During this recently-produced documentary about the making of “Rosemary’s Baby," legendary producer, and proud wearer of oversized glasses, Robert Evans describes this seminal horror masterpiece as, “Not a horror film, but was." This assertion is key in fully appreciating "Rosemary’s Baby" during our current period of ADHD-addled horror cinema, where the target audience checks out if there isn’t a cheap jump scare at least twice a minute.
"Rosemary’s Baby" relies on an ever-escalating atmosphere of fear and unease as director Roman Polanski pulls the audience into the world of the film and the collapsing mind of its protagonist so patiently and assuredly that by the time we reach the insane climax, it all feels oddly familiar, which is where its true terror derives from.
Before its release in 1968, audiences could build a mental wall between the obviously fantastical locations and schlocky characters of a horror film and their own lives....
