Opening Sequence Analysis - Rosemary's Baby

 1.) We are introduced to a young couple who are looking to settle down and are house hunting - very natural, realistic setting based around this couple, but as we watch them being shown around the apartment and see a cabinet blocking a door to a cupboard and immediately we wonder why it’s been moved there – what is it blocking/hiding?
2.) We see them discussing the apartment and hear a story of past experiences within the building involving the death and sacrifice of young children. We wonder how this will relate to them once they move in as we expect something bad to happen because of the horror genre. Rosemary mentions early in the clip that they’re hoping to have children soon so that could possibly link in to the existing stories surrounding the buildings past. We see their neighbours who are quite odd and we worry slightly for the pair as they are surrounded by these people who seem to have quite strange intentions and beliefs, whilst appearing friendly.
3.) The part of the opening I personally found the most unnerving was the music accompanying the opening credits, I think it really did set a creepy, frightening tone for the film – it definitely adds to the fear and expectations that something bad is going to happen. It sounds like a lullaby in some ways (possibly linking to rosemary wanting a baby) but has a scary edge to it; it doesn’t sound comfortable/happy.
4 + 5.) Its set within an urban environment, focussed obviously in a certain apartment block, which is responsible for the entire plot really – it’s the start of all the problems for the couple. It appears very spacious but there seems to be a lot of corridors and quite tight spaces - very enclosed in terms of it appearing very dark and haunting due to it being lit quite dimly – allowing for lots of shadows and sharp edges in beams of light. We often just see peoples outline or profile rather than if being brightly lit and allowing us to see the whole face and body. This makes us wonder if there’s someone hiding or watching, or something about to creep up on Rosemary.

I think the single enclosed setting, the shadows and the instantly unnerving opening due to the unsettling music are all aspects that work really effectively in this scene and ones which we could work into our own film.

Catherine