Prequels to horror movies are a common practice. Based on audience reactions, a filmmaker’s interest, or the production house’s lust for the big bucks, some character or element from the original film is picked up and fleshed out via a story set in the narrative’s past. And the results are always very hit or miss. Final Destination 5 mostly played out like a standalone film and only revealed that it was a prequel at the end, thereby surprising everyone. Paranormal Activity 3, despite its insane box-office run, felt like an unnecessary addition to the franchise. Prey was so good that it almost surpassed the quality of Predator. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist was a huge mess. The First Omen impressed critics and audiences but seemed pretty unoriginal to me. Orphan: First Kill was straight-up bad. Prometheus was lambasted for being an unnecessary addition to the Alien franchise but has recently gotten a lot of praise. Pearl was pretty pointless. Insidious: The Last Key was alright, and so was The Nun. So which way has the proverbial pendulum swung for Apartment 7A? Let’s find out.
Natalie Erika James’ Apartment 7A, written by Natalie, Christian White, and Skylar James, tells the story of Terry Gionoffrio. Yes, that’s the same Terry Gionoffrio who briefly met Rosemary Woodhouse in Rosemary’s Baby and then plummeted to her death a few moments later while wearing the tannis root pendant on her neck. So, you already know what’s written in her destiny. Still, you follow her as a budding dancer trying to break into the cutthroat industry of, well, dancing. To make things worse, Terry gets badly injured while practicing a complex move, due to which she is rejected from every audition. Desperate to impress a popular figure in her profession, Alan Marchand, Terry follows him to the Bramford but falls ill due to the medications she is taking to ease her pain and collapses at the apartment’s doorstep. She is taken in by Roman and Minnie Castevet, thereby bringing her closer to Marchand and also solving a major chunk of her financial issues (because rent in New York is high). Things even start to look up after a “dinner” with Marchand. However, eventually, Terry begins to realize that her ambition and dreams are about to cost her heavily.
I think I should make this one thing very clear before saying anything about Apartment 7A because it needs to be put out there: My appreciation for Rosemary’s Baby and my criticism of Apartment 7A is not an endorsement of Roman Polanski. With all that said, yes, Apartment 7A is plain bad. I don’t usually talk about films based on whether or not they’re necessary because that’s usually not how art is created. I say “usually,” because there are instances where production houses forcefully make a film to retain the rights to the IP. Regardless of the reason why this horror prequel has been made, its existence feels insanely unnecessary. Did I watch Rosemary’s Baby and wonder what happened to Terry Gionoffrio? No, I didn’t. Has the prequel somehow enriched Rosemary’s Baby? No, it hasn’t, because the character of Terry is essentially an amalgamation of Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse, and Terry’s character arc is very similar to that of Rosemary. So, what’s even the point?
The thing about the unexplained parts of Rosemary’s Baby is that they are self-explanatory. We don’t need origin stories for the Castevets, Doctor Sapirstein, or the Satanic cult because everything that they do in that original film is enough to ignite our sense of imagination. So, delving into all that in the most uninspired fashion possible makes Look What’s Happened To Rosemary’s Baby seem innovative and original (yes, I have watched the sequel to Rosemary’s Baby with my own two eyes). Apartment 7A falters in the one place where it could’ve surpassed the original: the visuals. Rosemary’s Baby was made in the late ‘60s and it seemingly feels timeless. While the possession sequence and the musical scenes are decent, the rest of the prequel looks like garbage. I mean, there are moments where you can clearly see that the lighting between the physical and CG sets don’t match or the coloring hasn’t been done properly. I don’t know how this has been released in such an irresponsible fashion. Also, what is Natalie Erika James saying that hasn’t been said before? What’s the point of retreading old ground while also messing with the continuity of the original film?
Coming to the performances in Apartment 7A, Julia Garner is fantastic. She is too good to be pouring her talent into this movie. Her vocal inflections, her body language, and the transformation she goes through—she feels like a bona fide movie star. There’s a close-up shot of Garner where she is looking at the poster of her upcoming theatrical performance, and it made me gasp. If that shot would’ve been in a better movie, it would’ve been one of the most iconic shots in film history. But now I don’t think anyone will notice it. Thankfully, Garner has been working with Leigh Whannell, Matt Shakman, and Zach Cregger, who will hopefully give the actress the story that’ll make her shine properly. Everyone else in the film is horribly miscast. Dianne Wiest is one of the best actors of all time, and there’s no doubt about that. However, she isn’t Minnie Castevet. Earlier this week, I was watching Agatha All Along, and I think Debra Jo Rupp would’ve been better in this very role. Kevin McNally is an excellent actor and has several fantastic roles under his belt. As Roman Castevet, it seems like he is bringing nothing to the table. Jim Sturgess is in the movie, and of course his talent is utterly wasted. The rest of the supporting cast is fine, I suppose.
When I learned about the existence of Apartment 7A, I kept wondering why it was being made. Despite my admiration for the craft, story, and acting in Rosemary’s Baby, it’s not a movie that I like to re-watch because of its association with Roman Polanski. So, making a whole prequel around that movie confused me. At one point, I thought that it was actually going to be a meta commentary on what Rosemary’s Baby stands for, and maybe it was going to wrestle with the film’s complicated legacy. But no, it was just a tired rehash of that original film that didn’t even utilize the acting skills of its talented cast or provide horror fans with some memorable visuals. Additionally, I think the themes and tropes of Rosemary’s Baby have already reached a point of saturation. This year alone, we got Immaculate and The First Omen, which are not only similar to each other but also take a leaf out of Ira Levin’s novel. Meanwhile, films like Mother!, False Positive, Delivery: The Beast Within, and Prevenge have taken Levin’s material and given it their own relevant spin. Apartment 7A has nothing going for it, and you’re better off watching the made-for-TV sequel (which is apparently available on YouTube for free), Look What’s Happened To Rosemary’s Baby.
This post was originally published on here
