Apartment 7A (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – A struggling dancer finds herself drawn into dark forces by a peculiar couple promising her fame.

My Take – Just five months ago, we saw The First Omen (2024) release to much acclaim as it not only managed to recreate the haunting atmosphere of a 48 year old film but also managed to add a lot more story and intrigue to the original despite being a prequel. Unfortunately, the below par box office performance of the film will certainly discourage studios from further investing in such nostalgic ventures and divulging in the creation of unnecessary preludes to classic horror features.

But the final nail in the coffin comes in the form of this latest Paramount+ release, which counts John Krasinski and Michael Bay as producers.

Serving as a prequel to arguably one of the best horror films of all time, troubled writer-director Roman Polanski‘s Rosemary’s Baby (1968), which itself was based on Ira Levin’s 1967 novel. The new film attempts to derive a story out of Terry Gionoffrio, a minor one-scene character from the original film, whose ill-fated end was pretty much showcased, and yet tries to sell how she was once part of the same plan that ultimately ensnared Rosemary.

But while writer-director Natalie Erika James (Relic) managed to masterfully set the tone, her film is surprisingly devoid of the haunting escalating paranoia that the original captured so well. Co-written by Christian White and Skylar James, the prequel attempts to weave a thrilling narrative, but ultimately fails to deliver a compelling experience by subjecting us to a series of predictable tropes that drains any potential enjoyment from the film.

To make matters worse, the film’s attempts at horror is way too straightforward, leaving nothing to the imagination, and its redundancy makes the exercise feel like a poor rehash of the 60s classic it’s trying to emulate.

Though Polanski‘s film is still known for its rich tapestry of metaphor and symbolism, exploring themes of paranoia, trust, and the loss of autonomy, this unnecessary third feature installment will go down in history as yet another dull, derivative & disappointing attempt at reviving an existing classic.

Set in 1965 New York City, a few months before the events of the original, the story follows Terry Gionoffrio (Julia Garner), an ambitious yet penniless young dancer who dreams of making it big in the Broadway scene are suddenly thwarted by a nasty foot injury during a performance.

While she partially recovers after a couple of weeks, the reputation of her fall hampers all opportunities of a new job. In desperation to prove herself she ends up following Alan Marchand (Jim Sturgess), a renowned producer, to his residence: the Bramford, a large Renaissance Revival apartment building in Manhattan.

Only to find herself taken in by Minnie Castevet (Dianne Wiest) and Roman Castevet (Kevin McNally), an older, wealthy couple who are a little smothering but ever-helpful and even allow her to stay rent-free in their other apartment in the extravagant building.

And when an unexpected opportunity for stardom arises, it seems like all her dreams are coming true, that is until unsettling events begin to unfold. Forcing Terry to question the sacrifices she’s making for her career as she discovers that something sinister lurks not just in Apartment 7A, but in the Bramford itself.

Simply told, this film really has no reason to exist. We get Terry’s backstory, see how she becomes involved with Roman and Minnie and why it is that she kills herself. We don’t learn anything new about the characters from the original film, and the narrative is mostly a retread of the storyline from the original.

Even the pacing is all over the place. Dragging in various places, with scenes that could have been cut or condensed to maintain a better flow. The build-up to key moments often feels sluggish, making the eventual reveals feel anticlimactic. Sure, there’s promise in the story.

As like the original, the film wisely realizes that those eager to enter show business are most likely to be lured by the promise of selling one’s soul. While Terry’s deal here is far less obvious than that offered to Rosemary’s ruthless actor husband, she’s still blinded by the idea of her name up in lights. When her career rise is threatened by pregnancy, the film does wrestle with what that would have meant for a woman in the 1960s, and co-writer/director Natalie Erika James finds some brief mileage in exploring the thorny topic of abortion at the time.

However, trapped in a structure that will ultimately lead to the events of the original film, every element is eventually dropped to the side. Also despite being billed as a horror, there isn’t any terrifying. Director James tries to go big on shock cuts and fake-out dreams, but there is nothing in the script to drum up scares.

We even get two different designs for Satan and one of them is this bejeweled monstrosity that gets far too much screen time. The other design looks better but we hardly even get a proper look at it. We eventually get to the bizarre ending that can be best described as a suicidal dance sequence set to the Ronettes way too on the nose, “Be My Baby.”

Performance wise, Julia Garner gives her all to the role and makes Terry sympathetic, even as we always know exactly what will happen to her a few scenes before it actually does. Dianne Wiest makes the role of Minnie her own. A tough job considering, Ruth Gordon won the Oscar in the Best Supporting Actress category for her turn.

Kevin McNally brings such a jovial uncle feel to his character that it becomes more terrifying when he makes the switch. Marli Siu and Rosey McEwen give their best to whatever is offered to them. Sadly, Jim Sturgess is severely underutilized. On the whole, ‘Apartment 7A’ is an unnecessary prequel that fails to capture the essence of truly horrifying original.