The devil baby trifecta of 2024 concludes with the most pedestrian of the bunch in Paramount’s Apartment 7A. Marketed as a prequel for Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Apartment 7A is loosely about the loathsome location of the evil-ish Bramford apartments more so than divulging any revelatory origin tale as the story clumsily trips down a cliche-ridden path that is ultimately as unwanted as its hellish conception.

 

Similar to its sisters in sin - The First Omen and Immaculate - Apartment 7A features a single woman thrown into a complex and ancient machine where she is miraculously selected to be a no-so virgin mother for the unborn antichrist. Apartment 7A substitutes the Catholic Church in lieu of the equally archaic and corrupt Broadway Theaters with the Bramford serving as a more elegant convent, but the dance beats are the same. Similarly, Apartment 7A could have been a strong statement on abortion - especially with a release late in the election cycle - but alas any political practicality is overshadowed with a ridiculous pseudo-Force that might work better in a George Lucas prequel than a Polanski. 

 

And if interested, Michael Mohan’s Immaculate retains a stronger stance on the subject of abortion.

 

Set in New York in the mid-60s, Terry Gionoffrio (Julia Garner) wants her name in lights but a fractured ankle says otherwise. Through luck - okay, scripted fate? - Terry meets the kindly couple Minnie and Roman Castevet, who were originally introduced in Rosemary’s Baby. Here, they are wonderfully played by Dianne Wiest and Kevin McNally. Like with Rosemary Woodhouse, Terry is brought in by the Castevets and groomed for, well, motherhood. Terry, of course, just wants to sing and dance. She misses the devil in the details. And in the laundry room. 

 

Apartment 7A has all the feelings of a marketed mandate. Directed and co-written by Natalie Erika James, Apartment 7A features both a strong cast and beautiful production values. James attempts to have some fun by adding in some wonderfully-choreographed dance and theater pieces. These scenes spectacularly juxtapose the intense stress in Terry’s life. Unfortunately, those artistic moments are too short lived. If anything, Apartment 7A could righteously work as an offbeat musical. Instead, Apartment 7A plays it as safe as possible.

 

Anyone who has seen Rosemary’s Baby knows Terry’s fate is not one destined for marquees. Likewise, any true horror fan can certainly sense that the terror of this particular story is at a minimum. James truly has a strong focus on the drama of a single woman trying to make it big on the harsh streets of New York. The relegated horror sways between an overly-produced afterthought to the wholly ridiculous and certainly laughable. Truly, the largest sin is that Julia Garner deserves better than a horror prequel relegated to a streaming service. 

Be on the lookout for a “Rosemary” cameo that walks by the camera for a few seconds. This little added joy is reminiscent of the recent Max Rockatansky sighting in Furiosa. And ultimately? Apartment 7A will soon be a mere reminiscence, too.