MovieChat Forums > Rosemary's Baby (1968) Discussion > One of the few films that would have ben...

One of the few films that would have benefited from an ambiguous ending.

posted 9 years ago by A_Concerned_Critic
25 replies | jump to latest

I enjoyed the film a lot, especially in the way it toyed with the prospect of Rosemary not being all the right in the head. It keeps you back and forth on believing her and not believing her, which is why I think ending it right after she gives birth and sees that her husband has no mark would have been a perfect ending. I normally think ambiguous endings are a cop-out, but in the case of this film, it would actually fit thematically, as a viewer from Rosemary's perspective could never truly know what the truth was.

As it stands, I think the ending was a little bit too much for me. Showing the true motives of the cult in such immense detail kind of took away the creepiness factor, and kind of breaks the cardinal sin of horror in not leaving as much up to the imagination of the audience as physically possible.

[–] InherentlyYours 9 years ago

Interesting, since I've heard people say that they wish more detail was shown (like the baby).

I never was confused about whether it was in her head, and not sure where that comes from. I went into the film believing her; they showed an image of the demon raping her. (though you could say that was a hallucination). I don't know why this particular imdb board/film has the mental-illness theme as a possible narrative.

[–] rascal67 9 years ago

Taking a theme, that many would consider preposterous and nonsensical and making it appear literal, gives the film more potency to me. Many viewers may have felt this diminished the impact. Polanski, had already done the psychological mind thing with REPULSION.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] rascal67 9 years ago

I think with Rosemary it worked because there is no way she was going crazy with all the things that were happening to her.
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Rosemary, ending up dealing with something that I don't think many viewers would want to possibly fathom, or see as being real. It was a horror film, so why not reveal the horror as literal and not leaving us second guess the end. That was part of the journey leading up to the revelation of the horror and paranoia, that Ro may have been losing her mind, when she wasn't. She was way too aware and sane for that.

[–] A_Concerned_Critic 9 years ago

Weird, as if I felt every scene after Rosemary's birth scene actually detracted from the film.

I actually got chills, a rarity for a film this old, when the doctor said the baby did not make it. Even if a viewer were to be completely convinced that everything which was happening was true, the idea of not fully knowing what horrors her baby went through is enough to leave the film with potency.

The ending scene felt incredibly campy and dated. There was nothing particularly frightening about a bunch of older people yelling "hail Satan" a bunch of times while toasting.

[–] fleischwolf (294) 6 years ago

Did you not see that this was fully intentional. This film merges creepy elements with the more comical. It's not supposed to be creepy when they manically yell "Hail Satan", it's supposed to be a mixture of creepy and funny. There's Minni pulling the knife out of the floor, because she's concerned about the tiles, there the Japanese guy enthusiastically taking pictures. How can you not see that this was supposed to be comical elements.

[–] LetThemEatCake (2717) 6 years ago

I don't think it's supposed to be funny.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I disagree with you 99% of the time but with you on this one.

[–] AngularTurnip (3334) 6 years ago

And what about Laura-Louise sticking her tongue out at Rosemary after Roman orders Laura-Louise to take a seat and let Rosemary rock the baby? That's definitely a moment designed to induce nervous chuckles and not dread.

[–] svalinanikola 9 years ago

kind of breaks the cardinal sin of horror in not leaving as much up to the imagination of the audience as physically possible.

That's not a sin nor a rule. Many horror movies are classics and they didn't leave much to the imagination.

[–] A_Concerned_Critic 9 years ago

It's an incredibly important aspect of writing horror, especially if you want your work to last intergenerationally. As time passes, tastes evolve, and what was scary to an audience 30 years ago may come off as corny to people today. When a horror film bears all, it becomes distinctly dated. Do you think Alien would have had nearly as much of an impact today if, in laughably dated 1979 special effects, we had full, clear view of the rubber Xenomorph suit?

[–] svalinanikola 9 years ago

What? The alien is incredibly detailed, the sequel even got an oscar for special effects, what about The Fly (1986). The Shining, one of the most praised horror movies also had scenes which were quite showy.

[–] A_Concerned_Critic 9 years ago

I find it humorous that you give The Shining as an example, considering it has an incredibly ambiguous ending.

I don't even consider The Fly a horror film. Maybe body horror.

[–] svalinanikola 9 years ago

It's not all about the ending and I was refering to all the scenes that show gore.

I don't even consider The Fly a horror film. Maybe body horror.

Why not? Body horror is still horror, it's a subgenre of horror.

[–] Em0411 8 years ago

*SPOILER* I thought The Shining had a clear cut ending, he freezes to death in the maze, the mom and son make it out alive.

When you get up in the morning, how do you decide what shade of black to wear? (Shallow Grave)

[–] Petronius Arbiter II 9 years ago

Not seeing the baby is all the ambiguity this film needs. Any more would weaken the narrative.

"I don't deduce, I observe."

[–] TN (11) 5 years ago

THIS.

[–] metrojoe82 9 years ago

There's still a lot of ambiguity in the ending.

I'm of the camp that thinks the Satanists were all just crazy and the drink they gave her disfigured her baby in the womb. I don't think she birthed the antichrist at all.

[–] telegonus 9 years ago

I like that. It sounds about right. The film is so realistically made.--I mean compared to monster movies, films that actually show the devil, demon, whatever--it packs a wallop as is.

[–] Sugarminx 8 years ago

I think the ending was a little bit too much for me. Showing the true motives of the cult in such immense detail kind of took away the creepiness factor,

So much more creepy for me knowing there actually were Satanists commiting murder and all sorts, AND having the Devil take shape to impregnate an innocent woman.

We deal with mental illness every day of the week, no creepiness there.

Do the P-I-G-E-O-N

[–] guarnot 8 years ago

So much more creepy for me knowing there actually were Satanists commiting murder and all sorts, AND having the Devil take shape to impregnate an innocent woman.

Thank you! The ending of the film is creepy in large part because it suggests that Rosemary's story ends with something horrific being brought into the world. It takes it out of the realm of just being her personal struggle. This is much bigger.

[–] ZakkWyldeMyLittlePony 8 years ago

I think the ending being more ambiguous would give the film a creepier vibe. Still a great movie though.

My Little Pony + Black Sabbath + Judas Priest + Iron Maiden + Metallica + Pantera = LIFE

[–] fountaincap 8 years ago

Although I think it's already a great film, I agree with the OP that more ambiguity could have been interesting. Even if we grant that Rosemary did literally give birth to the son of Satan, I think it would have been more powerful if the film ended with Roman offering for her to be a mother to the child and Rosemary looking back and forth between the crib and the window (implying she might kill herself like Terry), directing the question to the audience: What would you do?

[–] MNRebecca (768) 6 years ago

The ending of the film is creepy in large part because it suggests that Rosemary's story ends with something horrific being brought into the world. It takes it out of the realm of just being her personal struggle.

Agreed. The ending is horrifically ambiguous. "What's going to happen to ALL of us now?!!!!"