The horror of childbirth

Rating: Null/10 (27 July 2015)

One of Roman Polanski's most well-known films and a considered to be a mid-century horror masterpiece. And for a reason. Rosemary's Baby knows exactly how to build horror, tension and how to unsettle and exploit the deepest fears within our collective psyche. Just like The Exorcist five years later, it knows exactly where to strike: our progeny.
The directing and the atmosphere are all thanks to Polanski, but a lot of the film's excellence is due to the chillingly good performance from Mia Farrow, playing the role of Rosemary. She's extremely likable and adorable from the very first scene she's in, making the audience cringe that much harder when the eventual horrible things start happening to her. She also portrays the confused terror of not knowing what's going on with her pregnancy extremely well and exactly like a real person would react. Granted, the way she eventually starts to unravel the mystery is a bit coincidental, but that's the fault of the script, and she does her very best to sell it to you.
What I also like about the film is that it doesn't take itself one hundred percent seriously. There are some lighter touches and the film freely nods when the plot starts to become a bit over the top. Which it does, especially near the end, but the film's honesty saves a lot. Another thing about the film is that like many movies of its time, it's a bit slow. In horror that works better than in most films because the atmosphere has that much more time to build, but it'd still be very easy to cut fifteen to thirty minutes away without affecting much. It doesn't ruin the film, really, but it's something that's different to modern films.
All in all Rosemary's Baby is a strong horror piece that has left a lasting impact on its genre. Definitely worth a watch if you like Polanski's style and/or horror in general.