Hollywood, we need to have a little chat. The so-called “legacy prequel” is getting a little frustrating. Studio corridors echo right now with development executives frantically searching Letterboxd for mere kernels of existing ideas to expand. Is there a supporting character who perhaps wasn’t the most developed? How about a villain who didn’t get their due? Just wait; they still could. This, my friends, is where we come to Apartment 7A. Is the Rosemary’s Baby legacy prequel a welcomed exploration of an established idea? Or is this just a mediocre copy of someone else’s genius? Read on.
About Apartment 7A
I would say this is a spoiler-free review, but let’s face it: those who know Rosemary’s Baby know this story. Do with that what you will. Apartment 7a follows Terry (Julia Garner), a young Broadway dancer who’s fallen on hard times after an injury. Not only is she struggling to find work, but every producer in town knows she’s the “girl who fell.” There can’t be many falls on Broadway, right?
Life seems to straighten itself out when she meets an elderly couple who are more than willing to gift her an apartment in a luxurious, likely rent-controlled building. However, it becomes increasingly clear that there’s more to the situation than the young woman can handle. Dianne Wiest, Jim Sturgess and Kevin McNally co-star in the movie. Natalie Erika James directs Apartment 7A from a script she co-wrote with Christian White and Skylar James.
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Memories of the Original
Full disclosure, as your resident classic film nerd, I am familiar with (and enjoy) Rosemary’s Baby. Now, it has been a few years since I’ve seen the original and I did deliberately stay away from it before watching Apartment 7A. I wanted to go into this movie fresh and give it every chance to work. Well, it wasn’t enough. And despite my best intentions, my knowledge of the original film tainted my viewing of Apartment 7A.
When this film talks about being a prequel to Rosemary’s Baby, we’re talking about a two-week time span here. Terry is a character in the original film and her story comes to an end in Rosemary’s Baby. At the same time, Apartment 7A makes sure to cast a lookalike for Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and Guy (John Cassavetes). It deliberately wants to conjure memories of its far cooler older cousin of a feature. It shouldn’t be trying so hard to remind us of a better movie.
The newer film is perhaps strongest in the first act and a half. This is when Apartment 7A attempts to craft a new spin on this existing idea. It’s interesting to watch Terry struggle to exist in this cutthroat, swinging world as a single woman. This was implied but never shown in the first film which showcased Mia Farrow’s sheltered married housewife. Garner is shaky and vulnerable in the role and her fragility works in the narrative.
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It is unfortunate though that as the film continues, any originality it previously had dries up. Not only does Apartment 7A quickly devolve into telling the exact story that anyone whose seen Rosemary’s Baby is already familiar with, but even worse, it quickly becomes a weak remake of the older film. As Apartment 7A dives into its frustratingly familiar third act, it even manages to fumble what could be a fascinating (and timely) exploration of reproductive issues among single women in an era where (like today) it was very much a topic of discussion.
Limitations
Meanwhile, little seems to gel among the rest of the cast. While Garner is purely fine in the role, she’s painfully limited by what is a basic and thoroughly unoriginal script. There’s the potential for some fascinating layers to this fragile and almost damaged woman, but the film never lets her dive much below the surface. Jim Sturgess meanwhile, struggles to stand out in any meaningful way due to his character’s evolving role in the narrative. He’s never able to truly nail his portrayal as his role shifts to suit the story. No spoilers, sweetie.
Interestingly, Dianne Wiest is the only memorable MVP in Apartment 7A. The stalwart actress brings a creepily accurate take on Minnie Castevet. Her work straddles the tricky line between performance and impersonation in a potentially thankless part. Wiest is a dead-ringer for Ruth Gordon as Minnie. One of the standouts from the original film (along with Mia Farrow), Gordon won an Academy Award for her work and it reinvigorated her career. The unique and memorable nature of Gordon’s portrayal has the potential to weigh on Wiest’s performance, but the performer is having a blast and shines in the face of the challenge.
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Spooky Elements
Alright, let’s talk about that other little thing everyone is wondering about. The horror elements. It’s Spooky Season, after all. I hate to say it, but Apartment 7A struggled to land scares with this notoriously jumpy critic. Any fear and suspense in the narrative was unfortunately dulled due to its blatant similarity to the source material. Those who know Rosemary’s Baby know how this movie ends. Enough said. There’s no suspense here.
At the same time, the film attempts to craft some interesting visual horror elements. Much of these happen deep in Act Two as Terry is struggling with her situation. While these sequences are visually interesting, they feel pulled straight from Ryan Murphy’s basic cable playbook. The entire aesthetic feels strikingly familiar. Apartment 7A is, in the grand scheme of things, “TV movie scary.” It’s PG-13 horror.
When all is said and done, Apartment 7A is best described as Rosemary’s Baby through an American Horror Story lens. It is difficult to say exactly who this movie is for. If this description intreigues you, it might work for you. However, those who are in any way familiar with the source material likely won’t find a lot to like here. Those who haven’t seen the previous film will at least be surprised, but in terms of scares, this barely reaches a cable TV threshold. Unless you already have a Paramount+ subscription, just stick with Rosemary’s Baby.
Apartment 7A debuts on Paramount+ Friday, September 27, 2024.
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