https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PewtQsgN5uo
Halloween may be over, but Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby” is still an excellent horror film to watch for scares.
This film, released in 1968, is a masterful horror film as the terror comes not from what is seen, but unseen. Though the film is about witches and demons, the horror of the film is found through the character’s psychological emotions.
“Rosemary’s Baby” is a story about the insanity of daily life and the oppressive force placed by others, which in this case is a satanic cult.
The movie follows a young married couple, Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse, looking for an apartment to raise a child. They find a wonderful, spacious place at the Bramford, a Gothic pre-war building with a rich and intriguing history of mystical cults and sacrificial murder.
After moving, they are warmly welcomed to dinner by their new neighbors, Minnie and Roman Castevet, an eccentric older couple.
Once hearing the young couple plans to have a child, they become exceedingly anxious about it. While Guy and Roman get along well, Rosemary is annoyed by Minnie constantly invading her personal space.
Rosemary and Guy set a date to conceive their child in their newly-furnished apartment. However, Rosemary feels ill after eating an odd-tasting dessert given by the Castevets. She feels so ill that she collapses in bed.
Rosemary dreams of old naked people chanting and painting her body with blood as she is raped by a devil-like figure. When she awakes, she discovers, to her anger, her husband impregnated with her.
After that night, her husband becomes emotionally distant from her and the Castevets start to intrude in her life more than ever from forcing doctor recommendations to giving so-called vitamin shakes.
Rosemary, gradually becoming paranoid, finds out about the satanic conspiracy against her and her unborn child.
This film is a classic because of the tremendous acting.
In particular, Mia Farrow plays the delicate, innocent wife with joy, vulnerability and optimism. Her performance allows the viewer to feel her fear, growing pessimism and paranoia.
What makes Rosemary so fascinating is, when she discovers the plot against her, she frantically fights tooth and nail against her fate.
“Rosemary’s Baby” is a supernatural film, but it explores the real human emotions of isolation, oppression and helplessness.
The way the terror unfolds for Rosemary is through the witches and elders, who think they know what is best for her. Ultimately, the film is about a woman whose fate seems sealed and her reaction to it.
For those reasons, “Rosemary’s Baby” is a film to watch. It is a truly unique and terrifyingly unsettling movie in the best way possible.
