This is a slow burn. Like. Really slow. Almost like reading a book but in real time. It seems like it should be nice and pleasant at first. But it turns dark pretty quick. Then, darker. And then a fucked up slow-motion roller coaster you need to ride out til the end before you can get off.
1965. A young couple moves into a new (for them) really old apartment building in New York, not far from the Park. Husband is an actor just trying to get some gigs. The young wife who supports him. Sure, the building has a few weird stories about it, but that’s history. Nice-ish apartment in a decent area. Some thin walls, though. And nosy old neighbors. But whatevs. Classy enough of a joint. Then...things. Guys’s career (his character is actually named ‘Guy’) suddenly takes off. A night of celebration turns into a strange nightmare. But a baby is on the way. Rosemary’s baby. But things seem a bit off, in almost every aspect.
I can’t say this is an easy movie to get through, it’s like that “I See Dead People” one. You think you know how it’s gonna end, and the dread just builds. And builds. And, well, it’s just fucking brutal seeing it all play out in slow motion. It’s odd to see now through eyes now over 50 years since it came out, pacing was different back then. It’s dramatic suspense. It’s suspenseful drama. And then… Fuck me. You ever wonder sometimes how certain people become popular for whatever reason? This might be a good indicator. Can’t say for sure, but, there are always reasons if the obvious isn’t, uh, obvious. This one just bumps it up a notch. Or a hundred.