Rosemary's Baby

Starring: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Ralph Bellamy, Maurice Evans
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
1968

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Rosemary (Mia Farrow) begins to suspect her husband (John Cassavetes) has made a deal with the devil when she begins to have complications with her pregnancy. She she gets sicker and sicker, she starts to wonder if something supernatural is indeed going on, or if it is all in her imagination.

Review:

Tim: Rosemary's Baby is one of those classic horror movies that are routinely mentioned as one of the genre's greatest. Indeed, Roman Polanski gives us a solid and memorable movie, although I have a hard time believing this is one of the best horror movies ever made. There are definitely some disturbing, chilling moments, but at 136 minutes, the movie is just a bit too long. Too many scenes are dragged out, and much of the movie feels like its in a holding pattern, waiting for climactic conclusion. I wished the movie would move a bit quicker. Plus, I was a bit surprised at the lack of truly frightening moments. There are a few great moments, as I mentioned, but these are too few and far between.

Mia Farrow is actually quite disturbing in her performance. Her descent into illness and madness is amazing to watch. Her performance is startling to watch and makes for the most shocking moments of the film. She is excellent. The rest of the cast is quite good as well. John Cassavetes is mysteriously ambiguous as her husband. Is he good? Is he evil? I had no idea and this is a testament to his acting ability. Ruth Gordon is quite good as Minnie Castevet, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her efforts. Sidney Blackmer is very good as well. The entire cast is strong.

The film's best aspect is that the movie builds up slowly toward its eventual shocking conclusion. The movie starts out very normal, introducing each of the characters, allowing us to identify with them. Then, Polanski slowly introduces mysteries, odd behavior, questionable events, and frightening realizations that soon reach an absolute boiling point. Polanski's genius here is not rushing the movie along, eager to jump ahead to the frights and chills. He wisely lets it all build up. I actually think he did this a bit too much, as I wish he had sped the movie up just a bit. However, it is better to err on this side than the other.

Rosemary's Baby is definitely a very good horror movie. I think the script was impressive, the performances all strong. However, I think Polanski could have given us a better movie. It could have been a little bit shorter, with less lag time between scary moments. As is, this is still a classic horror movie that is worth seeing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
The Omen, Poltergeist, The Exorcist, Shadows and Fog