1968's Rosemary's Baby, based on Ira Levin's 1967 novel of the same name, is an undisputed horror classic. Without extreme violence and gore, there is a slow-burning terror weaved into the film, pairing the fear of the occult with the anxious unknowns of pregnancy. Actress Mia Farrow is spectacular in the role of Rosemary, a wife and expectant mother who is slowly putting the pieces of her husband's (John Cassavetes) sick betrayal together, and Ruth Gordon's Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as the evil Minnie Castevet is well-earned.It's not surprising, then, that the box-office success of the film prompted a sequel, Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby. Sure, it wasn't released until 1976, eight years after the original, but there have certainly been other sequels that were released years after the first film (cough, cough, Avatar: The Way of Water). No, it didn't have Mia Farrow, but having an esteemed actress like Patty Duke as Rosemary is hardly a step backward, and besides, Ruth Gordon reprised her award-winning role as Minnie. It didn't have a theatrical release, but was released as a made-for-television film, placing it among heavy hitters like High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane, and, um, Romy and Michele: In the Beginning. It was directed by Sam O'Steen, who edited the first film, so maybe he picked up some tricks.Okay, the truth? Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby isn't even good enough to be on the Devil's PVR. But it sure is fun to look back at!RELATED: Best Horror Book Adaptations That Aren't Stephen King
What Is 'Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby' About?
Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby is split into three separate "books." "The Book of Rosemary" opens on the coven preparing for a ritual. They soon discover that 8-year-old Adrian (Philip Boyer), aka Rosemary's Baby, is missing, taken from his room by Rosemary (Patty Duke). The coven sends the forces of evil to track them down, but to no avail. The next evening, Rosemary contacts Guy (George Maharis) from a bus shelter, instructing him to send her money. Meanwhile, Adrian is outside playing when some local children come by and start bullying him. There are lessons here: don't contact the man who's still in cahoots with the coven, and don't piss off the Devil's kid. They attempt to flee, but a sex worker nearby, Marjean (Tina Louise, who you'll remember as Ginger from Gilligan's Island), offers the pair refuge in her trailer before offering to send them on a bus to escape. When the bus arrives, Rosemary boards followed by... nope, doors close before Adrian gets on. Turns out Marjean is part of the coven, and the bus Rosemary is on is possessed and drives by itself. Buh-bye Rosemary!"The Book of Adrian" picks up 20 years after. An adult Adrian (Stephen McHattie) is detained by police for speeding. Upon release, Adrian returns to "Aunt" Marjean's casino, where he lives. Later in the evening, Minnie (Ruth Gordon) and Roman (Ray Milland) arrive at the casino. Minnie drugs Adrian, and dresses him in a costume and devil makeup while he's unconscious. The coven gathers and starts chanting in order to invoke Satan, who possesses Adrian. Possessed Adrian runs out to the dance floor where Satan then starts possessing the people there. "The Book of Andrew" sees Adrian waking up in the hospital with amnesia, believing his name is Andrew. He is held there by police as a murder suspect, but a nurse, Ellen (Donna Mills), helps him escape to a nearby motel. You'll never believe that Ellen is also part of the coven. She drugs and rapes him, appearing in Andrew's nightmare as a harpy ripping at his chest. When he wakes up, he goes outside to find Ellen, only to find a car speeding toward him. Andrew gets out of the way, but Ellen does not. The car crashes, killing the driver. The driver is none other than Andrew's "dad," Guy, prompting a scared and confused Andrew to run away. The film ends with Roman and Millie in a hospital, visiting their granddaughter, who happens to be Ellen!! Yes, Ellen survived and has given birth to Andrew's baby, setting up Rosemary's Grandbaby.
'Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby' Is Gauche '70s at Its Worst
Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby's Adrian has outgrown the hooves and devil eyes of his baby years, apparently. But he's the same kid, as pointed out in a spooky chant:“Hail Adrian/hail Satan/Satan is his father/and his name is Adrian" (shades of David Letterman's infamous "Uma, Oprah. Oprah, Uma"). Would the film have been better if Adrian still had his father's eyes? Unlikely, as there's a lot wrong with it, with the main flaw being that it has no idea what type of movie it is. A chase film? A Satanic chiller? Weird disco/rock music nightmare? Hell, it has way more in common with The Omen than Rosemary's Baby. Then there is the curious decision to off Rosemary with an empty, driverless bus, adding a level of implausibility that the original wisely avoided. Then there's the 20-year jump between the first two books, a clear distinction between 1976 and 1976. Couldn't they at least try to make it look like 1996? Maybe some matching jumpsuits, flying cars, coven robots that allow the members to chant from home?McHattie's Adrian is torn, subject to nightmares and a tendency for violence, and doesn't know why he's this way. Guess there are no pictures of good ol' Dad around the house. Striving to be a good influence in Adrian's life is none other than his righteous friend, Peter Simon (David Huffman). So, just in case the battle between good and evil isn't subtle enough, the name of the good guy in the film echoes Jesus' main man, Simon Peter. The film is made complete with bizarre dream sequences, pedestrian Satanic rituals, a Satan-possessed Adrian in white face paint, writhing around the disco floor like a bargain-basement Mick Jagger in a scene that wouldn't seem all that out of place in Brian de Palma's Phantom of the Paradise (except for its god-awfulness). A black birthday cake with pentagram candles, and a black teddy bear that spews smoke, all behind disco instrumentals, round out the film. You know, all the things that made the original such a success!
