Apartment 7A

Apartment 7A
File:Apartment 7a.jpeg Release poster
Directed by	Natalie Erika James
Produced by	John Krasinski Allyson Seeger Michael Bay Andrew Form Brad Fuller
Screenplay by	Natalie Erika James Christian White Skylar James
Story by	Skylar James
Based on	Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
Starring	Julia Garner Dianne Wiest Jim Sturgess Kevin McNally
Music by	Adam Price Peter Gregson
Cinematography	Arnau Valls Colomer
Edited by	Andy Canny
Production company	Paramount Players Platinum Dunes Sunday Night Productions
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	September 20, 2024 (2024-09-20) (Fantastic Fest) September 27, 2024 (2024-09-27) (United States)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Apartment 7A is a 2024 American psychological horror film directed by Natalie Erika James from a screenplay she co-wrote with Christian White and Skylar James. It serves as a prequel to Rosemary's Baby (1968). Julia Garner, Dianne Wiest, Jim Sturgess, and Kevin McNally star.

Apartment 7A had its premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 20, 2024, before being released simultaneously on Paramount+ and on digital video on demand on September 27.

Plot

Terry Gionoffrio, a young dancer from Nebraska now working in New York City, sustains a serious ankle injury mid-performance in a Broadway production of Kiss Me, Kate, causing the show to be stopped. She becomes known as "the girl who fell" and although unable to perform as she previously did, continues to unsuccessfully audition for dancing parts. After auditioning for Broadway producer Alan Marchand, she follows him home to the Bramford apartment building and becomes sick. She is befriended by Minnie and Roman Castevet, an elderly couple who live in the Bramford's apartments and who offer her an apartment down the hall rent-free, which they explain as something they have done before to help someone who needs it. Unpacking, she comes across a ballet slipper labeled Joan Cebulski.

The Castevets invite her for cocktails at Alan's apartment, but when she shows up, she discovers the Castevets have cried off and she is the only guest. After a drink, she becomes disoriented. After a frightening dream, she wakes in bed in Marchand's apartment. He implies they had sex and tells her she made the chorus for his show.

Terry meets more of the neighbors, who take an interest. One woman, Lily Gardenia, gives her a salve for her ankle, and she has another frightening dream, but in the morning her ankle is markedly better. Another, Dr. Sapirstein, an obstetrician, gives her his card. The Castevets give her a talisman necklace for Christmas.

After experiencing morning sickness, she visits Dr. Sapirstein and discovers she is pregnant, and the news is soon known to Alan and the Castevets.

Terry is attacked in the night by Lily who says she "has to end it". After attacking Terry with a pair of scissors, she has a heart attack. The next day, the Castevet couple tells her Lily is in a coma.

Terry discovers a secret passageway into Lily's apartment and finds a note and a grimoire. She steals the grimoire and finds a drawing of her talisman in it along with a photo of a chained woman giving birth to a demon.

Terry experiences pain and calls Dr. Sapirstein, telling him she thinks there's something wrong with her or the baby. He tells her to pack a bag and come in, and when she asks why she would need a bag, he tells her she may be experiencing perinatal hysteria and need to be admitted for her own protection and that of the baby.

Terry flees, leaving the talisman behind. She finds Joan Cebulski's name in an old Playbill and visits the theater; the manager tells her Joan left six months earlier, promising to be back for her belongings the next day. In Joan's suitcase, Terry finds a rosary and a Bible with Revelation 12:9 underlined.

Terry goes to a back-alley abortionist, accompanied by Annie; Terry involuntarily kicks the abortionist as she starts the process, and the woman has a seizure. Terry tells Annie she has to deal with the pregnancy "on her own".

Back at the Bramford, she finds a temple with murals and tools of religious ritual in a sub-basement. Alan appears and tells her this is where she was impregnated. Alan taunts her, and she stabs him with an engraved athame. A horned figure appears, and she flees. Finding Minne and Roman in her apartment, she 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 the rest of the group, who welcome her. Minnie replaces the talisman around Terry's neck and Roman declares God dead and 1965 the year one. He raises a toast, "Hail, Satan", which Terry joins in on. She begins to dance artistically to Be My Baby, and reaching the window, throws herself out to her death. As Minnie and Roman approach the scene, they see Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse being interviewed by police.

Cast

• Julia Garner as Terry Gionoffrio
• Dianne Wiest as Minnie Castevet
• Jim Sturgess as Alan Marchand
• Kevin McNally as Roman Castevet
• Marli Siu as Annie Leung
• Andrew Buchan as Leo Watts
• Rosy McEwen as Vera Clarke
• Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as BJ

In addition, Amy Leeson and Scott Hume appear as Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse, respectively.

Production

Development

In 2008, a remake of Rosemary's Baby (1968) was in development from producers Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller. It fell through later that year.

In March 2021, it was reported Natalie Erika James would direct the psychological thriller film Apartment 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 between Paramount Players, Sunday Night Productions, and Platinum Dunes. Following the success of the A 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 enter pre-production.

Casting

In January 2022, Julia Garner was revealed to be starring in the leading role. In March, Dianne Wiest joined the cast. By the time filming had ended, additional casting announcements included Marli Siu, Rosy McEwen, Jim Sturgess, Kevin McNally, Andrew Buchan and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.

Filming

Principal photography began in London on March 15, 2022. On June 4, it was announced that filming had wrapped. Later that month, Bloody Disgusting reported that the film was secretly a prequel to Rosemary's Baby, the film adaptation of Ira Levin's eponymous 1967 novel. In August, the Writers Guild of America determined the film's final writing credits and confirmed it to be based on Levin's novel. Reshoots took place in April and May 2023.

Release

Apartment 7A premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 20, 2024, before being simultaneously released in the United States via video-on-demand and on Paramount+ on September 27.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 41% of 80 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Apartment 7A is slickly assembled and solidly acted, but the lingering memory of Rosemary's Baby and a predictable prequel template make for a sub(par)lease." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 49 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

John Anderson of The Wall Street Journal called it "a highly stylish effort at recycling". Writing for IGN 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". The film was also praised by Robert Englund.

External links

• Apartment 7A at IMDb