Rosemary's Baby
NBC | Release Date: May 11, 2014
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
51
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
12
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
30
Boston GlobeSarah RodmanMay 9, 2014
Season 1 Review: Even with actors who have done good work elsewhere, this Baby is a curiously lifeless “reimagining” with a thoroughly modern polish that actually makes the story harder to believe and lands well short of its target of generating atmospheric chills. Read full review
58
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardMay 9, 2014
Season 1 Review: Thursday’s conclusion drags a bit if only because the miniseries requires Rosemary to be so deeply stupid for so long, and it’s not entertaining watching Saldana being practically sucked dry by her infernal fetus. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesLori RacklMay 7, 2014
Season 1 Review: It starts to feel repetitive in the second half. But a convincing Zoe Saldana Avatar keeps you vested in the outcome, and the City of Light makes an enticing backdrop for the Prince of Darkness. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyClark CollisMay 6, 2014
Season 1 Review: There are enough deviations to keep horror aficionados at least mildly interested. [9 May 2014, p.61]
50
Los Angeles TimesMary McNamaraMay 9, 2014
Season 1 Review: Rosemary's Baby is not terrible. Where the original film was shocking, this version, though bloody, is fairly mild. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyMay 9, 2014
Season 1 Review: The problem for the miniseries is that what it adds to fill the extra time feels like padding. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Matt Zoller SeitzMay 9, 2014
Season 1 Review: In nearly every scene of this Baby, you're judging it against the Polanski version and wishing you were watching that one instead. The writing is jumbled, the photography often merely pretty, the direction often shockingly clumsy. Read full review
63
New York PostElisabeth VincentelliMay 12, 2014
Season 1 Review: The miniseries is often visually striking, with helmer Agnieszka Holland delivering stylish, cinematic work. But the new script also undermines her mood-setting efforts with cheap shock tactics. Read full review
58
NewsdayVerne GayMay 8, 2014
Season 1 Review: Nice to look at, good performances, but ultimately a snooze. Read full review
75
People WeeklyTom GliattoMay 9, 2014
Season 1 Review: This version, set in Paris, compensates with an atmosphere of chic rot--they have that over there--an increased body count and an excellent cast. [19 May 2014, p.44] Read full review
60
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GrayMay 9, 2014
Season 1 Review: NBC's version lacks the undercurrent of humor that ran through the 1968 film.... What this Rosemary's Baby has going for it, mostly, is Rosemary herself. Saldana's terrific as a gutsy mother-to-be who knows something's wrong but can't get anyone to believe her. And Holland's direction maintains whatever suspense is possible. Which is only so much. Read full review
80
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandMay 8, 2014
Season 1 Review: This mini reproduces the movie's singular feat of being scary without being graphic, accomplishing more with mood and suggestion than overt shocks. Read full review
30
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoMay 9, 2014
Season 1 Review: Nothing is remotely atmospheric, death scenes are predictable and boringly filmed, the best friend character might as well be wearing a red shirt, and the dialogue and plotting are horrendously executed. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandMay 7, 2014
Season 1 Review: The cast is very good, perhaps showing just how competent they are as they maintain a tenuous hold on our interest long after the film has dropped the credibility ball. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineMatt BrennanMay 12, 2014
Season 1 Review: The style, or lack thereof, works against the tale of psychological terrors to the point that the whole thing feels like a rebuke. Read full review
50
SlateWilla PaskinMay 9, 2014
Season 1 Review: NBC’s Rosemary’s Baby, which premieres Sunday night and finishes up on Thursday, is a not-great remake, but it is also a not-entirely-horrible miniseries, a beneficiary of the soft standards of low expectations. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonMay 9, 2014
Season 1 Review: Saldana seems to be sleepwalking through most of it, and we rarely feel Rosemary’s fear. Rather than jumping in your seat, you’re more likely to pick up a magazine. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubZack HandlenMay 8, 2014
Season 1 Review: The new Rosemary’s Baby is, at best, a glossy, flat reminder that there are better versions of this story readily available. At worst, it’s just flat. Read full review
10
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanMay 12, 2014
Season 1 Review: So much of this remake loses the original’s subtlety (no doubt decades of more pointed horror movies have taken their toll) that outside of the aforementioned three worthwhile elements [Paris, Zoe Saldana, and Zoe Saldana in her underwear] everything seems to be a waste of time. Read full review
80
The New York TimesAlessandra StanleyMay 8, 2014
Season 1 Review: Rosemary’s Baby bends to current fashions, and, accordingly, is more straightforward and much gorier than the original film. But partly because the story has been so altered, it still has mystery and suspense. Read full review
40
TimeJames PoniewozikMay 8, 2014
Season 1 Review: The miniseries is leaden and slack. Part of the problem maybe simply be bloat.... But the greater problem is Rosemary and Guy, who are as anesthetically generic as a couple in a credit-card commercial. Read full review
30
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushMay 9, 2014
Season 1 Review: Roman and Margaux Castavet (scene-stealing Jason Isaacs and Carole Bouquet, the best reasons to tune in). Closer in tone to ABC's failed 666 Park Avenue homage than to Roman Polanski's still-haunting 1968 adaptation, this Baby isn't likely to keep you at night. Read full review
75
Uncle BarkyEd BarkMay 8, 2014
Season 1 Review: Saldana carries the full load throughout. Her skepticism grows--as does her performance--in tandem with her belly before it all boils over into a full-out escape plan. Read full review
37
USA TodayRobert BiancoMay 8, 2014
Season 1 Review: It won't take you long to recognize this inept remake for the dull, clumsy bore it is. Read full review
40
VarietyBrian LowryMay 7, 2014
Season 1 Review: Steeped in gore but deprived of atmosphere, this update on the Satanic classic suffers from its contemporary setting and attendant improvements in obstetrics, while feeling closer in tone to a remake of “The Omen” than of its namesake. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf SmithMay 8, 2014
Season 1 Review: Although their four-hour production sags and drags in places, it is overall a stylish and engaging new take. Read full review
60
Washington PostHank StueverMay 9, 2014
Season 1 Review: The script can be remedially hokey, but Saldana turns in a feisty and believable performance as a mother fighting for the life of her unholy spawn. Read full review
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