Iconic Horror Film Discovered By New Generation On Paramount+

Starring Mia Farrow, Rosemary’s Baby centers around a young couple, Rosemary (Farrow) and Guy Woodhouse (John Cassavetes), who move into a historic apartment building in Manhattan called the Bramford.

Rosemary is a stay-at-home wife who is pregnant with the couple’s first child, while Guy is an aspiring actor who is rather down on his luck when it comes to booking any gigs.

But soon, after the couple meets their next-door neighbors, Minnie (Ruth Gordon) and Roman Castevet (Sidney Blackmer), Guy’s luck begins to shift and he takes over a leading role.

Back at the Bramford, something curious continues to happen to Rosemary night after night as she’s plagued with haunting dreams that she can’t seem to recall during her waking hours. After a string of odd occurrences play out one after the other, Rosemary begins to suspect something nefarious is going on with the Castevets and that they’re not who they’ve presented themselves to be.

The psychological horror flick is based on Ira Levin’s 1967 novel of the same name with Polanski adapting the story into screenplay form.

These days, it’s customary for a book to become a bestseller before receiving offers from production companies to turn it into a movie or series.

However, when it came to Rosemary’s Baby, the opposite happened, with the movie’s popularity boosting the novel’s sales.

Because the story wasn’t yet widely known to audiences, Polanski thought that a big-name actress would be needed to fill the role. It would eventually go to Mia Farrow.

In the running to play Rosemary Woodhouse were A-list stars of the day including Tuesday Weld (Once Upon a Time in America), Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie), Patty Duke (Valley of the Dolls), and Goldie Hawn (Death Becomes Her).

For a moment, Polanski was also hopeful that his wife, Sharon Tate, would play the leading role in Rosemary’s Baby, with the movie arriving in cinemas just two years before Tate became a victim of the Manson Family. 

Celebrating an impressive box office haul, Rosemary’s Baby raked in over $33 million in ticket sales against its $3.2 million production budget.

Firmly planted on Rotten Tomatoes with a 96% approval rating from critics, the movie continues to hold its classic status even more than five decades later.

The title was also a hit at the award circuit, with Gordon taking home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and Polanski nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.

One of the reasons that Rosemary’s Baby might be making its rounds on Paramount+’s Top 10 is because the streamer recently released a prequel film titled Apartment 7A.

Starring Julia Garner (Ozark), the movie tells the story of another resident of the Bramford whose path crossed with the Castevets before Rosemary and Guy moved in.

Those who know the original movie will recognize Garner’s character’s name, Terry Gionoffrio, as audiences meet her in Rosemary’s Baby.

Intrigued parties can head over to Paramount+ now, where Rosemary’s Baby is streaming.