This is how horror films need to be made. Aside from The House of the Devil (a beautiful throwback to this period of the genre) there aren't any films that can so perfectly create this kind of a chilling atmosphere that keeps your skin tingling from start to finish. From the haunting echo of Mia Farrow's voice eerily leading us in, Rosemary's Baby immediately absorbs you into it's world and never lets you out. That's the perfect word for this; absorbing. Roman Polanski is one of cinema's finest directors and what makes him stand as such is how perfectly he can create an atmosphere. Even in his few failures he crafts a unique and full atmosphere that is expertly made for the film he's creating. He's one of the few directors who always know what he's doing and always creates a complete vision that never wavers. That's on display in spades in Rosemary's Baby, a film that drives mystery, supernatural paranoia and the fears of any pregnant woman into the heart of the viewer. With the help of a revelatory performance in terror from Farrow, Polanski creates a truly perfect film.

For me, alongside Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby is one of Roman Polanski's best films. As with all of Polanski's movies, it is very well-made and directed. The cinematography is both striking and atmospheric, with lighting that always helps to enhance the mood, while the music and sound effects are haunting and the story is compelling.

The script is yet another strength, all the psychological horror is there and done with genuinely unnerving effect, it has plenty of paranoia mixed with the odd bit of morbid humour. I couldn't have asked for better acting either. Mia Farrow is in I feel her best performance here, and she is an ideal satanic foil.

John Cassevetes is suitably selfish and frustrated, and then there's Ruth Gordon who is wonderfully eccentric and in a menacing sense. Overall, a chilling psychological horror that to me is still very effective. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Polanski's undisputed classic of the horror genre fully deserves the status that it holds. This is a film packed with tension and understated terror that expertly wrings maximum unease from the audience via some great performances and an oppressive atmosphere of fear and distrust. Polanski's direction really draws out the claustrophobic confines of the apartment in which most of the action takes place, and the literate script brings to mind earlier classics like THE SEVENTH VICTIM which substituted atmosphere and style over special effects and clichés. Creepy, suspenseful, thoughtful, intelligent...these are just some of the words that can be used to describe this film.

Mia Farrow is very good as the film's lead; brilliantly conveying paranoia and mistrust as she becomes convinced of the devil cult around her. Her physical alteration halfway through the film comes as a great shock. John Cassavetes expertly conveys charisma and ambition as her actor husband; and yet there's always something slightly sinister about him too. The supporting cast here are particularly good, indeed not one person puts a foot wrong. Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer excel as the friendly neighbourhood Satanists, not of the usual variety. Maurice Evans is excellent in a sympathetic turn as a family friend. And it's great to see cameos from genre veterans Elisha Cook Jr. and William Castle (ironically this film was his biggest success... as a producer).

Most young film fans will undoubtedly find this movie to be hard going; I did too, in places, although not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The running time clocks in at just over two and a quarter hours, so there's a lot to get through. The total lack of effects, violence and action actually succeeds in making this a greater film; their exclusion brings it closer to reality that it might have been otherwise. Made in an age when characterisation and plot were more important than CGI and one-liners, ROSEMARY'S BABY is arguably Polanski's best film and a true genre classic.