Call the super. This unit needs repairs. Apartment 7A, like many prequels, sequels, companion pieces, and reboots, exists solely to revisit a far superior creation. That would be Rosemary’s Baby, the bone-chilling 1968 masterpiece directed by Roman Polanski (Chinatown) and starring Mia Farrow (The Great Gatsby). At the time, the story about a young woman braving a sinister plot designed to make her birth the Antichrist was a one-of-kind, gut-punch movie experience. Not since Psycho, which hit theaters in 1960, had audiences experienced such suspenseful terror, nor such a story laced with evil. Unless they read Ira Levin’s bestseller.
Here, Julia Garner plays the ambitious young dancer Terry Gionoffrio, a minor character in the original film, whose dreams of fame and fortune in New York City are shaken after suffering a devastating injury. When an older, wealthy couple (Dianne Wiest and Kevin McNally) welcome her into their flat in the Bramford building, which drips in luxury, Terry believes she’s in good care.
She’s not. Much like events in the original film, Terry experiences an evening she can’t truly remember. Audiences who’ve seen the original already know what happened — she’s been hand-picked to be Satan’s baby mamma. Expanding Terry’s character is a great way to offer modern audiences a Rosemary’s Baby experience, and Apartment 7A offers plenty of intrigue and more memorable turns by the great Julia Garner (Ozark) and Dianne Wiest (Bullets Over Broadway). However, it never conjures true terror or the original film’s unique religious horror. These fine actors keep it propped up, and it’s surely worthy of a visit, but the film ultimately falls flat.
Another Paramount+ Title Relies on Past Paramount Hits
To understand how we got here may require a Paramount Pictures refresher. The late, great Robert Evans became head of the studio back in 1967 with the hope of breathing new life into the flailing enterprise. He did, beginning with Rosemary’s Baby. The movie was a major hit and a cultural phenomenon.
The films that followed — Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown , to name a handful — made Paramount a powerful entity in the 1970s. Evans stepped down as head of the studio in 1974 to produce his own films, but he set a new tone for the company. The studio went on to produce some of Hollywood’s most revered films — Grease, American Gigolo, Flashdance, Top Gun, Ordinary People, The Elephant Man, Raiders of the Last Arc, Mission: Impossible. On it goes.
Flash forward to today, and we have Paramount+, which hopes that revisiting past hits will help establish a consistent audience base. Occasionally, we get something remarkable, like The Offer, which starred Miles Teller and Matthew Goode (playing Robert Evans) in a limited series about the making of The Godfather. Mostly, we enjoy anything Star Trek, and avoid titles like Fatal Attraction, a remake with quite a dull creative knife. Apartment 7A is a bit sharper and has its moments, mostly thanks to Garner and Wiest, and director/writer Natalie Erika James’s (Relic), who offers several surprise twists in the story and its execution but never with edge-of-your-seat terror.
Following Terry’s Character from Rosemary’s Baby
It sure looks good on paper to revisit the character of Terry. She had a brief encounter with Rosemary in the original film, after all, assuring Rosemary that their neighbors, the Castevets (played by Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer in the original), were lifesavers. But one day, when Rosemary and her husband (John Cassavetes) return home to the Bramford, they discover horrible news about Terry, and Apartment 7A tracks that character’s journey.
Also living in the Bramford in this iteration is Alan (Jim Sturgess), a Broadway producer who offers Terry another shot at stardom. That’s all she wants, you see, and the scenes depicting Terry’s devastating stage injury and her recovery are sharply edited and evoke some curiosity while also letting us know the lengths Terry will go to have her dreams come true.
The filmmaker offers several inventive twists by way of musical numbers. These are moments when Terry is dreaming and about to wake up. Fabulous as they are — think of them as images from Terry’s cracked-mirror mind — it would have been even more refreshing if we, as the audience, experienced more dread throughout the film.
The Second Half of Apartment 7A Picks Up Steam
The film’s final third, naturally, features the most tension. As Terry slowly begins to realize who her neighbors truly are, there’s some great fun in watching Garner and Wiest go toe-to-toe, attempting to outsmart the other. Garner, who has established herself as one of today’s most reliable talents, turns in a powerhouse performance here, creating a believable character. It’s just that the script only gives her so much to do, but what a delight to watch this actress continue to prove she can morph into any character rather seamlessly.
Related: These Are Julia Garner’s Best Performances, Ranked
Dianne Wiest steals the show, however. It’s hard to top Ruth Gordon’s take on Minnie Castevets, but sure enough, Wiest seizes the moment, making this sketchy character all the more daunting and downright evil. Joining an otherwise fine mix of solid actors is Marli Siu (Everything I Know About Love), playing Terry’s go-to pal, along with Andrew Buchan (All the Money in the World), Rosy McEwen (Blue Jean), and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Wonka).
Worth a Watch Despite Failing to Meet the Moment
To be sure, Apartment 7A, which lists John Krasinski (A Quiet Place) as one of its producers, wants to introduce Terry to introduce another generation of viewers. Ira Levin’s book stuck with you, though, with its female subjugation — still a relevant topic today — Satanic cults, and the whirlwind mystery of an Upper West Side luxury apartment. Apartment 7A doesn’t have the benefit of originality, and is somehow less scary than a movie from the ’60s. Today’s audiences often require more dazzle, for better or worse. We’ve been inundated with high-action superhero films and overstimulated by social media videos. It’s simply more challenging to hold viewer interest.
While that works against Apartment 7A, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t knock on the door and let yourself in. The performances alone are something to marvel at. The terror, fright, and shock? Not so much. Apartment 7A premiered at Fantastic Fest on Sep. 20 and will begin streaming on Paramount+ beginning Sep. 27. You can watch it through the link below when it’s released.
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