It can be hashed and rehashed that the scariest films of all time are not remembered by what they show, but rather what they leave for the mind to fill in. Human beings, in my opinion, are afraid of their own thoughts and their own capabilities. A sense of realism and a lack of information are key components to making an audience scared, as their own imagination is usually more horrifying than that of some uncreative director's. Roman Polanski is the director of Rosemary's Baby and he, better than most, knows the true human condition. Going behind the wheel of a horror film is a not a terrible departure, but why should it be when religion and self-protection are inherent to being human?
For his journey into the macabre we meet Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow). She and her husband Guy (John Cassavetes), a struggling actor, move into a new apartment house next door to two very old, colorful characters. Ruth Gordon (in her Oscar-winning role) and Sidney Blackmer play Minnie and Roman Castevet, nosy but interesting people always willing and eager to lend a helping hand. Rosemary shies away from them, but Guy inexplicably spends lots of time next door with them.
Rosemary and Guy have been trying desperately to have a baby, as well as get Guy's career off of the ground. Their attempts are somewhat disrupted by strange occurrences in their new building. They hear chanting on the other side of their bedroom wall, there is a mysterious suicide, an actor gone blind leaving a fantastic part available for Guy, and a strange gift from the Casavet's. But following a bizarre dream on a yacht filled with naked bodies and an inhuman host Rosemary finds herself with child.
This should be a happy time, and would be were it not for their terrible pain in her stomach and a series of events that lead her more and more to fear for the safety of her child. As the day grows closer her paranoia mounts until she is sure that her baby is to be used for the occult.
This film might feel a little bit displaced where it not for the completely committed performances from its cast, particularly Farrow. I found the script a bit stilted, but the actors were so good at what they did that they found naturalistic acting in an otherwise metallic screenplay. I feel that films dealing with witchcraft tend to be a bit humorous, but the seriousness in which it is presented makes it a thoroughly engaging film to watch. It is slow, very deliberately paced, and so little is shown to suggest things one way or the other, that for most of the film Rosemary straddles the line between reality and lunacy, and we straddle it with her.
Polanski is a wizard at engaging emotions using tight spaces, and this apartment is a claustrophobic hell filled with secrets. His intentions with this film are very odd, and I'm not sure if I have them correct. There seems to be an unusual aversion to age; all of the bad people in Rosemary's eyes are gray-haired and stuck in the past. Nature also seems to be an agent of evil. There is a running motif of plants and herbs throughout: Her name is Rosemary Woodhouse, there are flowers on the wallpaper of the nursery, her husband brings her bouquets to apologize for how distant he has been, the previous owner and the Casavet's both had herb gardens, not to mention Rosemary's milkshakes and her necklace. Perhaps it is his voice on the importance of forward thinking and modernization? If you have a thought let me know because I'm lost....
You will not find a traditional horror film in this. There are no "gotcha" moments or gory bits. This is a film that creeps into the back of your mind to birth new fears of the plausibility of the destructiveness and skewed perspectives of people gone astray and angry at the world. The depravity and the selfishness of this film is where the "horror" comes from, and it is terrifying. This is one of the best horror films of all time.
3.5/4
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