The Consummate Thriller and Mystery Story

Rating: 7/10 (28 June 2011)

A movie that was born out of greatness; the distinctive element that makes this movie quite good is that everything is all questioned. It gave me a real feeling of the "Eyes Wide Shut" story on how everything was staged, how everything was denoted and how people were discerned in the unfolding of the tale (of course, Kubrick's movie was years after this one).
It stars Mia Farrow as Rosemary, who with her spouse Guy (played by John Cassavetes) are investing in an apartment; unbeknown-st to them, the apartment is adjoined to the most peculiar and mystifying of old people; Ruth Gordon plays Minnie Castevet, a rather benevolent and well meaning person, who is the typical "all kind and all helpful and attentive" neighbours, who out of their kindness, give a sort of longing for distance. Her husband is played by Sidney Blackmer as Roman Castevet. The Castevets are part of a certain group of people; the gut grinding feel to the movie give it a reminiscence of Hammer Movies, with the essence of a Hitchcock Thriller; but all in all, giving a genesis to a new entity of film.
My gripe with the movie is that I felt the focal point was actually different from what I had expected; don't get me wrong I thought what my mind presented was not what it was all up to be. And my other gripe is that, like the character, you get frustrated towards the people. But as soon as the plot is ignited, it really does really blast into it. The relationships are laid out in a cliché way as I have explained; however, with that in mind, it is also very ghoulish and you can feel the vividness from it. For example, the satanic silhouette from Theresa (the girl from the beginning's body) is already a real foreshadowing to the theme of the film. That's the power of it – without the context backing it up – it feels Satanic and this is one of the horror trademarks that doesn't always execute it with subtlety and with enough suspense, into that fierce territory of being as surprised as the lead character (Mia Farrow). The motif of the pendant is powerful, surprising and enough to capture your attention. However, when you peg people in the movie, it can really put your mood into a spiral essentially transmitting the idea that everybody is in on it.
My favourite scene is the dream/reality of Farrow's intoxication as we're exploring the deep darkness of sexual violence, sexual lust, sexual passion or just all things sexual; it scared me and creeps me out much more then things like "The Exorcist" (1971) and even "The Shining" (1980).
The SFX is the best thing about the movie; the ambulance, screaming and chanting sounds through the use of music is absolutely liberating in that state of uncertainty about what you're watching and what's being described.
The scrolled walls, the landscapes, the god like feel to it, the idea of creating the baby and the conspiracy behind that carriage, not just two, but all or possibly even being submitted to more than just one? Wow. It puts you outside of perceptual and mental ideas, forcing you to psychologically take everything in. Like what babies are used for and whether or not that mythology is true or not.
...Another thing that is quite annoying though, is the typical denial dynamic used in the movie, when you clearly know that they know. Even with the Baby, as if to try and creep you out, when you know it is alive or when that book is being impugned as nothing more than a fairy tale; however predictable that was, the ideas behind it were still giving you a great sense of being detected at every moment and ceased at every act with no escape.
Basically, this movie is a solid movie; it adopts some of the older conventions of movies, but what the movie does unique is that it has a grittier darkness then other movies of its contemporaries and it also diminishes all humour, subjecting you to Polanski's vision and the rituals of another force to compel you to keep watching as if what you're concentrating on is destiny which is a very scary notion.