"Tannis, anyone?"

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2018)

As I write this, the current year is the Fiftieth Anniversary of the movie's release, and even though I'm older than the picture, I've never seen it before. Like anyone else, I've known about it forever, and can't really explain why it's taken so long to get around to it. Probably the most startling thing about the picture when it was all over was the idea that director Roman Polanski achieved what is considered one of the best horror movies of all time, without actually showing any horror. It's really uncanny how the mystery and suspense builds as housewife Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) gradually learns that her pregnancy is under assault by a scheming neighbor couple and her own actor husband (John Cassavetes), who's traded his integrity for a shot at celebrity fame and glory by offering the unborn baby to a coven of witches. One's only glimpse of a demonic presence occurs during Rosemary's fevered nightmare following an evening of alcoholic gaiety, with the viewer left unclear as to the identity of the future baby's 'real' father. By the time Rosemary figures out that she's in great danger, she runs the risk of sounding like a mental case attempting to explain her fears to anyone who might take her seriously. For anyone expecting a glimpse of the Satanic offspring, once again it's better left to the imagination of the viewer to conjure up a mental image that matches up with the idea that "Satan is his Father, and his name is Adrian". Unlike the expressed visual horror of a picture like "Psycho", this one will slowly wrap it's tentacles around your brain and squeeze it for that last drop of adrenalin. Don't wait fifty years to see it.