Anyone who has seen the classic Rosemary’s Baby pretty much knows how Apartment 7A will play out. Nevertheless, this prequel hits the spot for for period pieces as well as “agency horror”. As in, horror where things are beyond the character’s control and their downfalls are both great and unfortunate. It’s doubtful that this movie will ever be held in the same regard as the one it’s preluding, but those were already impossibly big shoes to fill.
What hurts Apartment 7A the most is it’s already been made many times over. Since Rosemary’s Baby, a good number of horror movies have come out about ambitious or naïve women who are taken advantage of by sinister forces. Those movies all reworked the formula set forward by Polanski to some degree, but 7A doesn’t even do that. It follows through exactly as you might expect it to, and for a lot of the runtime, it’s quite the humdrum story. Here Julia Garner plays the unlucky Terry, whose hopes of dancing are dashed after suffering a serious injury. That precise moment turns out to be the most horrifying one in the whole picture, although Terry’s humiliating audition some years later isn’t any easier to watch. It’s through these scenes that director/writer Natalie Erika James and co-writers Christian White & Skylar James do an adequate job of setting the stage for Terry’s imminent undoing.
It would have been nice to see more of Terry as she was before getting mixed up with the Devil and his minions. Instead, we swiftly meet the Castevets (Dianne Wiest, Kevin McNally) and get on with the demonic insemination. Jim Sturgess is indeed in the movie as well, yet his character is rather forgettable, despite his importance. He merely serves a practical function, which is understandably fitting.
Now unknowingly pregnant (at first) and on her way to restoring her reputation as a dancer, Terry goes through the typical routine in these kinds of movies. She experiences brief pleasure, develops a jealous rival (whose own fate is telegraphed a mile away), and gradually becomes wise to the Castevets’ ulterior motives. Surely none of this comes as a shock to anyone other than Terry.
So if the story of Apartment 7A can’t even surprise you, then its other merits — seemingly few as they may be — should be looked at more closely. James’ first feature since her staggering debut of Relic was shot at the legendary Pinewood Studios, and that fact greatly elevates this movie, in terms of appearance and mood. If nothing else, 7A looks upscale and impressive. Cinematographer Arnau Valls Colomer and the whole wardrobe department give the movie a higher sense of refinement. That clash between vintage neat and proper, and insidious evils is brought out by strong production values.
If 7A was intended as a “message” movie, it doesn’t say anything new about the current state of American politics. Specifically women having to go through with an unwanted pregnancy because of cruel powers and legislation. Yes, there is a pivotal scene here that can be touted as an exercise in defiance and individuality — faint praise for Garner’s performance there — however, that same moment was assumed or known long before the prequel was even in production.
While this movie fills in some blanks, the questions could have stayed unanswered. This need to know everything and leave no mystery unsolved is wearisome at this point. That being said, Apartment 7A is an attractive and decently acted prequel, but even the movie seems to know it’s unnecessary.
Apartment 7A premiered at Fantastic Fest 2024, and it will stream on Paramount+ beginning on September 27.
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