Rosemary' Baby is not merely a sophisticated horror film. The horror is only one aspect of a complex statement frightening in its relevance. Based on the novel by Ira Levin, the film remains extraordinarily faithful to its literary source. But Polanski deserves the credit for re-creating the meaning in visual terms. The film is about a girl who is trapped in a reality which she cannot believe. She must choose between not believing what appears to be real or believing what cannot be real. The irony is that in this film, Rosemary finally believes the fantastic because Polanski gives it the texture of an undeniable reality, however bizarre.

The story takes the traditional Christ myth and dresses it an its equally traditional Satanic disguise. The film's myth parallels the New Testament, with the divine figure as father of the child, Rosemary as the chosen vessel, the starting of...