A very scary film

Rating: 7/10 (9 July 1999)

God and Satan make for great subjects for horror films. The reason for that is because we know so little about either of them. Sure we have what the Bible says, but that is all just theory. If the Bible is real, I don't believe that God would truly tell us, one of his creations, how powerful he is and I certainly don't think he would tell us how powerful his arch enemy, Satan, is. So when we see movies about Michael Myers and Jason and Freddy, sometimes the later sequels try to explain their superiority with Satanic possession. After all, what other reason would there be for these beings to be so evil? That is what makes Rosemary's Baby so frightening. The fear of the unknown. To be possessed by the devil is scary, to be impregnated by the devil is dire.
Mia Farrow is great in this film, Cassavettes is very good as well but it is Gordon that is the epitome of fear. She hits every note perfectly and her smile gives me the creeps. And say nothing of Polanski. This film came out before TCM. And it really shows his love of the camera because he uses it like it was his best friend here. His filming of the dream sequence and the rape was as good as any scene filmed before the early 80's. And this was a true crystal ball into how good Texas Chainsaw was going to be.
Rosemary's Baby is what horror movies are all about. It has great atmosphere, haunting lighting and a very spooky score. And on one final side note, I think there is one movie character that comes to mind when I think of what the devil could have looked like as a man. If you have never seen the film Angel Heart, check it out. DeNiro's turn as Louise Cypher is priceless and he almost seems like it was him that was the one who was haunting everyone in Rosemary's Baby.
A great film. Much better than most 90's horror.