Running Time: 104 Minutes
Certification: 15
Starring: Julia Garner, Dianne Wiest, Kevin McNally, Jim Sturgess, Marli Siu, Andrew Buchan, Rosy McEwen, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
After directing a number of short films, Natalie Erika James made her feature debut with 2020's terrific Relic. The following year, it was announced that the co-writer/director had signed onto Apartment 7A, a project shrouded in mystery. Filming unfolded in 2022 and, later that year, it was revealed that James' sophomore feature was secretly a prequel to 1968's Rosemary's Baby. With the exception of reshoots in 2023, all seemed quiet regarding the film, until the release date was finally announced. Now, the apartment is open for viewing.
New York City, 1965. Aspiring dancer Terry Gionoffrio (Julia Garner) is introduced readying herself for a show, but tragedy strikes when she suffers an injury onstage. The accident leaves her infamous, with her hopes for a successful career dampened as she struggles to bounce back. After crossing paths with Minnie and Roman Castavet (Dianne Wiest & Kevin McNally), the older couple welcome Terry into their home in the Bramford, a luxury apartment building. Also residing in the building is an influential Broadway producer (Jim Sturgess), leaving Terry with another chance to make her dreams come true. However, distributing circumstances leaves her wary about the dark forces guiding her path.
In the 1968 classic, Terry Gionoffrio is somebody whose hopes for a brighter future are cruelly crushed in mysterious circumstances, courtesy of the unsettling web woven in Ira Levin's screenplay. With a substantially larger focus, the character is shown to be somebody following their dreams while intending to not return to her parents' pig farm. This determination is captured within Julia Garner's expressive performance, while also conveying her struggles at making sense of a nightmare scenario that appears beyond all reason.
Offering help to Terry are the Castavets, a seemingly lonely couple with a devilish sense of humour. Effectively bringing alive the couple are Dianne Wiest and Kevin McNally, who terrifically capture the sense of something devious lurking behind the smiles and friendliness. They do good work bringing alive these roles previously inhabited by Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon (who won an Oscar for her performance), although the pair can only do so much within this feature.
Part of what makes Rosemary's Baby so effective is how, even if viewers do not know what is happening, there is a pervasive feeling of eeriness throughout that is aided by Krzysztof Komeda's unsettling score. As this is a prequel, there is no mystery regarding what is happening, yet the film treads water until the revelations are revealed. One gets the sense that viewers will understand what is happening regardless of if they have watched the original, and it does not even compensate matters with an eerie feeling.
What does not help is how this film treads on similar ground to the original, leaving it to resemble 2011's The Thing in operating as a prequel while feeling like a less-effective remake. What remains is largely dull and feels uninspired, opting for heavy-handed dialogue and references instead of crafting a unique identity. It is not until the final act that the constraints appear to loosen, as flashes of identity shine through with a particularly interesting idea. Sadly, it is too late as the promise is met by end credits and a lacking mid-credits scene, which leaves Apartment 7A to quickly disappear from one's memory.
Apartment 7A premiered at Fantastic Fest 2024. It is available to stream exclusively on Paramount+, and to buy on Digital, from September 27th.
Comments