Countdown, Day 17: Rosemary’s Baby

Witches… All of them witches!

I am following Suspiria and The Witch with yet another witch movie: Rosemary’s Baby (1968, dir. Roman Polanski). Despite my reservations about Roman Polanski as a person, this is such a great film. I particularly love Mia Farrow as Rosemary. Her descent into paranoia and then her resistance to what’s being done to her are powerfully performed.

Although I opened by describing it as “yet another witch movie,” it’s really a movie about abuse. Rosemary’s husband, Guy, is such a classic abuser, controlling even before the Satanists get involved. Watching Guy gaslight Rosemary is more horrific than Satanists and black magic.

Earlier countdown entries:

1. Night of the Living Dead, dir. George Romero (1968)
2. Dawn of the Dead, dir. George Romero (1978)
3. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, dir. Philip Kaufman (1978)
4. Get Out, dir. Jordan Peele (2017)
5. Hellraiser, dir. Clive Barker (1987)
6. Psycho, dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
7. The Birds, dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1963)
8. Jaws, dir. Steven Spielberg (1975)
9. Teeth, dir. Mitchell Lichtenstein (2007)
10. Candyman, dir. Bernard Rose (1992)
11. Creep, dir. Patrick Brice (2014)
12. The Wicker Man, dir. Robin Hardy (1973)
13. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, dir. Tobe Hooper (1974)
14. Cabin in the Woods, dir. Drew Goddard (2012)
15. Suspiria, dir. Dario Argento (1977)
16. The Witch, dir. Robert Eggers (2015)