10 Horror Movies Where The American Dream Becomes A Nightmare

The American dream is often reflected in one’s upward material mobility, but just important is the search for spiritual fulfilment, and on a day to day level, that often centres around family.

In Roman Polanski’s extraordinary Rosemary’s Baby, the central couple appear to be picture perfect. Played by John Cassavetes (Guy) and Mia Farrow as the titular Rosemary, they’re young, in love, and ready to take the next step in life: having a child.

For Rosemary, though, this isn’t such a simple proposition, and her anxiety about motherhood is compounded when the eldery couple across the hall get involved. They’re avowed Satanists, with the intention of using Rosemary as a surrogate to bring the Devil to 1960s New York.

A truly psychological horror, much of Rosemary’s Baby is built around Farrow’s increasingly frantic performance; she runs through shame, confusion, and ultimately terror as she comes to understand the severity of her situation. Notably, in a time of great social upheaval, this is a film about the best laid plans of the next generation being waylaid by their elders (and, in this case, Satan).