For the next few Fridays I will be reviewing a new Halloween movie. Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) is one of my favorite horror movies of all time and fits the bill. Read on to hear my thoughts…

While I’m posting the review today, I watched the movie last night to refresh my memory. The above image is a screenshot that shows the exact date that Rosemary was raped by Satan. It was on the 4th of October, which is today! So be careful, especially if you’re ovulating.

I chose this for my first pick of the month because it had been a while since I’ve watched it all the way through. Catching only bits and pieces of it on t.v. over the years. My strongest memory of the movie is the very well done dream sequences. The whole movie has a dream like quality to it and I remember when I first watched it I got this creepy sense of deja vu. It isn’t the most heart pounding or terrifying movie but is laced with enough creepiness to really get under your skin.

I’ve always been surprised by how well of a job Mia Farrow does of carrying the movie, she really doesn’t have any other performances that I feel are comparable. Ruth Gordon’s Oscar winning performance does steal the movie every time, I love the idea that this nosey, very New York woman could really exist and actually be a devil worshipper on the side. I also really like John Cassavetes as the husband seduced by the dark side, his performance reminds me of early Al Pacino, I’m sure Cassavetes was an influence on him.

The movie takes a very, almost mundane look at the supernatural. It’s almost very quickly accepted and the suspension of disbelief takes effect without delay. I love that she doesn’t have to be convinced she just knows that weird stuff is going down. There was a moment that really creeped me out toward the end when Rosemary thinks she’s alone in her apartment. I won’t spoil the moment but I was taken by surprise by a very low key scare that works perfectly.

I’m narrowing down the rest of my choices, some are more obvious than others. “Rosemary’s Baby” isn’t the most original choice but it ranks among a select group of films, in my opinion 3, that raise horror to another level of filmmaking. This should also be a movie that’s on the “Do Not Remake” list. I have heard rumblings of a remake in development and it will probably happen, (it kind of did). They could amp up the scares a bit but they’ll never match this masterpiece of horror.

Ps.

There’s something about the movie that I just realized last night, it’s a mild spoiler at best but it’s kind of fun to figure out on your own so do not read any further if you don’t want this final observation…

SPOILER ALERT

YOU’VE BEEN WARNED

SUCKER

The film is set in 1966, the baby is born in June, making his birthdate 6/66. BOOOM!