in this. No one really came across to me as outstanding - this in spite of the fact that Ruth Gordon won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Minnie Castevet - Rosemary and Guy's annoying neighbour. I truly did find the character annoying - which perhaps does say that Gordon pulled off the part perfectly, but my reaction to the character perhaps clouded my appreciation of Gordon's performance. I would say that if you wanted to make a movie that in some way features Satan, you could do worse than simply have a young couple move in to a new place who then have to put up with Minnie and Roman as their neighbours. "Neighbours From Hell" you could call it, even without a supernatural angle! As for Mia Farrow as Rosemary - she grew on me over the course of the picture. At first she seemed a bit wooden for lack of a better word, but I thought she did a good job of portraying Rosemary's "evolution" as she begins to suspect that something evil was going on.

This was OK. Once I adjusted my expectations of it - after realizing that it wasn't going to be the traditional horror movie I was expecting - it managed to draw me in. I would say that I think it's perhaps a little bit over-rated, and if you are looking for a traditional horror/thriller type of movie, this is going to be a disappointment. It doesn't have many traditional frights involved with it and it's a little bit slow paced at times. It's a psychological thriller at best; more akin to a mystery than anything. As long as you keep that in mind, it's enjoyable enough. But don't expect to be scared out of your wits, or even to jump or be particularly startled by anything. (7/10)

Hauntingly beautiful

[Iwona2403 · 10/10 · 16 February 2021]

This one stays as part of you for a long time after you watch it. Every detail of this movie is so beautifully portrayed. It is not scary , it's creepy as hell.. But so enjoyable .. And every time you catch it on tv again you'll enjoy it again and again... and you will find some new details you missed the previous time. It is very intelligent, very deep, very dark, but also kinda feels hypnotizing. I just love it! Absolutely love it no matter how sick it is. If you like psychological movies, not fast paced, this one is for you.

Reading the book right before watching the movie ruined it for me

[gabethurau · 6/10 · 25 October 2019]

The book was entertaining. I enjoyed almost every page. But as is sometimes the case, the characters I imagined in the book were nothing like those that were cast. I thought everyone was terrible for their roles besides Mia.

There were a couple of brilliant sequences (I don't say that lightly), but for the most part this movie has not aged well. I didn't go into it expecting to be creeped out or scared, but I expected there to be a little more atmospheric creepiness.

The basement was well-lit and not intimidating. The satanists were laughable. The dialogue felt rushed and unnatural for 80% of the movie. I don't know, I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I'd suggest just reading the book instead.

I give it 6 stars just for Mia Farrow and some of the sequences throughout.

A Landmark Horror film

[haristas · 10/10 · 1 November 2002]

"Rosemary's Baby" is one of the best horror films ever made. This isn't because it's going to scare the pants off you with a series of sensational jolts. This isn't the shallow, gimmicky kind of horror movie we mostly get these days, and it isn't the traditional old-fashioned horror film of an earlier era. This is a movie that came out during a period of transition in Hollywood. The old production codes were breaking down and films could suddenly be more true to life in the way they showed how people really lived, acted and talked. 1968s "Rosemary's Baby" is a more sophisticated, less elegant thriller of the kind that Alfred Hitchcock patented, but it displays much more class and intelligence than the horror movies that would come out in its wake. Popular '70s films such as "The Exorcist" and "The Omen" are the prodigy of "Rosemary's Baby," but offer far less nuance and much greater vulgarity. What we get here is a more naturalistic depiction of modern life, but without the crassness that would soon explode into American cinema.

Most of the credit for what makes "Rosemary's Baby" such a successful film goes to Roman Polanski. Polanski is a master at conveying to an audience not just a sense of the uncanny but a vivid depiction of it. His earlier films like "Knife in the Water," "Repulsion" and "Dance of the Vampires," display the talents that would come to such a controlled mastery in "Rosemary's Baby."

Polanski very faithfully adapts Ira Levin's novel to the screen so that the viewer is, just as the reader was, free to interpret the eerie events of the story as either reality or a depiction of an isolated woman's decent into madness. At the same time the picture can be taken as a black joke on the human male's fears of the changes a woman goes through during pregnancy, both physically and emotionally. But Polanski seems most interested in presenting a normal world, in this case Manhattan in the mid 1960s, and then through subtle cinematic techniques get an audience to actually believe that the hysterical, fantastic ravings of the heroine could be true. It is this tour de force exercise in suspension of disbelief that makes the film a classic. The horror films that have come since have had to ratchet up the shock effects in order to thrill more desensitized audiences, but this deliberately paced film reminds us of how much better it is to leave things to the imagination of the viewer. That is where films really come alive and remain so.

The Paramount DVD presents an excellent print of the movie that looks as if it were shot yesterday, along with extras that include new interviews with Polanski, executive producer Bob Evans and production designer Richard Sylbert, and a featurette from the time of the film's original release that really works as a good time capsule.

rosemary's baby

[incentive_girl · 7/10 · 11 May 2011]

When I started to watch Rosemary's Baby, I thought it was an ordinary baby story. But it was not like that. As soon as you begin to watch, you feel that some mystic things will happen. Rosemary and Guy moved a new apartment where some bad things had happened. They wanted to have a baby.

And also they had a strange neighbors. Two people both of them are old. Rosemary had a good relationship with them. But after a while Rosemary learned that she had a baby. She had a good doctor. But their strange neighbor suggest them a new doctor. Guy relied on them so he accepted this suggestion. After these things, Rosemary started to have strange dreams. Everything begins with these dreams that she was confused about that. In the end she had a strange baby who was called Satan by her neighbor and also her husband. It was a group that disobey and ignore the God. She wanted to save her baby from these bad people she understood their intention but it was too late. They had already captured her baby.

Actually, the movie includes something mystic and horror. You feel terrible in some spot. I was affected by Rosemary's physical appearance and also her psychology. At some point you feel pity about her due to the fact that she did not look well. And another thing that was affected me is that when rosemary gave birth they put it in a black cradle. Whatever happened, she was a mother. When she saw it in a cradle she was sorry, she shake its cradle even if it was not a normal baby.

Last but not least, nobody believed her and only one person believed her.Truth was much horrific. If you like these kind of movies I mean sometimes you feel horrifying, mercy, sorry, mystic, it would be a good choice. I like its team and cast. They are good at their jobs. I give 7 out of ten. I hope you have a chance to watch it.

Great atmosphere and some chilling imagery but I just didn't find the story all that involving

[jimbo-53-186511 · 4/10 · 15 November 2016]

Married couple Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and Guy Woodhouse (John Cassavetes)move into a New York apartment which has a rather 'unsavoury' history. The Woodhouse's live next door to an elderly couple called Minnie and Roman Castevet (Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer) who are both warm and friendly towards the Woodhouse's. However, Rosemary soon starts to notice strange occurrences which she believes are connected, in one way or another, to the Castevets and when she falls pregnant she becomes convinced that the Castevets have plans of their own for her unborn child.

Roman Polanski has certainly got the 'feel' of this film absolutely spot-on; it is very atmospheric and as I've mentioned in my summary some of the 'chilling' scenes and imagery certainly make some parts of this film memorable, but aside from some of Polanski's impressive technical prowess Rosemary's baby is still not a film that I'm particularly fond of...

The first thing that needs address is the pacing and general narrative; it is a slow film, but rather than being a slow film that I gradually start to enjoy and become involved with it felt more like a film that just dragged on and on. What actually surprised me about this film was how little narrative content there was in this film (considering it runs for over 2 hours). The whole 'satanic' and 'witchcraft' plots are totally undercooked and Polanski offers us little insight into the strange neighbours until we reach the final scenes in the film.

The film certainly has a bit of a creepy feel to it and Polanski sets the creepy neighbours up wonderfully, but with little development this starts to become a bit gimmicky and with little development many of their scenes start to feel repetitive. Their darker side comes to the fore towards the end, but the impact that this has on the picture is tainted slightly in these final moments by an over-the-top and rather laughable performance from Sidney Blackmer which felt too theatrical to be entirely convincing. Mia Farrow and Ruth Gordon gave the best performances with the former being very good.

Polanski showcases some impressive directorial touches with some wonderful atmosphere and chilling imagery which made some aspects of the film linger in my memory. Sadly, I just didn't find the story that involving and felt that both the story and the characters weren't developed enough to hold my interest. Some of the performances are good and it's a pretty impressive from a technical perspective, but, in my book, Rosemary's baby is merely a partial success.

Rosemary's Fight

[Chrysanthepop · 2 March 2009]

Polanski successfully sets the tone right from the beginning as the strange and somewhat scary lullaby plays as the opening credits appear. In the background we see Rosemary's neighborhood while the focus is on her window. This tone is maintained throughout the entire film. The film is quite well executed. Polanski creates a gloomy, isolated and chilling mood. 'Rosemary's Baby' is a horror film but unlike most movies of this genre, this one is very subtle and is more dependent on the atmosphere rather than the 'horror creatures'. It is only in the excellently executed nightmare sequence, which is comprised of fragments of scenes, that one witnesses something 'out of the ordinary'. I was initially dissatisfied by the ending but after some thought, I couldn't think of a better more effective conclusion. The ending itself is so spine-chilling and makes the movie experience more horrifying. The haunting lullaby replays in the end capturing that moment of horror like a photographic memory. The cast does a fine job though clearly this is Farrow's film. Mia Farrow is spellbinding. The way she captures Rosemary's kindness, agony, anguish, fragility and courage is noteworthy. She is simply amazing to watch. I can understand why it is still so popular after 40 years. There has been hardly anything else like it.

The Horror Underneath a Pregnant Woman's Belly.

[nycritic · 10/10 · 13 March 2005]

Pregnancy is the time in a woman's life that, despite the hormone imbalance and the emotional changes, is charged in an overwhelming among of love and support and the notion that she is slowly gestating a human life, male or female, a child that will bring her (and her family) happiness. Motherhood has been depicted as beautiful, symbolic, Woman being Creation in progress in ancient cultures, a Thing to venerate and respect and even worship, Something capable of ensuring the continuation of a family line, a tradition, and hence, life and culture for an entire strata of society. Nothing is supposed to go wrong, or at least, not at the level of what happens to Rosemary Woodhouse's pregnancy, which is the ultimate wrong thing.

What Ira Levin seems to want to tell us in this "plot" surrounding Rosemary's pregnancy is that society and its religious tradition can be substituted by something much more sinister, as-yet unseen but gestant -- the force of will, the creation of Man's own version of what he believes will be the new wave of humanity. Is God dead? Well, considering the timing of the novel and the movie with society's disillusionment with Establishment, the onset of Vietnam, the loss of innocence of a country just years ago with the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, He just as well may be. Religion and religious figures pop up during the movie, but seem unable to bring any comfort and only add to the vague sense of unease that permeates ROSEMARY'S BABY.

And this nagging unease is precisely what both author and director give us: something not quite, completely there, something that seems to be happening just off-limits, barely overheard through the flimsy walls which divide these prewar apartment buildings converted into chic, livable spaces. The way the banal elements that are so much a part of our lives are overthrown so subtly makes the horror that is the movie's denouement even more tragic. Surely the nice neighbors can't be more than just that -- they're so helpful... well, maybe a little too helpful. Surely the death of that girl Rosemary befriends was just a freak suicide. Surely the doctor's recommendations for Rosemary are the best -- don't doctor's always know what's good for us? And surely, one's own partner would not have done the unthinkable in order to advance professionally now, would he?

Paranoia of the unseen is a powerful way to tell a horror story without ever giving away any shock cuts or showing the boogeyman. While it becomes abundantly clear early on that this is a story of witchcraft of the worst kind, the only time some of it makes its way in front of the camera is in the extremely stylized ritual/rape scene, and even then, since Rosemary is having what might be the worst nightmare of her life, one isn't quite sure of what is happening, and of course, in the end, when all is revealed in a comic yet horrific way. That takes skill in a storyteller and what makes ROSEMARY'S BABY so completely disturbing even now, almost forty years from its release unto the public. Also the fact that it never relies on a twist ending so common today but on the nuanced performance of the actors portraying real urbanites enhances: from Mia Farrow who carries the movie and even at the end retains a resigned innocence to her fate once her suspicions are facts to John Cassavettes who plays his part slimy straight, and supporting actors Ruth Gordon and Sydney Blackmer who have the hard task of making kindly and eccentric hide sinister just underneath. Their performance makes you wonder who exactly are your neighbors, and if they might be harboring some deadly lifestyle, and makes you feel uneasy being alone even in an empty hallway or accepting anyone's offered smoothie.

the best supernatural movie ever made?

[triple8 · 10/10 · 29 April 2004]

I'm not sure about that but Rosemary's baby has got to be one of the best, if not the best, psychological supernatural thrillers ever made. The real test of a good movie(or one of them) is can it hold up to multiple viewings? In this case-oh yes.

I cannot even count how many times I have seen this. A good-really good-"scary movie" must have more then the ability to merely scare, it must have the ability to haunt. Rosemary's baby is a movie where certain scenes become etched in memory. Movie as good as book which is almost a non existent thing.

This is not a slow moving picture at all or at least I don't see it as one. What this movie does, as does another Levin creation, Stepford wives, is lure you in. There maybe moments that are not scary but as it goes on and you keep watching you start to get more and more creeped out-the atmosphere is what does it-even if someone were tuning in and didn't know this story already-the creepy feeling that something's very wrong is still there strongly from the beginning, strengthening in tone as you get deeper into the picture until by the end and the final few scenes your blown away.This is definitely more subtley and atmospherically creepy then a "boo" in your face scare fest like "scream". It is the type of movie you very rarely see anymore.

If anyone, by chance has NOT seen it they are missing someone-I don't recall seeing this in the IMDb top 250-while I'm not sure I'd put it in my top 10, I still think this maybe should be there, in IMDb'S top 250, it's been an influence on so many other movies and so few movies have been able to follow the movie's lead in the same well done way.

An Authentic Classic

[chimera3 · 10/10 · 15 September 2017]

I forget exactly when I saw this movie but I will say this: I was a kid when I saw it, quite literally, maybe 9 or 10. My mom spoke very highly of this movie and actually sat down with me to watch it way back when. She told me a few things here and there while we were watching it but I wanted to see it for myself without absorbing the little hints that she was dropping to me. By the time the movie was done, I wanted to rewind it (yes, I watched it on video tape) and watch it again. It is definitely one of those movies that draws you in and never lets go. Ira Levin (may he rest in peace) knew what he was doing when he wrote the book to this. I highly recommend it to anyone, although it doesn't really matter what order you do it in, whether that's being watching it first and then reading it or reading it first and then watching it. Roman Polanski was a real master at terror and suspense back in the day, especially with this work of art. If you want an authentic horror classic that will beg you to watch it over and over again, pick this. You won't regret it.

Mia deserved the Oscar

[Dar Star · 7/10 · 11 May 2021]

I love Roman Polanski films and while this was not his best, it was interesting throughout. It isn't a horror movie but rather a movie with a sense of dread. Mia Farrow's performance stands out though. She deserved the Best Actress Oscar big time for her performance.

What a film

[petegallows · 10/10 · 1 August 2022]

Haunting, a fair bit claustrophobic, amazing acting on Mia Farrow's part, but the whole cast is great. The old neighbour couple, mainly the woman, is scary as, especially if you know real life "witches" like her in your own life. Oh they will come to your house uninvited and oh they will behave exactly like that.

The theme, the setting, the acting, the music, the characters and their behaviour - I believe it's one of the best movies ever made. I've seen it multiple times and I often seem to forget, that it's from 1968 - that it's "that old". It's just incredibly well made film, a true masterpiece.

Different idea about the film

[jsessa-1 · 7/10 · 31 July 2005]

Actually, after thinking about this movie a bit more, I tend to think that this subject has absolutely nothing to do with Satan or devil worshipers. Repeatedly we are remind that Rosemary's due date is June 28 This date so coincides with the beginning of the First World War that I often wonder if that was what the author of the book had in mind. If there was one day in human history that marked a sudden and irreversible change, I would have to pick June 28, 1914

Suddenly the world powers of the day begin to arm and arm heavily as they prepared to do battle. This marked the up swing in war technologies on an unimaginable scale. Airplanes were introduced, machine-guns, armored vehicles, giant battle ships and of course chemical warfare. Trench warfare and "no man's land", we are reminded through Hollywood and even my own grandfather, was indeed hell on earth. Soon after royal governments ceased to exist as a new idea was born. The Tsar was disposed soon after as well as the Kaiser at the end of the war. This would not be the end of weapon research nor global atrocities on civilian populations. In less than 20 years a new idea blossomed as Fascism took hold of Italy, Germany and Japan. The end results of the Second World War need not be discussed here.

So that is my slant on an otherwise interesting thought provoking film.

Terrifying; a timeless, paranoid classic

[drownsoda90 · 10/10 · 30 August 2007]

"Rosemary's Baby" centers on Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse (Mia Farrow and John Cassavettes), a young couple who move into a New York City apartment building to start their life together. They become entwined with their elderly neighbors, Minnie and Roman Castevet (Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer), an eccentric and friendly couple who are helpful if not a bit intrusive. When Rosemary becomes pregnant, her life soon takes a downward turn toward the demonic.

Maybe one of the greatest stories of betrayal and paranoia to grace the silver screen, this adaptation from Levin's phenomenal novel is done neatly and the transfer to the screen is brilliant. The film, like the book, takes its time, but the slow-going nature gives plenty of room for formidable suspense and atmosphere.

One of the scariest things about "Rosemary's Baby" is the intoxicating effect it has on the viewer. The paranoia, fear, claustrophobia, and foreboding that Rosemary feels channels directly to the audience, and you by proxy experience everything she is experiencing. The first forty-five minutes or so seem fairly conventional, but after that the film goes into a straight downward spiral into madness, and by God do you feel it. There's a consistent sense of something not being quite right, mainly with the neighbors whose motives are questionable behind their friendly facade, and this feeling never dissipates. Within the betrayal are the layers of subjects that make it a horror film- the Satanic society, the occult, strange rituals, the Antichrist, and an overall demonic subtext. The film looks amazing even today, boasting camerawork that is subtle and neat, but shaky and effective when needed. The settings are all truly spooky, and the Dakota is is photographed to its full Gothic effect.

Mia Farrow stars in the performance of her career as the young, naive Rosemary. All she wants is the ideal life with her husband and child, but she is swept into something more terrifying than she could ever imagine. Farrow plays the part precisely and gains plenty of sympathy from the audience. Ruth Gordon won an Oscar for her portrayal of the Woodhouse's nosy neighbor, Minnie. She's friendly and inquisitive, but we know from the start that she has ulterior motives, as well as her husband. John Cassavettes plays Guy excellently, and Sidney Blackmer is great as well as Minnie's odd husband.

As for the ending, it's a shocker, and probably the most memorable thing about the entire movie. It's something that will stick with you and that you can't easily shake, but is ambiguous enough to keep you asking questions.

Overall, "Rosemary's Baby" is a through-and-through classic. While it isn't 'scary' by conventional means, it manages to maintain a subtle, foreboding atmosphere, unnerving the audience to the point of paranoia. The performances are top-notch, and the subject matter is as shuddering as the Castevet's dark, evil intrusion into Rosemary's life. You'll spend an uncomfortable but spellbinding two hours on the edge of your seat. Isn't that what a good horror movie should do? 10/10.

Pray for Rosemary's Baby ...

[Lady_Targaryen · 7/10 · 19 June 2006]

I heard so much about ''Rosemary's Baby'''that I needed to watch to see with my own eyes if the movie was great or not. And to be honest, I didn't find this movie a big deal like many people told me. The plot is interesting, but I find the first 50 minutes of the movie extremely boring, showing Rosemary and her husband Guy in their daily lives, as well as meeting their new neighbors.(I only started to enjoy it when Rosemary starts to read about witchcraft, that is after 1 hour and 20 minutes of movie) Rosemary being so naive all the time is something that annoys me as hell and I missed more tension and horror in the movie.(I thought that it would scare me as hell!)

What I found interesting that I read in the trivia section:

''According to Mia Farrow, the scenes where Rosemary walks in front of traffic were spontaneous and genuine. Roman Polanski is reported to have told her that "nobody will hit a pregnant woman.'' And ''Mia Farrow actually ate raw liver for a scene in the movie.''

Feel let down

[Paul_Sharpe · 5/10 · 7 April 2009]

I was really looking forward to watching this and expecting a slow drip of a horror that builds and builds into a terrifiyng conclusion. I didn't get that. What I got was a the slow drip, the build up was great and little things being added making you constantly guess. The ending however was just plain awful, I really expected something MAJOR to happen to bring this to a close and I was given the very obvious "twist" if you can even call it that. When the music kicked in I was just saying to myself "no no no, this cant be over here, that cant be it!" then the credits rolled on and I'm afraid it was.

This really is a film that lets you down when it did such a great job of building you up. Its like lighting a huge firework, the largest in the box. Reading the instructions, setting it up, lighting the fuse, covering your ears... then it doesn't go off.

In a word, outstanding.

[oyason · 19 February 2003]

There are only a tiny handful of horrorfilms that really deserve the superlative outstanding, but Rosemary's Baby is definitely on my personal list and damn near the top of the column.

Elements of the supernatural are present; the murderous coven, the devil come to earth, the use of juju to destroy the enemy. But all of these things are at nothing compared to the real horror in Rosemary's life: that she is nothing more then a gestation vessel for her ambitious husband, the gory eccentrics in her building, and the most powerful demon in the Christian pantheon. No one takes her seriously in any other capacity. Even at the end, her last bit of resistance is broken down as Roman Castavet eases her into the role of the "mother of destruction".

I don't think it's any coincidence that Ira Levin wrote this novel or that it became such a huge hit in the sixties, when birth control pills became household words and the first open battles for legal abortion were being waged and won. The strength of this film is that it deals with social issues (reproductive rights) that were actively bouncing between the ears of the greater population of this country, and yet still doesn't become a tedious piece of social realism or agitprop.

The cast of the film is remarkable. Mia Farrow plays a woman protagonist who is far more self identified then the usual female victim in a Gothic, Guy Cassevetes plays a treacherous husband whose actions are beneath contempt, both performances are very precise. The film bounces adroitly from the high camp of Elija Cook's fastidious building superintendent to the great white fatherliness seen in Maurice Evan's character Hutch. The use of Ruth Gordon is inspired, having Sidney Blackmer play straight man to her zaniness even more so. The very fine comedienne Patsy Kelly shows up as a more obstreporous member of the coven, Ralph Bellamy is sedate and subdued as the suave warlock Sapperstein. And somehow or other, director Roman Polanski managed to tie all these energies together and create a solid, consistent package with a subdued pace that is both hysterical and chilling at the same time. It is one powerful satire.

Finally, the film contains one very strong nightmare sequence. Dreams are scary, Neil Gaiman reminds us,but there are few portrayed on film as strikingly as the one Rosemary has under a drug induced slumber on the night of her demonic group rape and the child's conception.

Rosemary's Baby is a magnificent effort. And I believe it set a standard that every new horror film should be measured against, just as the film 2001 has become for many admirers of science fiction one of the benchmarks of that genre.