Acclaimed, yet underrated urban horror...

Rating: 10/10 (19 February 1999)

If there is one talent Roman Polanski has, it is creating confusion on-screen. "Chinatown" is littered with moments where you're not at all sure what is what or who is who. "Rosemary's Baby", his first major American work, is a masterpiece of gothic horror primarily because of the confusion the lead character faces throughout. Are her neighbors witches? Could her doctor be evil? Is her husband a part of it? Even though we pretty much know these answers ourselves, the web of intrigue created by Polanski, and Farrow's convincing performance, makes everything that happens seem all the more creepy.
Based on Ira Levin's bestseller, the film no doubt exceeds the novel. There are no ghosts, poltergeists, or possessions. Just the overwhelming presence of evil in the Dakota apartments where Farrow, with her husband played by John Cassavettes, live in what should be a safe-haven. Farrow has nowhere or no one to go to in the biggest of cities.
The rape scene is one of the most spellbindingly scary scenes ever done. We never do see the creature in full view or on top of Farrow, we only see the eyes. They say it all. Most horror films would use a quick long shot for a scene like this. The sequence is very much like a nightmare Farrow believes she only had. The scenes shot in the huge entrance to the Dakotas are accidently eerie because we know this is the exact spot where John Lennon would be murdered within 12 years.
One final note: According to Roger Ebert, the voice of the blinded actor on the phone with Mia is that of Tony Curtis.