#9: Rosemary's Baby (1968)

"He has his father's eyes."

Young Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her struggling actor husband Guy (John Cassavetes), have decided to move into the Bramford, a gothic apartment building that their elderly friend Hutch (Maurice Evans, probably better known for playing the xenophobic Dr. Zaius in 1968's Planet of the Apes) informs them has a somewhat ominous history involving murder and cannibalism. But the only thing odd about the Bramford seems to be their elderly neighbors, the rather eccentric Castevets, who, though nosy, are able to befriend the young couple- even Guy, who originally wanted nothing to do with them, becomes strangely attached to the pair . . .

It's kind of hard to talk about this film without giving away spoilers, so be warned before reading on.

Rosemary's Baby, based on the Ira Levin novel of the same name, is a fascinating piece because much of its tension comes from the film's ability to keep the audience wondering whether or not there actually is anything sinister going on. It's a study in paranoia that puts you into the shoes of an increasingly frightened young woman who slowly starts to believe that everyone around her is part of a plot to steal her newborn child for a satanic sacrifice, and I actually think its delightful that the "horrible truth" revealed at the end of the film is actually something of a huge relief to both the audience and Rosemary. I'm not going completely spoil it, but the fact that there actually is a conspiracy is a far preferable to the idea that Rosemary was being driven to insanity by her own imagination.

Another interesting thing about this film is that its essentially a horror movie about being pregnant. Considering the year it came out, I can't help but think that it reflects the deeply felt anxiety the baby boomer generation must have felt as they became parents themselves, and thus demonizes the very concept of adulthood. This is a theme that crops up often in Ira Levin's work- take 1975's The Stepford Wives, in which Katherine Ross fears losing her real self- and her feminist ideals- after she and her husband move to suburbia with their kids. Again, the revelation of that film that women are being replaced by androids (sorry if you haven't seen it) ends up being something of a relief compared to the prospect that growing old somehow turns you into a submissive, conservative wifey wife.

For further demonic children, stay tuned . . .