In 1968, Rosemary’s baby was released and became one of the most influential horror movies of all time. After 56 years, Apartment 7A tells the story of when Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes move into New York’s haunted Bramford apartment building and become involved in the plans of the resident devil worshippers. Also set in 1965, it tells the sad story of Terry Gionoffrio (Julia Garner) and his involvement with the same cult, until we meet him Rosemary’s baby.
The prequel comes from director Natalie Erika James, who was once critically acclaimed but divorced Relic, which is a masterclass in dread. That gave Apartment 7A solid foundation, given Rosemary’s babyHis success was about creating claustrophobic dread, but the prequel came with a big challenge. We already know how it ends, because it is Rosemary’s baby it starts. So how do you tell a story that won’t surprise us?
Frankly, that shouldn’t have been a disastrous obstacle to a belated prequel, because Rosemary’s baby it was never about conspiracy revelations. There is a fatal inevitability about the original, and only Rosemary’s babyIt ends with Rosemary’s choice really throwing things off. And it’s not like we haven’t been in this position many times thanks to the many prequels: but the question is, does it fulfill its storytelling goals?
Apartment 7A Is Downgraded By Rosemary’s Baby
The Prequel Tries To Be Both New And Old And Doesn’t Completely Succeed
Apartment 7A he would always exist in the long shadow of Rosemary’s baby, and comparison is impossible to avoid. That is clearly reflected in the movie itself because of the decision to both effectively and recreate the original at the same time. The story is uncannily similar, which feels like a deliberate decision to comment on the cycle of Satan’s quest for an heir. There’s also a nod to the victim before Terry at the beginning in case you missed the message.
The problem with Apartment 7A however, it is not Rosemary’s babydespite consciously setting its selling point to be a facsimile. Natalie Erika James handles Roman Polanski’s styling assignment very well: the camera moves and Terry’s close-up is expertly fake, and there are enough nods to both style and body to let you know how well she’s read. Apartment 7A is something.
Unfortunately, the movie gets lost in trying to maintain that clever copywriting that forgets both its identity and, confusingly, some of its finer details. Rosemary’s baby. Surely, if the agenda was to make this blend seamlessly with the original, it would have to end the exact same way the other film started? Instead, so many changes are made that you get the feeling that it’s a reimagining of the original that it keeps insisting it isn’t.
And that is one of the biggest problems: the reliability is amazing, even if I would like more The remainder‘s fear, but the changes are very disturbing. We are introduced with the promise that we will eventually reach a predetermined point, and with the happy character we saw in the laundry room, but every transition becomes very confusing. The only logical conclusion is that these are not the same letters, but that is not the case Apartment 7A he says. At this point, it’s probably wise to acknowledge this franchise’s association with gas lighting.
Apartment 7A’s Cast Doesn’t Measure Up Evenly, But Garner Is Good
Diane Wiest Goes Out of the Prequel Well
Part of the fun of a prequel is seeing who gets to play new versions of old favorites. Diane Wiest took on the daunting task of covering Ruth Gordon as Minnie Castevet; Kevin McNally plays Roman Castevet (formerly Sidney Blackmer), and Patrick Lyster gives a fresh take on Dr. Sapirstein by Ralph Bellamy. McNally is fine in his own right, but he plays a much friendlier Roman compared to the awkwardly cut original, Lyster looks the part but is background detail, and Wiest is excellent.
She’s no Ruth Gordon, which is unlikely, but her take on Minnie is a little bittersweet, and less and less annoying. Still, if this wasn’t a prequel to Rosemary’s Baby, and there wasn’t anything that could directly compare to her performance it would have been fine.
Julia Garner is an excellent host. He does not have the same weight of comparison in practice, because Victoria Vetri was in just one place. I can’t ignore the fact that his backstory was completely changed, and some of the clarity of the ending, or his completely different behavior, or the fact that the incident does not happen here, without jumping timelines, but Garner plays a very unique lead.
Jim Sturgess’ new character – Alan Marchand – is a weakling. He is the key to all of Terry’s dreams, as the guardian of his chances of fame, but he feels absent enough or disruptive enough to sell his part in things. If he had been more darkly likable, or nasty enough to make Terry’s deal with the devil more painful, he would have been more memorable.
Apartment 7A’s Story & Subtexts Explore Rosemary’s Baby-Like Scene
Important Message Well Done
Compared to Rosemary, Terry is consciously unattractive, because his motivation is fame, rather than a burning desire to have a child. But there is an interesting subtext to her character, just as there was an important subtext to Mia Farrow’s character. Both represent a repressed femininity, but rather a loss of agency (which is Apartment 7A works), there are also obvious parallels between bodily autonomy and abortion rights.
That heavy message works well, connected to the story, rather than shockingly distant from it. The film also dares to explore a part of Terry in his personal situation: not in the abuse he receives, but in his willingness to go along with things. Rosemary was stripped of her agency and locked up, but Terry feels more comfortable walking until she’s gone. That might be misread as a misunderstanding of domestic abuse (which is the myth of it all), but it isn’t.
Terry’s consistency is exhausting, but that’s the point. The camera work is cleverly designed to make the audience’s view of Terry uninterrupted. Sometimes we’re real dance partners, and there are people close to them who feel like we’re on the edge of shaking him and telling him what he’s up to. Unfortunately, he has a friend in the movie universe who feels he has to do this, but he’s there as a boss.
How Apartment 7A Works Like a Horror Movie
There Are Scary Moments With Some Of Our Must-Have Jumps
It might be about 60 years old, though Rosemary’s baby it maintains a special place for horror fans: while its impact is less unsettling than outright frightening, Polanki’s brand of psychological horror pierces under the skin and insists. Apartment 7A, by comparison he is very subtle at times, and at times foolish at others. One of the supernatural elements shown is the strange display in the nose of Terry’s hunger for fame, for example.
And, it feels like it Apartment 7A he holds himself too much in the service of too much likeness Rosemary’s baby. If it had been more perverted – and not just in its repeated use of musical numbers that felt out of place – and more frightening, it would have packed a bigger punch. As it stands, the whole thing feels like a bit of an aberration, if a well-intentioned effort created without the opportunity to answer three mysteries that are clear in Rosemary’s babybut he messed things up a lot. It’s quite usable, and there are things to recommend, but this is nothing original.
Apartment 7A will be released simultaneously on Paramount+ and digital VOD on September 27.