Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Movie Review - Horror Masterpiece Still Holds Up?

It’s Halloween 2022 and that can mean only one thing! Snacks, movies and ignoring the door if you are the less than social type. Oh, and the fact that we are on the final day of our K-O-Ween 31 Days of Halloween feature. I promised a classic for the 31st of October and what bigger horror classic is there than Rosemary’s Baby? One of the best horror movies of all time.

Horror History!

Attempting to look at this movie through a modern lens used to be quite difficult. I have watched Rosemary’s Baby a number of times. It is something of a Halloween and Christmas staple here in the UK. Watching again for this review, it is impossible not to note some of the ways it has aged.

I mean, if we are being honest, this movie is full of 60’s campiness and that may stand out to some. But with the recent releases of movies like Starve Acre and The First Omen. It’s clear that this style is making a resurgence. Allowing new horror fans to appreciate movies like this for just how great they are. 

Rosemary’s Baby is partly responsible for many of the horror movies that came out in the subsequent years. Without this film, would there even be movies like Hereditary? You could even make an argument that the film’s influence is felt throughout horror and its DNA is crucial to the genre. It’s fair to say that many filmmakers would never have ventured into the horror genre had it not existed.

It is no surprise that it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. It is difficult to overstate the movie’s importance to horror. The grotesque revelations about Roman Polanski absolutely bear mention and we will be discussing that. Despite this, it remains an absolute horror classic that deserves respect. Without further ado, let’s get on with the review. 

A Fresh Start

Rosemary’s Baby starts with married couple Rosemary, played by Mia Farrow, and Guy Woodhouse, played by John Cassavetes,  visiting an apartment in the Bramford building in New York. Guy is a struggling actor and the two plan on having a baby soon. Interested in potentially renting the property, the pair are incredibly enthusiastic about the potential of the place. The only problem is the neighbours Minnie and Roman Castevet, played by Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer respectively. An eccentric older couple who are just a little too enthusiastic about interacting with the loved up couple.

Despite the slightly overly enthusiastic people next door. Rosemary and Guy move in and get to the process of family making. After Rosemary becomes pregnant. Guy’s acting career suddenly hits an upswing. Life seems to be going great but there is still the issue of the increasingly interfering Minnie Castevet who just won’t leave Rosemary alone. What’s worse is Guy seems to be growing ever closer to the pair. Something that frustrates Rosemary at first but becomes concerning for an altogether more terrifying reason in short order.

A Troubling Director

Troubling seems like an understatement when it comes to the director of Rosemary’s Baby Roman Polanski. Without getting too deep into the details. Polanski was charged, in 1977, with the drugging and rape of a 13 year old girl. Accepting a plea deal, he plead guilty to a lesser charge of “unlawful sex with a minor” hoping for probation. When it became obvious that the judge was unlikely to offer probation and wanted to sentence Polanski to a custodial term, Polanski fled to Paris, France.

Polanski has been a fugitive from the US criminal justice system ever since and has, somehow, managed to avoid extradition. If anyone was in any doubt to his culpability. Many other women have come forward since making similar claims relating to when they were children. The fact that Polanski has been consistently defended by fellow directors, actors and politicians is something of an indictment against the people in positions of power in the US. This isn’t a huge surprise, however.

Reviewing a movie like Rosemary’s Baby brings up controversial issues of separating art from the artist. Especially when the subject of said movie is a sub-servient woman pushed around by the people around her, treated horrifically and expected to view said treatment as normal and expected.

It is worth remembering, however, that Rosemary’s Baby is one of horror’s more direct novel to film adaptations. Polanski’s hand is only present in the shots, direction, and pacing. Not the story’s content. This is Ira Levin’s writing so any correlation between plot and Polanski’s treatment of girls and women is purely coincidental. Anyone could be forgiven for not being able to separate the two, however, given the circumstances surrounding this film. And it is an issue that will follow Rosemary’s Baby forever.

Legendary Psychological Horror

Anyways, with that issue to one side, we can get back to the movie. Rosemary’s Baby focuses on the protagonist’s growing suspicion of those around her. Moving fairly slowly, the movie features a plot that swings from moments of tension to periods of normality and back again. Rosemary presents as a submissive, almost child like, woman with a simple desire to raise a family and enjoy her life. Becoming increasingly controlled by an overly dominant husband. Over time, Rosemary becomes more and more isolated.

We see events take place from the perspective of Rosemary herself. There are virtually no scenes that don’t focus on Rosemary and she almost acts as an avatar for the viewer. Immersing us in her sense of fear and paranoia. Surrounded by a group of people that dismiss her every concern, she is both isolated and scared. But she is definitely not stupid. The narrative here plays in a way that is quite unusual for horror. Rosemary almost knows as much as we do. She is savvy to the bizarreness of the situation which makes for a brilliant first person perspective on the story.

A Different Approach

Wildly original back in 1968; Rosemary’s Baby would go on to inspire generations of horror movie makers to come. The story plays on elements of the occult and satanic panic that were so common at the time. But does it in a way that brings it to your doorstep. Foregoing blood and gore to, instead, build a sense of tension and paranoia in the viewer. It is so much more real than most other horror movies that would follow. There’s a legitimacy to the events that take place here that must have been terrifying in the late 60s. It still works to this day.

Another thing that makes this film feel so much more real is the fact that it was set in New York. Urban areas were not seen as scary environments capable of being a setting for a horror movie. Rural locations were far more fitting. The fact that Rosemary’s Baby takes place in such a crowded place actually adds to the horror and to the realism.

Urban Horror

The sheer fact that there are so many people around but Rosemary is so isolated works impressively well. Adding another sense of feasibility to the story. Throw in a few allegories for the isolation that comes from domestic abuse and you have a scarily believable tale. This could be happening in your apartment complex to a neighbour. It could be your neighbours themselves that are entangled with the satanic church. It was brilliant scene setting and brave in its boldness. And that’s without mentioning the brilliant Gothic architecture of New York which adds a ton to the horror imagery.

The fact that Rosemary’s Baby is still so well regarded today is, at least in part, due to the chances Polanski took when filming. Creative and unique shots frequently pay off and the way Rosemary’s paranoia and fear are portrayed on screen is incredibly effective. She is melting into a world of suspicion and fear while everyone around her goes about their everyday lives completely oblivious.

There is one scene, in particular, where Polanski actually sent Mia Farrow walking out into New York traffic convinced nobody would hit a pregnant woman. While a completely unnecessary risk; it is an effective scene that feels very authentic and represents a perfect summary of the chances taken when filming the movie. As well as tying the events into the actual real world of the time. Daring but brilliantly effective.

Excellent Acting

Acting throughout Rosemary’s Baby is excellent. All of the supporting cast are fantastic with Ruth Gordon, as Minnie Castevet, being of particular note. Her turn as the bothersome next door neighbour is absolutely brilliant and earned her a career revival playing feisty older women in a host of movies. She is a scene stealer for sure and provides constant laughs throughout.

John Cassavetes as Guy is suitably smarmy and does a great job playing the controlling failed actor. It’s worth pointing out that Cassavetes went on to have an incredible directing career before his untimely death in 1989. Him and Polanski clashed frequently due to the latter’s rigid style of directing. It would be interesting to see what Cassavetes’ would have been able to do if given the freedom to improvise more.

The real star of the show, however, has to be Mia Farrow as Rosemary. Tasked with carrying the entire film, her performance develops as the movie goes on and becomes a real highlight. Starting things off with an almost childlike demeanour. As events unfold, Rosemary grows more suspicious and Farrow becomes more layered in her delivery. Farrow’s somewhat delicate appearance lends itself well to a number of scenes. Her diminutive stature also offers her a sense of vulnerability and adds more tension to the picture, as a whole.

Should You Watch Rosemary’s Baby?

Any horror fan absolutely has to watch Rosemary’s Baby. It’s almost a right of passage in the genre. If you haven’t watched it before, you are going to see its DNA in tons of the movies rom the past 50 years. It still inspires to this day. Sure, time has frayed the edges a bit. The story of a subservient woman happy to be pushed around and abused feels at odds with modern life. And some of the techniques that were revolutionary at the time feel a bit tired and, dare I say it, a bit camp in the 2020s. But this is still a disturbing, iconic, powerful and utterly compelling horror movie that deserves your attention.