Fantastic Fest 2024: ‘Apartment 7A’ provides devilish backstory for ‘Rosemary’s Baby’

A prequel isn’t inherently a bad thing. Ouija: Origin of Evil, A Quiet Place: Day One, Orphan: First Kill, and Pearl are just a handful of prequels that do the original justice — or in some cases, outpace the original in every possible way. While it’s certainly a tall order to live up to the iconic Rosemary’s Baby, one of the most influential horror films of all time, Natalie Erika James’ Apartment 7A does an admirable job of expanding the hypnotic witchy world and carving out its own path. There are frightening scares to be had, peppered with demonic symbols and ghostly shadows, even if the tension is not quite the same. But the film anchors itself with Julia Garner’s incisive and emotionally-wrought lead performance as ballet dancer Terry Gionoffrio, giving the story quite a bit of weight and personal urgency.

Terry wants to see her name in big, flashy lights. She’ll do almost anything. After suffering a career-altering injury, she moves into a luxury apartment. The Bramford is home to the elites, and her new neighbors Minnie (Dianne Wiest) and Roman Castevet (Kevin McNally) offer to let her live down the hall rent-free. Suspicious on the surface, they claim they never had a child of their own, so it’s no skin off their back to help a poor girl down on her luck. A stable living situation allows Terry to continue auditioning for high-profile New York work. When she sets her sights on The Pale Crook, to be produced by Alan Marchand (Jim Sturgess), she initially fails to impress. But later, she learns that Marchand is one of her new neighbors, and she pays him a visit. A friendly encounter over drinks leads to a one-night stand, which results in Terry’s unexpected pregnancy.

Given its prequel status, we know exactly where Apartment 7A is headed. What is most fascinating is the getting there to the inevitable end. Garner glues the script together, guiding the viewer with a sometimes pulverizing performance that keeps you hooked to the screen. As Terry inches closer to knowing the truth, Minnie and Roman grow more possessive of her, even granting her unsuspecting wishes, like landing her the lead role in the upcoming dance production. As the story unravels, the stakes ratchet up to 100. Terry must make a choice: become the conduit for Satan’s baby or die trying to break free.

Apartment 7A is no Rosemary’s Baby, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s expected, that’s to be sure — but James makes sure you stay captivated every step of the way. The performances are especially gripping with the cast committing to the work in such a way that plugs into the brain. In service to Rosemary’s Baby, Natalie Erika James’ outing doesn’t do a disservice to the original source material. In fact, it’s a solid prequel from the very first frame to the terribly grim ending. It’s not a reinvention but simply an extension of its trend-setting ancestor, nothing more.

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