Rosemary's Baby...Nuart Midnight Screening. July 25th!

Rosemary's Baby will be screening tonight at the Nuart Theatre in West Los Angeles (July 25th) at midnight.

I recall when the intense thriller first graced the screen.

The intense horror flick - starring Mia Farrow - caused quite a sensation.

Although the special effects no doubt pale to the offerings today - what with all the advances in technology over the years - Rosemary's Baby still ranks high as one of the top scariest films of all time.

The sensational feature was adapted from a novel by known Satanist Ira Levin.


The movie version produced at Paramount was directed by the celebrated (now somewhat infamous) Roman Polanski.

Levin was hired as a consultant on the high profile project.


Anton La Vey - founder of the Satanist Church - appeared briefly as the devil.

La Vey touted the film as,

"The best paid commercial for Satanism since the Inquisition."

When Ms. Farrow was asked to play the role, she was married to Frank Sinatra at the time.

During the course of the film - Mia's normally luscious locks of hair - were cropped quite short (a la "twiggy-style") to accommodate a storyline which caused one former flame to quip to the press,

"I always knew Frank would end up with a boy."



Concerned that Mia would be on location a lot, and out of romantic reach, Frank issued an ultimatum: pick me or the movie.

Ms. Farrow chose to continue filming; consequently, shortly thereafter she was served with divorce papers on the set one day just as she was about to shoot a dramatic scene.

Curiously, events surrounding the film, caused many to consider the real possibility that dark forces were at work behind-the-scenes.

On June 5 (1968) - ten days before Rosemary's Baby was released - Polanski and his wife Sharon Tate dined with Robert Kennedy in Malibu. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

A year later - on August 7th (1969) - Charles Manson disciples brutally murdered Sharon Tate and her unborn baby - along with four other people at the Director's in the Hollywood Hills in California.

Rosemary's Baby was shot at the legendary Dakota Apartment complex in Manhattan.

Stuck...tale ripped from headlines disturbs filmgoers!

Obviously, it was an important screening for the producers of "Stuck".

All the executives turned out for a sneak preview with the leading actors in tow - Mena Suvari & Russell Hornsby - who jetted in from far-off locales to attend.

A virgin to the U.S. Market, "Stuck" screened at the Toronto Film Festival recently to enthusiastic audiences.

Yeah, a big push for a release stateside proved successful. Today, the gory horror feature opens at the Nuart in Los Angeles and selected theatres across the country.

Frankly, I can't recall when I've attended a preview where the audience reacted so violently - moaned, cried out - were emotionally wrought over the events unfolding on the silver screen.

"Stuck" is raw and gritty and potent filmmaking; partly because of the special effects - which are damning, they're so realistic - and also due to the remarkable convincing performance by Stephen Rea in the lead role.

When the invite arrived for the sneak preview, I nearly passed.

"Stuck"...what kind of title was this for a movie?

At the theatre, filmgoers in-the-know noted that the project was based on a true story ripped from the headlines.

A young woman, on her way home from a bout of frenzied late-night partying, gets distracted on her cell phone. In a split second, suddenly - without warning - a homeless man steps in front of the oncoming car.

She slams into him.

The hapless character (played by Rea) unceremoniously gets "stuck" in the windshield of her vehicle. In shock - and distraught over the accident (and probably confused by virtue of the mind-altering drugs in her system) - she is at a loss to fathom the appropriate action to take.

So, she speeds home with the man dangling out the splintered window - parks the car in the garage - then dashes in the house to figure a way out of her dilemma.

At this juncture, it's important to note that at the crawl of the credits, producers stated that the film was "inspired by a true story"; herein, lies one cue.

There will be a departure from the original tale.

For me, the other hint at what was to unfold was obvious due to a remark the producer made before the curtain fell.

With a bit of glee, he noted that Amicus - the Indy Horror-Genre Film House - was distributing the thriller. Clearly, this was not going to be a sensitive morality tale with a cozy ending!

Indeed, it wasn't...

In fact, "Stuck" is definitely not for the squeamish!

In one scene, when Rea desperately writhes forward to snatch up a cell phone just beyond his reach, he is forced to drag his mutilated body over jagged pieces of glass and metal. Along the painful journey, the audience is treated to images of the slicing and dicing of flesh and disturbing images of blood spurting from the gaping wounds.

We feel his pain, his anguish...

In another shocking scene, I hid my face in my hands - occasionally peering through clenched fingers - waiting for closure. When it wasn't forthcoming, I asked the guest next to me to signal me when the traumatic violent stabbings came to a close.

Although the dialogue was often appropriate, due to some clever juxtaposition of images (which often caused a riveting upsurge of tangled emotions and feelings), the utterances jarred the sensibilities. One minute the filmgoer is forced to laugh maniacally, the next recoil in genuine horror.

Yeah, "Stuck" is a real roller-coaster ride!

The ending, well - it's a smash-up surprise.

This film is going to cause a lot of buzz because it's shocking and disturbing and pulls no punches.

"Stuck"...will make you come unglued!