There are a handful of great horror movies.
Movies which came late enough to set the bar.
Although the early days of cinema were horrific.
A different style developed.
Rosemary’s Baby has a Hitchcockean subtlety to it.
And so Psycho would be the first true horror movie.
1960.
It was a new style of filmmaking.
But Roman Polanski advanced that style.
Here.
Perhaps we wouldn’t get another in this line till The Shining.
1980.
When great directors dabble in horror.
1960. 1968. 1980.
But horror is an everyman genre.
And so Tobe Hooper made a great one.
1974.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
1960. 1968. 1974. 1980.
A progression from subtlety to overt gore.
But all these films are artful.
Silence of the Lambs resurrected that tradition.
Art.
Fear. Terror. Poetry. The flowers of evil.
1960. 1968. 1974. 1980. 1991.
We feel it in Twin Peaks.
Possession.
But perhaps no film captured the essence of the occult so artfully as Rosemary’s Baby.
It is a truly terrifying film.
Spooky.
But classic.
Austere.
Every element is well-placed.
It is an art film. But equally a spectacle. An entertainment.
Most notably, it is a philosophic reflection upon evil.
As I’ve said…science doesn’t admit such.
The existence.
But we have to wonder.
When such powerful people believe in such mumbo jumbo.
Whether there is power or not. In their ceremonies.
They believe. Ostensibly.
It is a frightening prospect.
A very disturbed element of the intelligentsia.
But always…
Always.
Strive.
To understand your enemies.
-PD
paulydeathwish 
Great review I love this film I saw it in the late 70’s and saw it again not long ago it is like discovering a new film I remembered bit and pieces of this film.
Yeah, it’s a classic 🙂 I saw it a long time ago and I always remembered it was special. Thanks for the comment! –Paul
This is one of my favourite horror movies. I’m a huge fan of Polanski. I’ve seen Chinatown, Carnage, The Ghost Writer, The Ninth Gate, The Tenant, Death and the Maiden, and Frantic. All great films. He has a hypnotic style of film-making. Repulsion and Macbeth are on my to-watch list.
His early film Knife in the Water (in Polish) is also great! –Paul
Hey, Paul, just a suggestion! I think you should add the movie posters to your reviews. I download mine from Google images. They make a web page more attractive. Some of the old movie posters are very cool. btw; checkout The Letter (1940). A must-see film by Bette Davis. She looks like Dirty Harry in that poster with the close-up shot of the gun.
I’ve thought about it, but I’ve wanted to keep the focus on the text. It’s the contrarian in me 🙂 –Paul