10 Horror Movies Where The Villain Is Never Seen
9. Rosemary's Baby
While the henchpeople of the villain are visible for the majority of Roman Polanski’s horror masterpiece, the film ends on a tantalising note without ever allowing us to see the true evil at the picture’s heart.
Rosemary’s Baby stars Mia Farrow in the titular role. Rosemary Woodhouse and her husband Guy (John Cassavetes) have taken an apartment in a building with a spooky reputation, and when they meet their new neighbours, elderly couple Minnie and Roman (Oscar winner Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer), things only seem more bizarre.
The couple, Minnie especially, become involved in every aspect of the Woodhouses’ lives, especially when Rosemary falls pregnant. The reason for their interference unfolds terrifyingly: it transpires that Rosemary is carrying the spawn of Satan, Guy selling out his wife for the perks that such a pledge entails.
Polanski teases his audience cruelly at the finish, with Farrow career-best in her reaction to the devil-child in the crib. Her eyes bulge, she clutches her mouth - but we never get to see the abomination itself. It’s probably for the best.