Villain(s)  Witches, demon child

Actor(s):  Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer

Brief Description  Rosemary’s Baby (1968), written and directed by Roman Polanski and based on the 1967 novel by Ira Levin, is a landmark psychological horror film that explores themes of paranoia, gaslighting, and the loss of bodily autonomy. The movie stars Mia Farrow as Rosemary Woodhouse and John Cassavetes as her husband, Guy. It is widely celebrated for its slow-burn suspense and its chilling depiction of a modern-day Satanic conspiracy hidden behind a veneer of polite, upscale New York City society.

Plot:
Rosemary, a gentle Catholic homemaker, and Guy, a struggling stage actor, move into The Bramford, an imposing New York apartment building with a dark history of suicide, murder, and witchcraft. Despite a warning from their older friend, Edward "Hutch" Hutchins, the young couple signs the lease. Soon after moving in, Rosemary meets Terry Gionoffrio, a recovering addict taken in by the Castevets—Minnie and Roman—an eccentric elderly couple living next door. Shorty afterward, Terry dies in an apparent suicide, jumping from her window. This tragedy introduces Rosemary and Guy to the Castevets, who quickly insinuate themselves into the young couple's lives.

While Rosemary finds Minnie’s constant interruptions overbearing, Guy begins spending hours alone with Roman Castevet. Shortly after, Guy's career takes a sudden leap: his main rival for a coveted Broadway role mysteriously goes blind, leaving the part open for Guy. Guy suddenly insists that he and Rosemary must have a baby immediately. On the planned night of conception, Minnie sends over a special chocolate mousse. Rosemary notices a strange, chalky taste and secretly discards most of it, but still falls into a deep, drug-induced sleep. She experiences a terrifying, surreal nightmare where she is stripped naked, bound, and raped by a demonic, scaly creature in front of her neighbors and Guy. The next morning, she wakes up with scratches on her body; Guy dismisses them, claiming he didn't want to miss the opportunity and had sex with her while she was unconscious.

Rosemary is soon confirmed pregnant, with her due date calculated for June 28, 1966 (6/28/66). At the Castevets’ insistence, Guy forces Rosemary to ditch her standard doctor and see the elite, high-society obstetrician Dr. Abraham Sapirstein. Dr. Sapirstein forbids Rosemary from reading books or taking advice from friends. Instead, he orders her to drink a daily, herbal smoothie freshly prepared by Minnie. Rather than thriving, Rosemary suffers excruciating, unnatural pelvic pain, extreme weight loss, and bizarre cravings for raw meat. When her concerned friends notice her gaunt appearance, Guy and Dr. Sapirstein gaslight her, insisting the pain is normal. Hutch, deeply suspicious of the situation, does his own research on the Bramford and the Castevets. Before he can meet Rosemary to share what he discovered, he falls into a mysterious, sudden coma. Months later, Hutch dies, leaving Rosemary a book titled All of Them Witches.

Using Hutch's book, Rosemary uses an anagram puzzle to discover that "Roman Castevet" is actually Steven Marcato, the son of an infamous, turn-of-the-century Satanist who lived in the Bramford. She realizes that her neighbors belong to a Satanic coven and concludes they want to use her baby as a human sacrifice. Terrified, Rosemary seeks help from Dr. Sapirstein, only to notice he wears the same pungent-smelling "tannis root" charm given to her by the Castevets. Realizing the doctor is part of the cult, she flees and begs her former physician, Dr. Hill, for help. Dr. Hill assumes she is experiencing a psychiatric breakdown and calls Guy and Dr. Sapirstein. They drug Rosemary and take her back to the Bramford, where she goes into labor.

When Rosemary wakes up, Guy and Dr. Sapirstein tell her that the baby died during delivery. However, during her recovery, Rosemary hears a newborn crying through the apartment ventilation system. Armed with a kitchen knife, she discovers a hidden doorway behind a closet that leads directly into the Castevets' apartment. Inside, she finds her neighbors, Dr. Sapirstein, and Guy gathered around a black-draped cradle. Looking into the bassinet, Rosemary screams in horror at the child's unnatural appearance, demands to know what they did to its eyes, to which Roman replies, "He has his father's eyes." Roman reveals the horrific truth: the baby did not die, and Guy is not the father. The child is the Antichrist, the Son of Satan, and Guy allowed the entity to rape Rosemary in exchange for fame and acting success. Roman coaxes her to accept her role, stating that the baby needs its true mother. Driven by her fierce, maternal instinct and hearing the child cry, Rosemary drops the knife, approaches the cradle, and gently rocks her son while the coven chants in celebration.