Outstanding late 60's horror classic

Rating: 9/10 (23 August 2017)

Rosemary Woodhouse (superbly played with aching vulnerability by Mia Farrow) moves into a new apartment with her self-centered struggling actor husband Guy (an excellent performance by John Cassavetes). Rosemary gets pregnant and soon begins to suspect that her friendly, yet eccentric neighbors are plotting something sinister against her and her baby.
Writer/director Roman Polanski firmly grounds the gripping premise in a thoroughly plausible workaday reality, makes fine use of New York City locations, and adroitly crafts a spooky, yet subtle, understated, and ambiguous atmosphere rife with dread and unease. Moreover, Polanski leaves it up to the viewer to decide if the grim events in the story are indeed actually happening or all some kind of nightmarish hallucination caused by Rosemary's mounting paranoia and troubled state of mind. In fact, what makes this film so chilling and unsettling are that the bulk of things which occur in the narrative are within the realm of possibility as well as the devastating revelation that Guy was willing to betray Rosemary by making an unholy pact with the devil in exchange for achieving the success that he desperately yearns for.
Ruth Gordon won a well-deserved Oscar for her delightfully quirky and vibrant portrayal of the flaky and pesky Minnie Castevet. The rest of the cast are just as splendid: Sidney Blackmer as the dapper Roman, Maurice Evans as the amiable Hutch, Ralph Bellamy as the avuncular Dr. Sapirstein, Victoria Vetri as the ill-fated Terry, Patsy Kelly as the kooky Laura-Louise, Elisha Cook Jr. as glum realtor Mr. Nicklas, and Charles Grodin as the unhelpful Dr. Hill. Kudos are also in order for William A. Fraker's slick cinematography and Krzysztof Komeda's supremely eerie lullaby score. Essential viewing.