Dated But Disturbing

Rating: Null/10 (12 December 2002)

34 years after the fact, ROSEMARY'S BABY is still a disturbing masterpiece of the demonic. But sadly, time has not been kind to this film. Throughout most of it's running time it all looks so 60's: the clothing, the hair, and most noticably, the music. In fact, a scene near the end that should be edge-of-your-seat terrifying ends up becoming merely nerve-wracking due to the distracting music.
The plot, however, remains razor sharp. As Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her husband Guy move into a new upscale New York City apartment, strange things begin happening all around them, things that may in some sinister way be related to Rosemary's budding new pregnancy. Equally perturbing, but not as obviously demonic are Rosemary's new neighbors, a nosy and intrusive elderly couple who seem determined to interfere with her personal business.
The movie moves at a very slow pace, (in fact, for the first hour and a half it's difficult to accurately describe this as a true horror film) but everything in this movie has a purpose. Scenes that seem to have no relevence come full circle by the end. Despite it's plodding storyline, ROSEMARY'S BABY almost demands a repeated viewing.
All of this builds up to the terrifying climax that is undoubtably one of the most disturbing and horrifying in cinematic history. But, in another way, this movie is a portrait of a simpler time. When it was released in 1968, ROSEMARY'S BABY was a shocking and contraversial movie like nothing that had been seen before. Over the decades, much of the shock has worn off. And maybe what's more frightening is that the notion of a ritualistic Satanic cult is no longer packs the shock value it once did.
(***/****)