MovieChat Forums > Rosemary's Baby (1968) Discussion > Why do you think this is scary?

Why do you think this is scary?


i mean theres literally no scary moments and although they're satan worshippers they're never actually mean or scary towards her. i cant see how this is deemed one of the scariest films of all time.

reply

Are you looking for cheap scares and thrills? Then this is not the film for you.

This is psychological horror at its best. It still gives me the chills to think of what they did to her and her own Husband prostituted her out for fame. Despicable.

YOU MADE ME PLAY SECOND BASE!

reply

You have to be a millennial to not think this eerie, foreboding film wasn't one of the creepiest. After Rosemary has put two and two together and dashes out of the apartment even that telephone booth scene is scary. The Castevets were creepy in their own right acting so concerned when all the time planning with the Devil. How they convinced guy to let his wife be raped by the Devil still floors me.

reply

it was creepy. at times, very creepy. but that isn't scary.

reply

Have you read any of that Wikileaks stuff about John Podesta, Marina Abramovic, spirit cooking, Comet Pizza, etc.? Look it up and you'll have a better understanding of what's scary about Rosemary's Baby. It's the possibility that people like this could be among us and that things like this could be going on right underneath our noses.

reply

Exactly! It's terrifying because it is reality for the demon loving elites of the world. Pizzagate.

reply

You are fucking nuts. Make sure you don't go and shoot through the floor of Comet Pizza because you were brainwashed to believe there were kids being molested in its nonexistent basement. I really hope that after 7 years, you have smartened up, but I doubt it. Still a qanon/magat loon to the end, huh? Please do not ever vote again. You are clearly not smart enough to make good choices.

reply

Spoken like a true Castevet.

reply

Um, no. Psycho is a scary movie and I bet you don't think that has cheap scares or thrills. This film is just a tedious bore from start to finish.

reply

Get an attention span.

reply

I found it chilling. In a good way that is. Guess that makes it a good summer movie since it's quite chilling like I just said :) Even though I was creeped out by it when I first saw it, I doubt I would feel the same way on a second viewing since I'd know what to expect the second time around. Same with Angel Heart.

Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Pete Townshend watch My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

reply

It’s just as good on repeat viewings because you spot lots of clues to what’s going on that you miss first time around.

reply

I totally get why you don't find the movie scary - because it just isn't meant to be "scary".

The Satanists were only used as a (pretty over the top) plot device to represent people around you all colluding to get you - which is the real horror the movie portrays - that truth only exists to people willing to believe you.

I find that deeply horrific - if not scary.

Now, try to imagine if Roman Polanski isn't actually a rapist nor a pedophile. Or if that one Trump-supporting neighbor of yours isn't actually a racist, sexist idiot.

Then imagine yourself as Polanski or your Trump-supporting neighbor.

reply

There are different kinds of "scary." This is a paranoia fever dream kind of scary...an "am I losing my mind?" kind of scary. It's about mood and atmosphere and what's happening on the other side of that wall kind of scary. It's the kind of scary that stays with you.

reply

Your dehumanisation of Trump supporters is scary. The evil it must take to demonise those with a different opinion is quite chilling.

reply

What's scarier than being lied to, gaslit, and used by everyone you trust? There are no visceral scares (ex. jumps, gory killings, etc.) but that scenario is deeply disturbing. It's a quieter horror, but it's stayed with me in a way no slasher movie ever has, that's for sure.

reply

This is precisely how I feel. Rosemary was betrayed by everyone she loved and trusted, including her own husband. The fact that Guy could do that to her is terrifying enough for me.

reply

Because it is pretty much a reality in this world. It's a documentary basically... scary part is, most people in this world have been asleep to this.

reply

Her innocence and blind trust in doctors. I have multiple chronic illnesses and pain and I’ve seen many doctors over the years. We all put so much trust in authority figures such as doctors so we can all relate to her in trusting what the dr says even though she’s in so much pain. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been very sick and in tons of pain and drs just say give it more time. Pain is a sign something is wrong and I suspect her abdominal pain is her body fighting against the baby. But her dr says it’s ok and just wait it out so she continues to suffer daily. She is so young and innocent she trusts the elderly neighbor who brings her a mystery herb to take daily. This is something many of us can relate to as I’m sure many like me have had friends recommend taking this supplement or that supplement to help with health issues. So the fact many of us could be her is what makes this so scary at least for me.

reply

It’s scary because of the unsettling feeling. Rosemary has no idea who she can trust or even if her suspicious are valid yet everything we are shown suggests but doesn’t confirm that something isn’t right. That and the fact that every single member of the Coven looks and acts completely normal and it emphasizes that evil may be integrated in our society and we would never recognize it.

reply

This movie is very unsettling from the opening credits with Mia Farrow's singing. There are so many scenes that make this movie feel a bit "off".

Like previous posters stated - Rosemary's Baby is not a movie with cheap scares. It's purely a psychological thriller with thick atmosphere. Atmosphere makes a great movie being that it's a drama, horror movie or comedy in my opinion.

A great director can create anatmosphere with lighting, cinematography, actors, characters, script, setting, music etc.

reply

For me this is Top 3 Scariest films i have ever seen and i have seen most Horrors. one of the scariest parts of this film for me is not what we see, but the things that are happening off camera. Most films of this type where there is a big reveal at the end aren't worth watching again once you know, but this one is even better because now you are looking out for the betrayal and the fake controlling behaviour of everyone around her

Little things like Guy asking who she's meeting tomorrow and where and then 'running out for ice cream' when we know he's running down the hall to tell the cult, to then kill poor Hutch.
Or the puff of smoke we see in the living room while Rosemary's in the kitchen where Guy's being seduced into the Cult.

The very next day when Guy goes back and Minnie pops in with another Cult member, meaning Guy's probably round theirs with the whole mob being inducted and making deals selling out his wife

Just the constant surveillance she is under, like when Hutch comes round and then Romans round there like a flash acting all casual and grandfatherly when really he's sniffing out potential threat and then setting about removing him permanently
Or Guy shitting himself when she's alone with her friends

The creepiest thing about this film though as has already been mentioned is as crazy as this story is, it is very very believable that something like this happens in real life, especially give who the director is and the story's going around about what him and Sharon Tate used to get up to

Ultimately as like the Wicker Man, Rosemary is set up and doomed to fail such is the level of people involved in the conspiracy there was nowhere for her to run and that to me is the scariest thought one could imagine for themselves

reply

Excellent post.

Guy is the creepiest mofo in this film, his malevolence is disturbing, and on reflection you realise that his acting skills are what made him such an effective gaslighter.

What did Polanski and Sharon Tate ‘used to get up to’?

reply