A Filmmaker's Review: "Rosemary's Baby" (1968)

As one of the most iconic horror/thriller films of all time, there are obviously high expectations when watching the film. No matter how many times you watch it, you always expect to be thrilled in some way. Whether this is by those dodgy montages littered throughout the film or by the shocking ending that finalises the strangeness that had been prominent throughout the movie. Whatever you are doing at the time and however many times you've seen the film - you still expect that same thrill and yes, you definitely get it.

When it comes to the film itself, the cinematography is absolutely beautiful. The various montages that come about throughout the film have a certain horrific quality to them that is almost resonant of the old German horror films of the 20s and 30s. It has a geometrical quality to it as well, the geometry and straight lines that are paralleled again in the early German horror films. You can definitely see the influences that have become upon this film.

"Rosemary's Baby" (1968) went on to become one of the films that other horror films copy in order to give some influence of the 60s/70s horror film scene to the movie. This is because when it comes to acting, there is a lot of influence from "Rosemary's Baby" on to films like "Hereditary" (2018) - especially regarding the chanting at the end of the movie and, the state regarding the child. It is a heavy influence that, if you were to watch the films side by side, you would definitely notice the resonance.

Not only that but Mia Farrow's acting is absolutely incredible. Whilst not knowing what is going on, there is a definite sense of foreboding that she gives off throughout the film. There is something terribly wrong and neither we nor her know exactly what it is. The only difference is that we, as an audience who have seen other things - can guess what it is. The fact that Mia Farrow is required to portray this character that doesn't know what's going on, having read the entire script and yet, having known the intentions of various characters - to still act as if you are entirely unaware to this extreme danger is pretty intense and amazing.

I love the various symbols and themes that point us to the end of this film as well. There's the lightbulbs that symbolise darkness as they are being switched off. There's the various items associated with life and death. The new life at the end of the movie, traded in for Terry's suicide at the near-beginning of the film. It's almost a sacrificial and ritualistic thing going on here. The fact that we recognise it means that it was indefinitely put there completely on purpose to make us question the nature of the pregnancy once the weird and out of body experiences begin. The way in which these symbols and themes are produced to us through juxtaposition from their regular form (light by dark, life by death) is both extreme and subversive for its time. After this, various films copied the technique and so, it became a icon of horror - but I think that this film was one of the first to do it and make it a successful technique.

In conclusion, I feel like this film is both an icon of horror and a subversive film in the industry of movies. Not only is it very important to watch but it is also incredibly important to understand how the various techniques from both German Expressionist Cinema and new age horror are used to produce a good, horrifying vibe that gives a sense of impending doom throughout the film almost from start to finish. This impending doom is a classic example of constant, unrelenting tension and the way it is used in thriller films. The only reason this film would lose one mark is because of the actor who plays the husband of Rosemary - he just was rather annoying and really didn't add anything to the film. It wouldn't have been that much different without him. His acting was just a bit hollow. Every single other thing in the film was absolute perfection, from dialogue to cinematography to storyline to the way it was adapted. It was absolute classic brilliance.