This belated sequel to the original hit film has been widely condemned by reviewers and fans of the original since it was first released back in 1976. I think they're being a little unfair, because this is certainly acceptable viewing and it works well in places as an atmospheric and subtle little thriller. It probably would have worked better had it not been a sequel to ROSEMARY'S BABY, a film it feels nothing like despite the return of Ruth Gordon in her skin-crawling role.
The film pulls the trick of swapping Patty Duke for a missing Mia Farrow, although it's a switch that you never really buy. The emphasis now is on the baby as a young man, with most of the running time occupied by Adrian feeling conflicted over the good and evil within him and struggling to battle the forces of evil, led by an enjoyably polite and genteel Ray Milland. Adrian is played by Stephen McHattie, who I know as an actor from the likes of 300 and A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (he was one of the coffee shop robbers in the latter) but didn't realise was acting as far back as the 1970s.
LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ROSEMARY'S BABY is episodic in places and the early sequences feel rather disjointed, although it all plays out better from the mid section onward. The ending is more than a little predictable. Overall, this feels more like an OMEN film than a sequel to ROSEMARY'S BABY, and there's no doubt that the success of THE OMEN saw it hastily written and released. As black magic thrillers from the 1970s go, though, it's a very middling genre instalment.
The film pulls the trick of swapping Patty Duke for a missing Mia Farrow, although it's a switch that you never really buy. The emphasis now is on the baby as a young man, with most of the running time occupied by Adrian feeling conflicted over the good and evil within him and struggling to battle the forces of evil, led by an enjoyably polite and genteel Ray Milland. Adrian is played by Stephen McHattie, who I know as an actor from the likes of 300 and A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (he was one of the coffee shop robbers in the latter) but didn't realise was acting as far back as the 1970s.
LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ROSEMARY'S BABY is episodic in places and the early sequences feel rather disjointed, although it all plays out better from the mid section onward. The ending is more than a little predictable. Overall, this feels more like an OMEN film than a sequel to ROSEMARY'S BABY, and there's no doubt that the success of THE OMEN saw it hastily written and released. As black magic thrillers from the 1970s go, though, it's a very middling genre instalment.