cul-de-sac (1966)

"That'll teach you to tell lies."
Following a botched robbery a wounded criminal (Lionel Stander) and his dying partner (Jack MacGowran), take refuge in a castle. They hold the owners, a mild mannered Englishman (Donald Pleasence) and his French wife (Francoise Dorléac) hostage. But soon their relationships twist.
Extremely black character study.

the ninth gate (1999)

"Nothing is more reliable than a man whose loyalties can be bought with hard cash."
An Unscrupulous rare book dealer Dean Corso (Johnny Depp), gets drawn into a satan worshipping world when given an assignment to seek out and compare the three last remaining copies of the Ninth Gate, a translation of a book supposedly written by the devil.
A routine thriller, with no great shocks or events to lift it beyond that.

repulsion (1965)

"I must get this crack mended."
Carol (Catherine Deneuve) lives in London with her sister Helen (Yvonne Furneaux). Outwardly she lives a normal life, but has a dislike of men. Her phobia's begin to take over when Helen leaves Carol alone in the flat, as she goes on holiday, Leaving Carole to descend into madness...
This is the one to watch if you want huge doses of sibling rivalry, sexual repression, rape fantasies and hallucinations. Polanski manages to create an atmosphere of claustrophobia and unease with a minimal of dialogue or shock tactics.

rosemary's baby (1968)

"He chose you, honey! From all the women in the world to be the mother of his only living son!"
Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse (Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes) move into a new apartment in a old building. They are soon settled in and start to spend lots of time with their elderly neighbours Roman and Minnie Castevet (Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon), especially Guy. But Rosemary is plagued with strange nightmares, which are forgotten about when Rosemary falls pregnant. Initially overjoyed Rosemary soon starts to feel ill and she starts to suspect her neighbours and their intentions, especially towards the baby. Worse still she cannot get out of her mind the thought that her husband may not be the father of her child!
Polanski does it again, producing a work where we are slowly drawn into the relationships and begin to feel a real unease at the situation presented. The apparent reality of the position Rosemary finds herself in makes the horror all the more real.

the fearless vampire killers (1967)

aka Dance Of The Vampires. The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck.
Professor Abronsius (Jack MacGowran), a doddery old man and his nieve assistant Alfred (Roman Polanski), are searching rural Transylvania for proof that vampires exist. They hit pay dirt when they stop at village inn, noticing the garlic and fear in the natives. Alfred immediately falls for the inn-keeper's young daughter Sarah (Sharon Tate). Unfortunately she is spotted by Count Krolock (Ferdie Mayne) who having had a nibble, likes what he's tasted and wisks her off to his castle. There is nothing for it but for the Professor and Alfred to brave the castle and it's vampire inhabitants.
Roman manages to create a wonderful look and feel, with lavish and obviously stagey sets and great use of colour. He also encouraged an element of over the top actingas exampled by Alfie Bass as a Jewish vampire. When confronted with a girl wealding a cross he mocks her, chuckling 'wrong religion'! Overall an entertaining and fun homage to gothic horror. Just make sure you watch the uncut, rather than the bastardised American version.