The only things separating an inspired prequel from a jerky one are a strong mind and a strong aesthetic linear perspective . Apartment 7Adoesn’t have either . It ’s a prequel centre around a minor character from 1968’sRosemary ’s Baby , Terry Gionoffrio ( Ozarkstar Julia Garner ) , whose fate is explicitly spelled out in that film ’s first enactment . That ’s a job in and of itself , and one thatApartment 7Aonly savoir-faire by hoping its viewers either have n’t go steady its parent picture show or , at the very least , do n’t think the particular of its plot . What ’s even worse is how thoroughlyApartment 7Amisjudges where the enduring , terrifying power ofRosemary ’s Babycomes from .
One of the most iconic American horror moving-picture show of all time , Rosemary ’s Babyisn’t “ scarey ” per se — not in the modernistic or most straightforward sentiency of the word . It has little to no jump panic and only a few truly frightening images , most of which derive during the same midpoint , hallucinatory succession . Its horrors linger beyond the edge of its frames — hidden within the grinning of its heroine ’s pushy neighbors , the shadows of its New York apartment building , and behind literal embryonic membrane . It ’s a horror moving picture that try for most of its runtime to never jostle the hair-raising scene of its write up in your face . When it does , it often does so with a in darkness funny signature that just make believe the truly gonzo evil of its villains all the more startling .
Apartment 7A , conversely , ca n’t help but show its helping hand . It is a prequel comprised of still shots and sharp deletion that prevent it from ever recreate the dreamlike hold of its authoritative predecessor . It is even more literal and idiotic , and yet it lacksRosemary Baby‘s macabre gumption of mood . Apartment 7A , in other password , omit the mark by missing the breaker point .
WhenApartment 7Abegins , Garner ’s Terry is a New York City dancer with dream of one day seeing her name up in lights . The motion picture , plant in 1965 , wastes no time pall her dream . Its prologue swiftly stop with Terry wound her ankle so badly that saltation becomes a physically painful endeavor . This twisting of fate sends Terry down a volute of self-denial and drugs that end with her being peck up off the pavement by Minnie ( Dianne Wiest ) and Roman Castevet ( Kevin McNally ) , a on the face of it kindly elder couple . When Terry awakens from a drug - induced daze , Minnie and Roman offer to let her stay in the apartment they own next to theirs and re-introduce her to their Broadway producer neighbour , Alan ( a wasted Jim Sturgess ) .
What seems at first like a welcome stroke of luck bulge to feel dangerous after a one - on - one night with Alan leaves Terry with bruises on her torso and increasingly diabolic visions . Minnie and Roman ’s unselfishness , in good turn , morphs into something more nefarious , and it is n’t long before Terry has grown both afraid and suspicious of her neighbor ’s secret ( but not particularly well - hide ) plans for her . Those who have seenRosemary ’s Babywill know all along what ’s really snuff it on within the wall of the Bramford , Apartment 7A‘s labyrinthine fundamental building , and the prequel does n’t do anything to offset the predictability of its plot . Instead , it retell closely all of the major dramatic beats ofRosemary ’s Baby , a fact that constitute it feel more like a remaking than a prequel right up until the exact , last - minute consequence when it has to depart from its harbinger .
Director Natalie Erika James and her co - writer , Christian White and Skylar James , make the misapprehension of overstress the malice of the Bramford ’s residents in a way thatRosemary ’s Babypointedly does n’t until its third number . Minnie , in particular , behaves in such an apparently sinister manner for much ofApartment 7Athat Dianne Wiest ’s iteration of the character pales in comparison to the improbable evil of Ruth Gordon ’s , despite the fact that Wiest consciously and distractingly tries hard to imitate Gordon ’s accent and voice . Only Garner , as talented a young actress as we have in good order now , supervise to step out from the darkness ofRosemary ’s Babyand volunteer something new and worthwhile . Her Terry is more blunt and do-or-die than Mia Farrow ’s Rosemary , and Garner does her good to playApartment 7A‘s drama as earnestly and realistically as she can .
While its conclusion to say Terry ’s write up greatly restricts its freedom , Apartment 7Astill stumble upon ideas that feel both distinctly tied to those at the heart of its slap-up franchise and unique to it . In its parent plastic film , Farrow ’s Rosemary is a char who think that those around her actually see her as a human being . It ’s only at the ending that she discovers they view her and her body as entail to their own ends , and it ’s thanks to the unstained beauty of Farrow ’s operation that we find simultaneous repulsion and heartbreak for her . Apartment 7A , meanwhile , use Terry ’s career as a vas to explore how the professional dreams of woman have long been envision and used by those in power — mostly men — as bargaining chip or opportunity to overwork them .
That truth is made forthwith well-defined to both the audience and Garner ’s Terry , though , which means thatApartment 7A‘s confidently execute conclusion is hand over largely weightless . The prequel forgets just how important the supporting characters ofRosemary ’s Babyare to its biggest moments , and it invests so niggling in them that their treatment of Terry does n’t land as raspingly as it should . The new film is a fashionable and , at metre , really scary prequel , but it says so small Modern that its existence is left undue .
Rosemary ’s Babydirector Roman Polanski ’s real - life action at law have made apprize the artistry of his former moving picture and his power to highlight the overpowering nature of the world ’s evil a hard human activity . Had it well understood what make Polanski ’s 1968 film so haunting , flat 7Acould have emerged as a desirable choice for those uninterested in grappling with its predecessor ’s now - complicated legacy . But it unwisely tries to substitute the soft , repress effect ofRosemary ’s Babywith a blunter trend that is significantly less good . Its repulsion are more obvious , its ideas more ham - fisted . It hits you in the cheek , but it does n’t get under your skin .
flat 7Ais streaming now on Apple TV+ .
