In a movie guaranteed to always make her son Ronan Farrow feel a little weird, Mia Farrow plays Rosemary Woodhouse, a woman impregnated by Satan with the cutest haircut in the world.
Where I watched: Netflix
Length: 136 minutes
Prior knowledge of the film: I’ve seen it once a few years ago, so while I knew the basic premise of this film, most of it was still a surprise.
Worth divorcing Frank Sinatra?
According to rumors, Mia Farrow and Frank Sinatra, who were married for just over two years divorced because of Farrow’s choice to star as the titular mother, Rosemary. Sinatra didn’t want his wife away for as long as the movie would have her, and he also wanted Farrow to star in his movie, “The Detective.” What a stupid choice on Frank Sinatra’s part. “Rosemary’s Baby” made the semi-unknown Farrow into a star, she was adorable in it (the fashion and her haircut are on point) and “Rosemary’s Baby” is a significantly better film than “The Detective.”
Was it actually scary?
“Rosemary’s Baby” is a terrifying premise — imagine giving birth to Satan’s child, but also loving it because it’s your own kid. What a dilemma. But I think the real horror within horror films lies in the unfounded fear that this could happen to you. After watching a horror film, a stupid part of your brain concedes, and makes you believe “Oh, of course an axe murderer could come into my room and murder me right now.” You could also become convinced that your house is haunted, despite a complete lack of belief in ghosts. But for me, “Rosemary’s Baby” doesn’t provide this, and it’s due to a scene in the film in which the Castevets talk to Rosemary about how lucky she is that Satan chose her, out of all the women in the world. This signified to me that Satan doesn’t go around and impregnate anyone he wants, he makes a careful selection in who the mother of the antiChrist is going to be, and I just have never felt the fear that it’s going to be me. I don’t think I’d be a good mom in general, let alone to the bringer of destruction to the Earth, so I’m just not worried about it.
Overall, the scariest part of “Rosemary’s Baby” for me was the thought of having neighbors like the Castevets. No, not Satanic witches — just people who don’t leave you alone. Hardly a scene goes by without Rosemary running into the creepily arrogant Roman or his wife, Minnie, the most annoying woman in the world. If my neighbors talked to me as much as the Castevets talked to Rosemary I’d move across the world to get away from them.
Overall consensus
“Rosemary’s Baby” is a solid movie with an incredible plot and fantastic acting. It’s not my favorite film on the list, but just goes to show that there are fantastically creative films in a genre overridden with complete pieces of trash.