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This review was made possible by an advance screener of Apartment 7A. Apartment 7A premieres on Paramount+ on Friday, September 27th.
The highly anticipated prequel to the 1968 horror classic Rosemary’s Baby, Apartment 7A (directed by Natalie Erika James) finds Terry Gionoffrio (Julia Garner) finding herself lost and willing to do anything after she suffers a nearly career-ending ankle injury during rehearsal for an upcoming play. The film starts off drawing us in by making the audience almost forget what kind of film we are watching. We spend time with Terry and her best friend, Annie (Marlie Siu), both prolific dancers appearing in New York Broadway productions.
After suffering her injury, the film focuses on Terry’s comeback. It lures the audience into a false sense of security as we again forget that this is not a tale of triumph and joy. Upon being asked to repeat a dance move putting stress on her recovering ankle and unwilling to humiliate herself, Terry leans on her pain medication and finds herself lost without a dream.
This is where the story truly kicks off as a warm elderly couple, Margaux and Roman Castevet (played by Dianne Wiest and Kevin McNally), invite her to live in their apartment complex. They also offer to pay her way as they never had a child of their own and want to help give her the best life possible. One evening, she is invited to drinks with producer Alan Marchand (Jim Sturgess), who had previously humiliated her during an audition.
Terry wakes up the next morning in Marchand’s home with no recollection of the night before and finds herself mysteriously pregnant. In exchange for this new fruitful life, she has realized that the Castevet’s intentions are far from pure. Sending the movie into a demonic spiral of hallucinations and unexplainable occurrences.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you enter the film expecting a jump-scare horror fest, you will be disappointed. The film is a slow burn that pays homage to its “sequel” as we are lured into a world of wonder through a stellar soundtrack and the ballet sequences. Garner is astounding as the leading actress, playing the confused girl willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her dream.
Her acting is the strong suit of the film, along with Sturgess, who plays the 1960s slimeball producer almost too well. He makes do with his limited screen time, stealing each scene he is in. Wiest goes from loving grandmother to harsh and angry on the flip of a coin leaving the audience unsettled every time she enters the screen.
This film is a must-watch for fans of the original movie and slow-burn demonic possession films. It gives us just enough without entering goofy territory and is led by solid acting and a powerful script. My only complaint is that I would have liked to lean a little more into the Satanic Cult, but that is a minor gripe, as overall, this is a solid horror film.
8/10 Overall.
