He who doubts the pope must be the devil

Rating: 8/10 (14 December 2011)

"Is God dead?" asks the cover of the Time Magazin Rosemary is holding in her hands while she's waiting for the doctor. And really, this question is the undertone of the whole film. Other reviewers mentioned the biblical references in the movie, so I don't need to get into that.
But what is if God's dead? Of course, Satan will rule the earth according to Mr. Polanski. The nice old couple next door is taking the holiness of the pope in question? Well of course they do, cause they are evil witches serving the Beelzebub. Because there's nothing in between, there's just black and white. If we stop believing in God and Christianity, "Rosemary's Baby" will show us what we get.
So one might call this a fundamentalist masterpiece. It's true horror not because there's gore or in my mind maddening suspense but because it deconstructs an idyll. A young couple moves in a new apartment wishing to multiply. As Polanski said himself, the film basically starts out like a Doris-Day-flick, but boy doesn't it end that way. The slow pacing, the creepy undertone behind the pretense of normality and the great acting, especially by Mrs. Gordon, make this a masterpiece that contradicts almost everything that passes as horror these days. If you notice a simple cheap effect in this, give me a call.
Of course there's an enormous gab between the subtle ton of the film and its loutish message. But I guess that's what effective propaganda is all about. Relucantly acknowledging 8 out of 10 stars for my money.