Baby Rosemary

This is one of those 1970's porno films that achieves a level of nihilistic misanthropy and general malaise rarely seen outside of an Italian cannibal film (which is actually why I watched it--it sure wasn't for the thoroughly unattractive performers and unappealing sex scenes). It's kind of hardcore version of the ultra-depressing sexploitation film "Toys Are Not for Children". They should show it to sex offenders because it will make them want to castrate themselves with a rusty kitchen knife (or at the very least put them off sex for awhile).

As in "Toys" the movie is about a young woman who is obsessed with the father who abandoned her to a brutal orphanage. This leads her as an adult to seek out sexually abusive relationships with men including an associate of her father's who violently rapes her the first time they meet. Meanwhile, she neglects her nice guy boyfriend, who takes up with a skanky prostitute and turns into quite a misogynist himself. But this film isn't only about misogyny, it's also about necrophilia, including, not just one, but two orgies set in a funeral home. The ending is not as much of a surprise, but is every bit the brutal punch-to-the-gut of "Toys" or its most famous hardcore contemporary "The Devil in Miss Jones". The violence towards women is pretty disturbing frankly, but it's obviously meant to be disturbing, which actually makes it LESS disturbing than true sicko porn films like those of Sean Costello or Zebedy Colt. And the audience sympathy here is always with the woman rather than the abusive males.

If you're like me and you really hate "feel-good" romantic comedies, you should seek this out as it is the EXACT opposite--a "feel-bad" roughie hardcore porno movie. God knows, the world needs that sometimes too.

Baby Rosemary (1976)

*** (out of 4)

After her mother died, Rosemary (Sharon Thorpe) had to grow up in an orphanage. Years later she has many mental and sexual issues related to her father. When she goes to pay him a visit she is violently raped by a man and another woman, which sets her mind off yet again. A few years later she returns and learns that her father and now died and this begins more trauma.

BABY ROSEMARY is not a porn take-off on the Roman Polanski film, although the title certainly suggests that. If you're into fun porno movies or adult movies that are basically meant to have your shorts around your knees then it's probably best that you stay away from this John Hayes film. This here is more like a psychological drama that uses sex as something extremely ugly and vile. This is a very downbeat film so it's appeal is going to be limited but it's certainly an interesting film.

I had never really heard of this film, although I knew its director from his horror films GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE and GARDEN OF THE DEAD. Those two films look like a cheerful Sunday morning compared to this one. I'm not going to sit here and say that the story itself was ground-breaking because it really wasn't. At the same time you have to give the writer-director credit for even attempting to use sex in such a dirty and negative light. There have been porno movies that took on dark themes but this one here is pretty darn grim from start to finish.

To me the most impressive moment of the film happens at the very end when there's a bizarre orgy set around Rosemary's father's casket. This entire sequence was rather creepy on a number of levels but the dark atmosphere that hands over it just has you walking away from the film feeling quite dirty for even watching it. I also thought Thorpe was interesting in the lead role. In reality, whenever she had to deliver lines I thought the performance was at its weakest but outside of the line reading I thought she was very good. Especially during the quiet moments where her character is in fear, the actress really brought these to life.

Again, porno films have a very limited appeal to begin with. Add in such a dark subject matter and the bizarre story structure and it's doubtful BABY ROSEMARY is going to be a film that most will be attracted to. With that said, the film is certainly a good one and it's bizarre atmosphere makes it stand out from the crowd.

This movie is slightly haunting and very nostalgic. Director Harold Perkins takes you into the life of a sexually suppressed young woman played by Sharon Thorpe. This may be a shocker to hear me say, but Sharon looks absolutely beautiful in this one! Her character is sweet and very innocent. I remember Sharon doing at least five scenes including being the object of desire in the midst of a giant orgy-- ending with all the male actors getting off in her face. Her look of disgust is award winning! John Leslie does a scene with Leslie Bovee, and I remember a lesbian 3-way featuring Candida Royale. She in later years went on to direct videos for couples! I Don't even know if this film is available on DVD. If so it would have been edited for time, inasmuch as all the old essex releases have been re-cut. But I do remember making a beta (video cassette) copy in 1985 and watching it over 50 times! If indeed it is available on disc, I certainly would not recommend viewing it. "Small Town Girls" was a lesson to me about how the 80's films have deteriorated. I would not be able to handle viewing this one in that way. Try to find it on an old beta or VHS rental to see this masterpiece as it was intended to be!

I may not be qualified to review this title, as I only made it through the first ten minutes. Yet in that time, I saw the heroine being humiliated by a man who supposedly cared for her and then raped at knifepoint.

Granted, I didn't go in expecting The Color Purple. Yet I was expecting an intelligent adult film, not a horror movie. And while I'm definitely not a censorship maven (indeed, I work for an adult magazine), I really wish that filmmakers would stop confusing rape with sex.

No offense to Candida Royalle and John Leslie, both of whom I adore. I'm just glad they've bone gone on to bigger (and better) things. This movie, for its part, needs to go in the trash.