Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Based on the novel by Ira Levin, this classic tale of horror still remains a well-known pop culture reference over fifty years after its release.

Guy Woodhouse (John Cassavetes) and his wife Rosemary (Mia Farrow) have just moved into their new home: an apartment in a classic old building right in the heart of New York City. Guy is an actor, having performed on stage - and a little work on television.

They become quite close with their new neighbours, an older couple, Roman Castevet (Sidney Blackmer) and his wife Minnie (Ruth Gordon).

Guy (John Cassavetes), Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and Minnie (Ruth Gordon).

The couple learn that there is quite a dark history surrounding the building where they live, some terrible things have happened there in years past, and when Rosemary falls pregnant with her first child, things only get worse.

She is very ill for most of her pregnancy, and the obstetrician she is seeing - a friend of the Castevets named Abraham Sapirstein (Ralph Bellamy) - is not much help. He tells her that the pain she is experiencing will go away in a couple of days, but it lasts for months.

After a meeting with an old friend, Hutch (Maurice Evans), Rosemary becomes convinced that her neighbours are members of a modern-day coven, and that they want to harm her baby.

I won't say anything more about the plot, not for fear of spoilers, though; I think enough is known about this film by now, anyway.

Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and Guy (John Cassavetes).

The screenplay, written by Roman Polanski from Levin's novel, is absolutely brilliant. I haven't read the novel (yet), so I can't speak to the quality of the adaptation, but the script is filled with twists and turns, plenty of conflict, and incredibly well-defined characters.

Christopher Komeda's score is deceptively simple, and equally chilling. The main theme - first heard during the opening titles, sung by a female voice - is developed throughout the entire film, and each time the instrumentation is different. And as the film builds towards its shocking conclusion, it becomes more and more angular in its sound.

The cinematography by William Fraker is truly a thing of beauty. His unique use of angles - decided on in consultation with the director - and skill in contrasting light and dark are reason enough to watch this film (and again if you've seen it before). And in a film like this that deals with the contrast between the metaphorical light and dark, the way in which it is used here becomes all the more pronounced and important.

Rosemary (Mia Farrow).

The performances of the cast are very good, especially Mia Farrow as young Rosemary. There is just something about her portrayal of this troubled young woman that extends beyond the limits of the screen and will truly affect you as a viewer; she seems well-placed in the horror/thriller/mystery genre, and her wide eyes reveal so much about her inner struggle.

Director Roman Polanski has made a truly terrifying film, one that will continue to affect audiences for many years to come. Despite the film's age (over fifty years at time of writing), it still has much to shock you. Polanski may have endured controversies in his later personal life, but you cannot deny that the man is a filmmaking genius.

7 out of 10.