The First Omen stunned horror fans this year as a prequel to Richard Donner's iconic 1976 film The Omen. It isn't the first time a legendary genre franchise has received the prequel treatment, with A Quiet Place: Day One, Predator origin story Prey, and Saw X all receiving favourable reviews. Hoping to reinvigorate interest in Rosemary's Baby is the Paramount Plus prequel story Apartment 7A.
Apartment 7A is set in 1965 New York and follows stage actress Theresa Gionoffrio (Julia Garner), who breaks her ankle following a freak accident on stage. After her lengthy recovery, she struggles to get work and is forced to live with her friend Annie (Marli Siu). After another failed audition for Alan Marchand's (Jim Sturgess) adaptation of The Pale Crook, she follows him back to his apartment at the lavish Bramford, a large Renaissance Revival apartment building in the city.
When she enters the building, she immediately feels unwell and faints outside, only to be taken in by eccentric elderly couple Minnie (Dianne Wiest) and Roman Castevet (Kevin McNally). They offer her a room in the apartment block free of charge and introduce her to the neighbours including Alan in a picturesque date setting. Life couldn't seem more perfect as she lands a part in The Pale Crook, but all is not what it seems as Terry finds herself at the centre of a hundred-year-old plot.
The prequel perfectly encapsulates the paranoia and anxiety that induced nightmares in Rosemary's Baby. Each shadow and cantered angle is accompanied by a dread-inducing score and Garner's impeccable acting chops as the leading lady, creating a sense of unease that grows steadily as more of the Bramford's secrets are revealed. Unfortunately for Apartment 7A, pregnancy horror is experiencing a boom with titles such as The First Omen, Immaculate, Birth/Rebirth, and Huesera: The Bone Woman all boldly tackling the notion of forced pregnancy in the wake of the overturning of Roe vs Wade. As such, the film doesn't pack anywhere near the punch it could in an oversaturated subgenre.
Apartment 7A keeps its nods to the original film to a minimum but strays into over-explaining territory that lessens the blow of the reveals themselves. It's a film that can be enjoyed by fans of Rosemary's Baby as well as those who are joining the franchise fresh, with its limited references that are a treat for hardened fans but don't make the film inaccessible. As well as Garner's powerful lead performance, Hollywood icon Wiest is formidable as the sickeningly sweet yet deadly Minnie who slowly exerts her control over the young actress.
As far as horror prequels go, Apartment 7A is a tense, eerie addition to the world of Rosemary's Baby. While it may not pack the same brutal punch as other pregnancy horror films, it is a solid release from Relic and Creswick creator Natalie Erika James that is sure to be a staple watch this Halloween.
Apartment 7A had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2024 on 20th September 2024. It is released on Paramount+ in the US on 27th September and in the UK on 28th September.
