Rosemary’s Baby

Dir: Roman Polanski (The Pianist, Chinatown)
Cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer
USA, 1968

Seen: October 6, 2007 thanks to the Toronto Public Library

Reason to see: It’s on my 101 list of films I can't believe I haven't seen for being a classic scary movie

Was it scary? Yes. On the most part it was that lovely creepy style of a slow pace that on the surface feels like regular day life and then gets more and more freaky as the film passes on. The film does an amazing job of creating vivid characters and genuine tension. It does give you time to settle into the film, make yourself comfortable for this viewing as it clocks in a over 2 hours.

I did find some elements a little unclear but I think this was done on purpose and I don’t believe it hurt the story at all. It is a film that holds up over time better than most, there are some slightly dated references but on the whole it works. It’s definitely scary and worth a watch.

Warnings – There are a number of fairly to very disturbing scenes. As opposed to some other films of it’s time it still reads as very scary and disturbing. Not for the faint of heart

Shannon's Overall View:
I thought it was very scary as a drama-scary film*
I would likely watch it one more time, likely in a group setting
I’d recommend it to folks who enjoy tension plot based scary films*

* I would have to say that I can’t give it 100% approval in the fact that like The Wicker Man it inaccurately portrays some practices. I’m not saying it isn’t possible for people to think this way, only that I believe it’s contradictory to true practices and even go as far to say mildly offensive.

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© Shannon Ridler, 2007