Product: Rosemary's Baby (El Bebe de Rosemary) [ NON-USA FORMAT, NTSC, Reg.4 Import - Latin America ] (1968)
Rating: 5.0
The Lost Meaning of Evil and Horror
It amazes me how some people can say that this movie is not scarey. If anything, this movie not only shows the lost meaning of horror, but the lost meaning of evil as well. Rosemary and her husband Guy (a down on his luck actor), move into an apartment house with a bad history, despite the warnings of their present landlord Hutch. After moving in, they meet Roman and Minnie. They appear to be lovable and caring grandparent types. But some things raise doubts. When they invite Rosemary and Guy over to dinner, they apparently have taken down their pictures. And while the dinner conversation seems pleasant enough, it would undoubtedly make a church goer uncomfortable. (I may have actually had to excuse myself.) Soon, Guy's career starts to take off, and if we have any familiarity with this movie, we probably already know where things are heading. But this is one case where knowing something about the outcome does NOT ruin the movie. Why? Because the formula is so well done. The clues may appear to be minute and trivial at first; later, the sharp Hutch becomes suspicious of Roman. Before he can warn Rosemary, he meets a 'convenient' death. The clues start to become bigger and more obvious. And granted, we (as the audience) probably know what is going on. However, we are probably in a fearful suspense as to when Rosemary will figure it out. And if she does, will anyone believe her or be willing to help her? One of the effective elements of horror here is that Rosemary desperately looks for someone to turn to for help. But not only will no one seem to believe her, but even worse, she finds that more and more people she loved and/or trusted were in on the 'plot' against her. Some cynics probably wanted to see more blood or monsters. But the final scene of the movie defines horror. (Being SO betrayed by people we loved and trusted, and realizing that their seeming kindness had a VERY ulterior motive.) Sydney Blakmer and Ruth Gordon get major kudos for playing the seemingly lovable grandparent types with dark ulterior motives to near perfection. If you like this movie, you may wish to check out the version of "Macbeth" also directed by Roman Polanski.