(This review is not spoiler-free. Content warning for implications of sexual assault and depictions of Satanism.)
Rosemary’s Baby, a highly respected psychological horror film directed by Roman Polanski, is a famous horror classic with many prestigious awards under its belt. Based on the 1967 horror novel of the same name by Ira Levin, it follows a young woman named Rosemary (Mia Farrow) who becomes pregnant with the Devil’s son.
Academics have thoroughly discussed the rich hidden messages and symbolism concerning Satanism and Christianity; however, the plot can also be connected to real-world issues and experiences, using the occult as a vector for its messaging. Arguably, what makes the film so enduringly disturbing on a mental level is something beyond its religious themes; namely, the treatment of Rosemary strikingly parallels much real-world misogyny that women face.
In the film, Rosemary and her husband, Guy (John Cassavetes) move into a new apartment building called the Bramford with cheerful and seemingly helpful elderly neighbors Minnie (Ruth Gordon) and Roman Castevet (Sidney Blackmer). However, they are secretly part of a Satanist cult that aids in getting Rosemary pregnant by the Devil without her knowledge, convincing her the baby belongs to her husband instead.
The Satanists and Rosemary’s complicit husband spend the film trying to keep Rosemary in the dark about the truth while she progressively finds out that something is wrong. Mentally, Rosemary’s Baby taps into themes of paranoia and the fears of being gaslit, with Rosemary being the victim subjected to Satanist practices.
Rosemary first notices something is wrong as she gets severe abdominal pains and loses weight, starting to appear gaunt in a way that startles her friends and family. The Castevets strongly encouraged her to see another obstetrician than her typical one, Dr. Sapirstein (Ralph Bellamy), secretly also a Satanist. He dismisses Rosemary’s worries, insisting that the pain is normal and that other women are untrustworthy when it comes to discussing pregnancy. The men around her dismiss her fears, trying to convince her that they know better than her, in a way very similar to the experience many pregnant women have with having their concerns dismissed about their own bodies.
At a party, Rosemary tells her female friends about her worries, and they listen to her, telling her to get a second opinion from her usual doctor. She requests this of Guy, but he yells at her, insisting that her friends don’t know what they’re talking about. Guy is routinely listened to over his wife as people, including professionals, dismiss her story in favor of his; as he is the husband, he has authoritative power over his wife.
He and the Satanists progressively separate Rosemary from her concerned friends to cut off her support system and keep her in the dark, but Rosemary’s intelligence pushes through. One of Rosemary’s friends, Hutch, researches the history of the Bramford, but before he can inform her, he falls into an unexplained coma. Before his death, he gives a book about witchcraft to Rosemary; she finds that Roman Castevet’s name is an anagram for a well-known Satanist. Here, she becomes convinced that her baby is in danger, and the Satanists begin to gaslight her.
As everyone who listened to her has been cut off, the dread of being ignored increases as those who are uninvolved in the Satanist plot begin to disbelieve her, thinking she’s going insane. When Rosemary finally goes to her regular doctor, Dr. Hill (Charles Grodin), he assumes she’s delusional, dismissing her fears as late-stage pregnancy-induced hysteria, and calls her husband to take her home, threatening to send her to a mental hospital if she doesn’t comply. In one of the film’s most disturbing scenes, she fights back, attempting to lock herself in her room, but she is captured, held down, and drugged. Off-screen, she gives birth while she’s unconscious.
When Rosemary wakes, she is told that her baby died and she must remain in bed recovering for the next few weeks, but she refuses her medication and sneaks downstairs. Here, in the film’s iconic ending, her fears are confirmed; the baby is the son of Satan, and everyone around her is either a cult member or utterly complicit. The room erupts with cheers of “Hail Satan!” as she wails in despair.
At this end, she finally gains some semblance of control. Her husband attempts to console her, telling her of all they’ll get out of aiding the cult’s wishes, but Rosemary, now disillusioned and disgusted by his actions, spits in his face without saying a word. A Satanist tells her that she doesn’t have to join the Satanists, but just to “be a mother” to her son; the film ends forebodingly with her going to her baby as he cries and rocking him in his cradle. In the end, she still cares for him, as he is still her child.
Underneath the direct themes of Satanism, Rosemary’s Baby can be seen as a film about women’s liberation and the fear of going unlistened. It comments on the way women are treated both systemically and socially, being ignored, condescended to, and being dismissed in favor of men. In real life, it’s not always as consciously malicious as a group of Satanists gaslighting an unwitting victim, but it is something that many real women can relate to all the same.
Through Rosemary’s frustration and fear, you are led to understand how terrifying it truly is to be unbelieved, a problem misogyny perpetuates for women to this day. Available on Amazon Prime, the Roku Channel, and Spectrum TV, anyone who is interested in a horror film with its true horror being of a more subtle kind may consider watching Rosemary’s Baby.
