Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Baby Rosemary Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 28, 2018

1976’s “Baby Rosemary” (not to be confused with “Rosemary’s Baby) depicts a woman suffering a nervous breakdown over unresolved childhood issues. It’s also an adult movie. Director John Hayes and screenwriters Ruth Price and Virgil Rome take quite a leap of faith in trying to merge these distinctly opposites realms of filmmaking, and it’s a near-miss for the production. It’s not easy to blend violence and hardcore sex and come away with a cohesive viewing experience, and “Baby Rosemary,” while not a mess, remains an uneasy concoction that’s much too harsh to be hot, while the heat gets in the way of the psychological study. Hayes isn’t that strong of a helmer to get the picture from start to finish without losing his place in the grand disease of it all.

Rosemary (Sharon Thorpe) is troubled by thoughts of her estranged father, who abandoned her when she was a child, leaving her to be raised as an orphan. As an adult, Rosemary has difficulty with her sexuality, leaving boyfriend John (John Leslie) frustrated with their relationship, electing to use prostitutes to work off his lust. After experiencing a two-year-long break, Rosemary is reunited with John, who’s become a cop and remains infatuated with his ex-girlfriend. But Rosemary’s journey of identity has led her down dangerous paths, experiencing sexual assault and cult influence, while the death of her dad threatens to shut her down completely.

Darkness is hard to accept in adult movies, but it can work with proper creative finesse and timing. “Baby Rosemary” doesn’t have much dramatic firepower, sticking with a threadbare plot that tracks the titular woman’s mission to figure out her paternal issues, while John experiences his own rocky path to stability. However, instead of inspecting grief, the material tries to get its jollies with Rosemary’s spiritual annihilation, with the character raped at knifepoint by a couple early in the film. Such a vicious moment seems to go against the picture’s mission of titillation, and if sinister thrills are truly the end game for Hayes, he misses any lasting cruelty by adding a pair of young sex cult members to Rosemary’s life, with the ladies quick to pray to their penis god before devouring a few eager onlookers.

Baby Rosemary Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Damage is detected often in the AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation, with "Baby Rosemary" arriving on Blu-ray with substantial wear and tear at times. Frame damage is found periodically, along with a few stretches of warping, and mild scratches and speckling appear as well. Despite some visual setbacks, the overall look of "Baby Rosemary" is open for inspection, making it past some focus issues to deliver compelling clarity, keeping the actors in full view in and out of clothes. Set decoration is easily inspected, and costuming remains textured. A few outdoor encounters offer ideal distances to pick out San Francisco landmarks. Colors are inviting, handling vibrant primaries to keep the period look, also finding greenery intact. Delineation is acceptable. Grain is good, maintaining a tight, filmic look.

Baby Rosemary Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 1.0 DTS-HD MA mix carries a bit more of a horror-centric sound design, with ghostly voices and brazen acts of violence helping to vary the listening experience. Clarity is acceptable, with dialogue exchanges easy to follow and sexual response loud. Spookier vocal effects are presented without disruption. Scoring provides tonal support with acceptable instrumentation, leading with flute-based music to help communicate fractured innocence. Atmospherics are blunt but reasonable.

Baby Rosemary Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this disc.

Baby Rosemary Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Moments of "Baby Rosemary" are silly, certain scenes are repellent and sexual contact is cold to the touch. The film hopes to disturb with its display of ruined lives and daddy issues, and the ending is quite chilling, though I'm not sure it's meant to be. "Baby Rosemary" doesn't have a defined tonal direction, and while it ultimately strives for agonized profundity, it ends up short on enlightenment and catharsis. Lose all the money shots, and maybe the feature could find its way back to its original intent.