Apartment 7A review: Rosemary’s Baby prequel is well-crafted horror that’s pretty pointless

Apartment 7A is a beautifully shot and masterfully acted prequel to Rosemary’s Baby that tells a very similar story, with diminishing returns.

Rosemary’s Baby is one of the best horror movies of all time. Based on the book by Ira Levin and directed by Roman Polanski, the film sees newlyweds Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse move into New York’s swanky Bramford building, befriending the wealthy residents therein.

But something sinister lurks between the Bramford’s four walls, and for reasons we won’t spoil here, Rosemary falls pregnant, with ultimately devastating consequences.

It’s a perfect film, with one of the greatest endings in all of horror. It’s also a story that needs neither sequel, nor prequel. Which is why, in spite of Apartment 7A being a solid thriller, it also feels like a somewhat pointless exercise.

What is Apartment 7A about?

Apartment 7A’s story revolves around Terry Gionoffrio, the troubled dancer whom Rosemary befriends in the original movie. Here we meet her sometime beforehand, and quickly get a sense of who she is.

Terry moved to New York from small-town Nebraska with big showbiz plans: to make something of herself and see her name in lights. Dancing is her passion and the means through which she hopes to achieve those lofty ambitions… But it’s also her escape, and the only time Terry has any control over her life.

Disaster strikes at the start of the movie, however, when Terry falls during a performance, breaking her ankle. Meaning she’s soon walking with a limp, struggling to find work or pay her rent, and becoming infamous in theater circles as “the girl who fell.”

When Terry does land an audition for big-shot producer Alan Marchand, she’s humiliated, but sticks up for herself. She then follows Marchand home to his apartment block, where Terry falls ill.

Two guardian angels appear in the shape of Minnie and Roman Castenet, an elderly couple who initially help Terry, then gift her a home, so that she too is now living in the Bramford building – which is when her real problems begin.

Similarities to Rosemary’s Baby

From here-on-in, Apartment 7A very much follows the pattern of Rosemary’s Baby, failing to bring anything fresh or different to the equation.

The Castenets are again eccentric, warm, and funny, and quickly become something approaching surrogate parents for Terry, much as they’ll soon do for Rosemary.

In one of the film’s funniest lines, they promise that “the neighbours here are awful friendly.” This makes for nifty foreshadowing, as Terry then experiences a night she can’t quite remember, and wakes up with bruises all over her body.

She soon lands the role of a lifetime, but at some cost. It quickly becomes clear Gionoffrio is pregnant, and her world is turned upside down in a flash, with Terry’s career over before it has even begun. The film briefly flirts with the question of women wanting both family and job, and the societal problems that presents.

But the issue is quickly forgotten as dancing on Broadway becomes the least of Terry’s troubles due to demonic visions she’s seeing and blinding pains she’s experiencing.

Her neighbors – the same folk who will soon have designs on Rosemary’s baby – are taking an unhealthy interest in Terry’s unborn child. And if you’ve seen the original, you know exactly where all this is going.

Julia Garner is superb as Terry Gionoffrio

This begs the unfortunate question: Why bother? Well, there’s lots to like in Apartment 7A. Director Natalie Erika James – working from a script she wrote with Christian White and Skylar James – oversees proceedings with a keen eye and sure hand.

The film has a great sense of time and place, taking us back to 1960s New York and spotlighting the stylish fashion and furnishings of the period, while the Bramford is shot and framed in imaginative ways that set the visuals apart from its predecessor.

James also has fun with her influences, paying homage to cult classic Showgirls, as well as the Suspiria remake, during scenes that play out in and around the theater world.

Paramount+

The acting is uniformly superb. Julia Garner is a magnetic presence, and manages to be all steely-eyed determination one moment, then painfully vulnerable the next. You really can’t take your eyes off her here.

Diane Wiest is clearly having a blast as Minnie Castenet. Ruth Gordon – who played Minnie in the original – is a hard act to follow. But Wiest is up to the task, all bluster and kindness in the film’s early scenes, before her demeanor changes as proceedings progress, and Minnie becomes a more dominant force.

Is Apartment 7A good?

Apartment 7A is a solid psychological drama that hits all the beats the genre demands. Trouble is, they are much the same beats that Roman Polanski hit in 1968.

It might be a better viewing experience for those who don’t know Rosemary’s Baby. But being a genre classic that’s been around for more than 50 years, those people will be few and far between.

Which means there’s little suspense or tension in this version, and also a distinct lack of horror, with Apartment 7A low on scares when the original was filled with them.

The result is a good film, but one that fails to take any real chances with the material, and therefore a missed opportunity.

Apartment 7A score: 3/5

While Apartment 7A is entertaining, you’re better off rewatching the original Rosemary’s Baby.

Rosemary’s Baby premiered at Fantastic Fest, while the movie hits Paramount+ on September 27, when it will also be available to download. For more Fantastic Fest reviews, check out out thoughts on Never Let Go and Terrifier 3.