Apartment 7A adds nothing new or exciting to Rosemary’s Baby lore (Review)

Apartment 7A is, unsurprisingly, not great. Not only have we learned to set our expectations low when it comes to sequels and prequels, but a story like Rosemary’s Baby works fine on its own. It really didn’t need a prequel as there is little to nothing that needs to be explained. 

In the world of horror movies, Rosemary’s Baby is a go-to classic. Light spoilers ahead if you have not watched the original: In Rosemary’s Baby, we follow Guy Woodhouse and his wife Rosemary as they move into an apartment building in New York City. The Woodhouse couple are newlyweds, and they ignore all of the red flags surrounding the building and sketchy neighbors, Minnie and Roman Castavet. 

I won’t share more of what happens in Rosemary’s Baby. Not so much because I don’t want to spoil a movie that came out nearly six decades ago, but because the events that happen in Rosemary’s Baby are almost the same as what you’ll see in Apartment 7A. I’m not kidding, they could have really gotten creative here, but it’s almost a replica. 

Apartment 7A sees Terry Gionoffrio, a dancer who dreams of seeing her name in lights. Even after Terry suffers a fall and injures her foot, she hopes for her big break. Things are looking up when she moves into a new apartment that is offered to her rent-free by a sweet elderly couple who just so happens to be friends with a Broadway producer who can help her. Does this sound too good to be true? That’s because it is. 

Even the frightening images and nightmare sequences are unimpressive, what a waste of modern technology. The most nail-biting moment happens when Terry is asked by a Broadway producer to perform a châté over and over again, knowing that Terry broke her ankle. I closed my eyes each time Terry landed, afraid of seeing her break her foot again. 

The prequel fails to offer anything new to bring new life into the story. It’s all more of the same, and that’s a real shame because Julia Garner is actually brilliant in the film as Terry. Don’t get me wrong, Mia Farrow (who plays Rosemary in the original) has not been unseated here. Garner is great, but it’s going to take a lot to beat Farrow’s chilling performance. 

I would love to see Garner in another horror that deserves her talents. Luckily, we won’t have to wait long to see this as Garner is set to star in Wolf Man, alongside Christopher Abbott and Matilda Firth. The movie premieres in theaters Jan. 17, 2025. But back to Apartment 7A, do we recommend you skip the movie? Not really. It’s not what you may expect, but it’s not terribly long (just over one hour and 30 minutes) and, best of all, you can stream it from the comfort of your couch if you have a Paramount+ account. You may also enjoy the movie if you have not yet watched Rosemary’s Baby. 

Apartment 7A streams on Paramount+ starting Sept. 27.