Rosemary’s Baby was too monumental a 4K UHD release to just release it alone, although you can just buy that if you want. But it also inspired Paramount Home Entertainment to collect five titles in Paramount Scares. I will also review the secret new title so don’t read past Rosemary’s if you still want to blind buy the set.
The main setting of Rosemary’s Baby is the apartment building, but it looks creepy from the moment Rosemary and her husband step into it. The entryway is already shadowy and they ride up an elevator shaft full of pure 4K UHD darkness.
Before their apartment is furnished they sit in the dark. The laundry room is dark. The city street outside the building at night is dark.
Bright white fresh paint and kitchen tiles shine. But the impregnation montage is shadowy. You see deep shadows of characters in profile too.
The classics Paramount Scares includes are the first Pet Seminary movie, the recent hit Smile and Crawl. But, the big surprise was Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street which has an aesthetic made for 4K.
4K UHD really captures the foggy part of town in the moonlight. Dark alleys get darker and darker until there are pockets of pure black. The unlit pie shop and other interiors ensure half of everybody’s face is kept in total shadow.
The blood gushes bright red against the gray/blue aesthetic. It also contrasts with bright sunny flashbacks.
The music of Sweeney Todd also booms in full surround.