October 27th, 2010 - Rosemary's Baby

I can't believe I haven't seen this before. I'm a huge Polanski fan, I love Satanism, and I adore evil children movies. One of those things makes me a bad person, but I'll leave it to you to decide which. I also really like John Cassavetes, because he made dying of alcoholism looks damned cool. So the fact that it took me 25 years to see this movie is kind of shameful.

Rosemary and Guy are a nice young couple who have recently moved into a gorgeous New York apartment. Their friend, Hutch, warns them of the dark history the building has, but they pay no mind. Guy is a struggling actor while Rosemary is a housewife that seems keen on the whole reproducing thing. Soon after they move in they meet their new neighbors, a pleasant elderly couple. Guy becomes close of them and eventually gets his big break. It was at the expense of the original actor going blind suddenly, but show biz is tough. Afterwards, Guy decides the time is right to have a baby. When they try to conceive though, Rosemary gets faint and has all kind of wacky fever dreams about naked old people and congress with the Devil. The next day she's pregnant. Bad things happen.

This is a damned creepy movie. I mean that, it's really unsettling. It moves slow, but Polanski uses that to wring every bit of tension from the premise he can. You're never quite sure whether Rosemary is just freaking out because of the pregnancy or if there is actually a plot against her. And the ending is fantastic. You couldn't get away with something like that in a big studio film nowadays. Which is probably why this one has remained untouched by the remake hounds in Hollywood.

The acting is all fantastic. I have to admit, I haven't seen Mia Farrow in much. After this though, I'm tempted to seek more stuff out. And she's adorable with her short hair. John Cassavetes is cooler than cool, of course. And Ruth Gordon is great as the Satanic neighbor who only wants the best for Romemary. It's a class act.

I wish they would keep making movies like this in Hollywood. Tentpole horror, treated seriously and with a budget. Horror needs to get out of the realm of the low budget tax write off it's stuck in. I'm sure most of you have already seen this, but if you haven't please check it out. Remind yourself how great studio films used to be, and how horror used to be more than a low risk, high reward investment. And it's bloody scary to boot.