The film that devilishly paved the way for such subsequent big studio horror blockbusters as The Exorcist and The Omen, Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby is a fiendishly clever hybrid of mainstream thrills and arthouse chills. Beautiful young couple Guy (played by legendary filmmaker John Cassavetes) and Rosemary (Mia Farrow, in the iconic role that catapulted her from actress to major celebrity) rent a fabulous apartment in New York’s fabled brownstone The Dakota, down the hall from an eccentric older couple—Minnie and Roman Castevet (Ruth Gordon in an Oscar-winning performance, and Sidney Blackmur).

The Castavets redefine “nosy neighbors” and Guy seems to revel in their attention as he tries to get his acting career off the ground. When a Broadway star mysteriously goes blind, Guy sees a possible break. After a night of wild celebratory sex, Rosemary becomes pregnant. But is Rosemary’s blessed event actually part of Guy’s unholy bargain for success? And is everyone around her really part of a satanic plot designed to ensnare Rosemary and her baby, or is it all just a figment her over-active imagination? Surely the Devil can’t be alive and well and looking for an heir in modern-day Manhattan … right?

Based on Ira Levin’s best-selling novel, Rosemary’s Baby spins a web of paranoia and fear perfectly in keeping with the cultural/political climate of the late ’60s, and the film generated major controversy due to its shocking themes of Satanism and a Godless society. The film was on its way to being directed by infamous schlock-meister William Castle (The Tingler), who secured the rights to the novel and produced the film, until Paramount chief Robert Evans brought director Roman Polanski on board. Polanski’s sterling reputation as a serious art director with a penchant for suspense (based on such offbeat thrillers as Knife in the Water and Repulsion) took the project out of the realm of a “B” genre picture, and placed it firmly in the “A” list category. Infusing the story with wicked black humor and extremely unsettling ambiguity, Polanski turned this tale of “a woman in trouble” into one of the most profoundly creepy films to ever escape from a major Hollywood studio..

After I first saw this movie, I couldn’t sleep for days and I didn’t want to ever get pregnant. Later I saw another Roman Polanski horror film “The Tenant” which was even more disturbing. So enjoy this film if you are a horror film lover, and Happy Halloween on October 31. And pray for Rosemary’s baby.

12 hours of terror (Friday the 13th, 9 p.m. to Saturday the 14th, 9 a.m.), (un)Lucky Seven “hand-picked horror films”:

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Street Trash
Child’s Play
From Beyond
Sleepaway Camp
Dead & Buried
Piranha

Nothing to do tonight? Here’s something fun & exciting to do — if you dare. Besides the 7 horror films you can also watch “vintage horror flick trailers” and particpate in “repulsive giveaways” before each movie, imbibe “disgustingly delicious” drinks, and to top it off, get a barf bag for all “chickens with weak stomachs.”

Happy dreams on Saturday…if you can sleep after these 12 gruesome hours of frightening flicks!

Sponsored by Bookman’s Entertainment Exchange (www.bookmans.com), and at the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway.

Stay up all-nite at the sickest, scariest, most scream-errific cinematic slaughterhouse you’ve ever seen! It’s guaranteed to curdle your blood, raise your hair and give your gag reflexes a real workout, so all scaredy cats need not attend! Thrills and chills await you throughout the nite as we unleash SEVEN hand-picked horror classics that are so scandalously shocking, the only way to hold on to your sanity is to keep repeating to yourself – “it’s only a movie, it’s only a movie, it’s only movie …”

Featuring: Vintage horror flick trailers before every movie! Scary short films! Disgustingly delicious drink specials! Freaky food surprises! Repulsive giveaways before each movie! Barf Bags for all chickens with weak stomachs!

Come in your pajamas and bring your favorite pillow, since you won’t be leaving until the sun comes up … if you make it out alive, that is!

This year’s scream-inducing line-up (all start times are approximate):

9:00 PM
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974, 83 min., rated R)
Tobe Hooper’s original, finger-licking-good terror masterpiece, the drive-in classic that forever changed the course of American horror! Watch as Leatherface and his crazy clan invite a gang of hapless travelers to a down-home barbeque dinner at which THEY’RE the main course!

10:40 PM
STREET TRASH (1987, 91 min., Not Rated)
Thirsty winos are melting and exploding all over the streets of New York City … could it have something to do with that delicious new liquor called Tenafly Viper? Featuring a bevy of psychotic junkyard killers, dumb cops, trashy gals and liquefied body parts, this gloriously cracked bad taste classic is like a Herschell Gordon Lewis horror flick crossed with a John Waters comedy, with an extra helping of gut-churning goop poured on top.

12:20 AM
CHILD’S PLAY (1988, 87 min., rated R)
In director Tom Holland’s original installment of the beloved horror franchise, everyone’s favorite pint-sized, homicidal rag doll, Chucky, proves that when it comes to delivering pure terror, big (and bloody) things very often come in small packages.

2:00 AM
FROM BEYOND (1986, 86 min., rated R)
Stuart Gordon’s freaky follow-up to Re-Animator is a wild slice of Lovecraftian horror detailing the adventures of a nutty scientist and his slimy love affair with a gang of other-dimensional creatures. Starring Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton from Re-Animator, and Dawn of the Dead bad-ass Ken Foree!

3:40 AM
SLEEPAWAY CAMP (1983, 84 min., rated R)
This gruesomely goofy summer camp slasher flick will drive a very-sharp knife (not to mention various other slicing-and-dicing implements) through your love of the great outdoors, before knocking you on your keister with one of the greatest shock endings of all-time! Oh, Angela!

5:20 AM
DEAD AND BURIED (1981, 94 min., rated R)
From Dan O’Bannon, creator of Alien and Return of the Living Dead, comes this twisted tale of a quaint small town populated with corpses who just won’t stay dead … and buried! Featuring great gross-out gore effects by the legendary Stan Winston, and a seriously creepy performance by Jack Albertson (“Grandpa” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!) as the weird town mortician.

7:10 AM
PIRANHA (1978, 94 min., rated R)
Joe Dante’s fishy fright fest, scripted by John Sayles, is a tasty Jaws rip-off swimming with squeamish scares, outrageous black humor and gallons of gore … not to mention a gaggle of hungry little beasties just itching to sink their teeth into a delicious cast of B-movie icons, including Barbara Steele and Paul Bartel!