| Apartment 7A | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Natalie Erika James |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Skylar James |
| Based on | Rosemary's Baby byIra Levin |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Arnau Valls Colomer |
| Edited by | Andy Canny |
| Music by |
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Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 104 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Apartment 7A is a 2024 Americanpsychological horror film[2] serving as aprequel toRosemary's Baby (1968). Directed and co-written byNatalie Erika James, the film starsJulia Garner,Dianne Wiest,Jim Sturgess, andKevin McNally. The story sees a young dancer who, after suffering an injury that risks her career, receives help from a Broadway producer and an older couple with sinister ulterior motives.
Apartment 7A had its premiere atFantastic Fest on September 20, 2024, before being released simultaneously onParamount+ and on digitalvideo on demand on September 27. The film received mixed reviews by the critics, who praised the atmosphere and the acting, but criticized the script.
New York City dancer Terry Gionoffrio sustains a serious ankle injury mid-performance in a Broadway production. She becomes known as "the girl who fell" and unsuccessfully auditions for dancing parts. She follows Broadway producer Alan Marchand home to the Bramford apartment building and becomes sick from her anti-pain medication. She is befriended by elderly Bramford residents Minnie and Roman Castevet, who offer her an apartment rent-free. Unpacking, she comes across ajazz shoe labeled Joan Cebulski.
The Castevets invite her for cocktails at Alan's apartment, but she discovers the Castevets have backed out and she is the only guest. She has a drink and becomes disoriented. After a frightening dream, she wakes in bed in Marchand's apartment. He implies they had sex and says she made the chorus for his show.
Another neighbor, Lily Gardenia, gives Terry a salve for her ankle, and she has another frightening dream, but in the morning her ankle is markedly better. The Castevets give her atalisman necklace for Christmas.
She visitsobstetrician neighbor Dr. Sapirstein and discovers she is pregnant. The Castevets persuade Terry to give them the baby while she focuses on her career. Terry is cast in the lead role after her rival suffers a twisted ankle from a malignant entity.
Lily attacks Terry in the night, saying she "has to end it", then has a heart attack. The next day, the Castevets tell her Lily is in a coma.
Terry discovers a secret passageway into Lily's apartment and finds agrimoire containing images of her talisman and a chained woman giving birth to a demon. She steals it.
Experiencing pain, Terry calls Dr. Sapirstein. He tells her to pack a bag and come in, as she may be experiencing perinatal hysteria and should be admitted for the protection of herself and the baby.
Terry flees, leaving the talisman. Finding Joan Cebulski's name in an oldPlaybill, she visits the theater; the manager says Joan left six months earlier, promising to retrieve her belongings the next day. In Joan's suitcase, Terry finds arosary and a Bible withRevelation 12:9 underlined. A nun reveals that Joan had been subjected to "ungodly things", and was being chased when she ran into an oncoming bus, killing her.
At aback-alley abortionist, Terry involuntarily kicks the abortionist, who has a seizure. Terry says she must deal with the pregnancy alone.
At the Bramford, Terry finds a temple with ritual tools in a sub-basement. Alan taunts her, saying this is where she was impregnated. She stabs him with anathame. A horned figure appears. She flees to her apartment and tries to stab herself in the stomach but falls to the floor, writhing in pain. Roman tells Terry her son will be Satan's heir and change the world. He and Minnie take her to a group, who welcome her. Minnie replaces the talisman around Terry's neck, and Roman declares God dead and 1965 to be year one. He raises a toast to Satan, which Terry joins. She dances to the window and throws herself out to her death.
As Minnie and Roman approach the crime scene, they seeRosemary and Guy Woodhouse being interviewed by police, and the Castevets smile at each other.[a]
In addition, Amy Leeson and Scott Hume appear as married couple Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse, respectively.[f]
In 2008, a remake ofRosemary's Baby (1968) was in development from producersMichael Bay,Andrew Form, andBrad Fuller.[10] It fell through later that year.[11][12]
In March 2021, it was reported Natalie Erika James would direct the psychological thriller filmApartment 7A. James co-wrote the screenplay with Christian White, based on a previous draft of the script written by Skylar James.John Krasinski, Allyson Seeger, Bay, Form and Fuller produced the film, which was a joint-venture production betweenParamount Players,Sunday Night Productions, andPlatinum Dunes. Following the success of theA Quiet Place franchise, the project was among several scripts that the studio was developing with a similar tone.Apartment 7A was chosen from those projects to quickly enterpre-production.[13]
In January 2022,Julia Garner was revealed to be starring in the leading role.[3] In March,Dianne Wiest joined the cast.[4] By the time filming had ended, additional casting announcements includedMarli Siu,[7]Rosy McEwen,[9]Jim Sturgess,Kevin McNally,Andrew Buchan andKobna Holdbrook-Smith.[8]
Principal photography began in London on March 15, 2022.[14] On June 4, it was announced that filming hadwrapped.[15][7] Later that month,Bloody Disgusting reported that the film was secretly aprequel toRosemary's Baby, the film adaptation ofIra Levin'seponymous 1967 novel.[16][17] In August, theWriters Guild of America determined the film's final writing credits and confirmed it to be based on Levin's novel.[18] Reshoots took place in April and May 2023.[19]
Apartment 7A premiered atFantastic Fest on September 20, 2024,[20][21] before being simultaneously released in the United States viavideo-on-demand and onParamount+ on September 27.[22] The film was released on DVD separately and as part of a "2 Movie Collection" along withRosemary's Baby on November 5, 2024.[citation needed]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 45% of 89 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Apartment 7A is slickly assembled and solidly acted, but the lingering memory ofRosemary's Baby and a predictable prequel template make for a sub(par)lease."[23]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 49 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[24]
John Anderson ofThe Wall Street Journal called it "a highly stylish effort at recycling".[25] Writing forIGN Movies, Katie Rife noted that "although the film’s themes and horror are rote, creative choreography and strong performances from the core cast make it an entertaining watch".[26] The film was also praised byRobert Englund.[27]
