Fantastic Fest 2024 – Religious horror had a major resurgence this year, with such films as Immaculate and The First Omen garnering generally positive buzz and doing well during their box office runs. Like both of those movies, Apartment 7A uses the subgenre to address a woman’s bodily autonomy. As a prequel to Rosemary’s Baby, it continues the themes of Ira Levin’s novel and Roman Polanski’s stellar adaptation. Though set in 1965, Apartment 7A resonates today, in a post-Roe world.

Directed by Natalie Erika James (Relic), who co-wrote the script with Christian White and Skylar James, the film stars the talented Julia Garner (The Americans, Ozark) as wannabe Broadway starlet Terry Gionoffrio. After fleeing a farm life in Nebraska to move to the Big Apple, Terry faces a streak of bad luck. In the opening minutes, she injures her ankle and then hobbles around to other auditions. She fails to land a big break.

From the get-go, James centers the female body. The close-ups of Terry’s ankle and the sound design of her bones twisting and breaking are unnerving, to say the least. At times, this film is a body horror movie as much as a religious horror flick. James’ focus on the body stresses Terry’s eventual fears that pregnancy will doom her career. Terry faces the sinister forces of the occult after she moves into the Bramford (once again the Dakota in NYC). James’ frequent exterior shots of the Dakota make the Bramford feel like a menacing, all-consuming force. The interior shots of hallways and various corridors enhance the foreboding atmosphere.

The rape and pregnancy happen not long after Terry unknowingly befriends the Satan worshippers, including Jim Sturgess’ Alan Marchand, a power player in the theater world. At one point, during an audition, he asks Terry if she’ll crawl around the stage and oink like a pig like the animals on her family’s farm back in Nebraska. He’s all kinds of creepy in this film, a contrast to many of his other roles, specifically Across the Universe. It turns out that Alan has major connections to Minnie (Dianne Wiest) and Roman Castevet (Kevin McNally), the primary antagonists from Rosemary’s Baby, who have obviously been recast.

Of the two, Minnie stands out. Roman plays a much more subdued role in this prequel. Oscar-winner Wiest’s take on the character finds Minnie just as mouthy as Ruth Gordon’s performance, but she’s also very funny and cunning. The emphasis on Minnie over Roman underscores the ways in which women too often undercut other women. This theme reoccurs throughout the film, when another dancer/actress frequently disparages Terry’s talents, accusing her of landing a role in a major production only because she slept with Alan, who oversees the play/musical.

Yet, it’s important to note that Terry does have a major ally, her best friend Annie (Marli Siu), another actress. The scenes between the two grow increasingly important, as Annie helps Terry navigate what to do with the baby. At one point, she even takes her to a back alley to get an abortion. Remember, this is 1965. This scene is so harrowing because it highlights a time pre-Roe and also the dangers. The tools, for instance, look so cold and sterile.

In keeping with some of the body horror themes, the pregnancy increasingly grows more sinister. Whenever Terry tries to abort the baby, the hell spawn prevents her from doing so, while causing her severe pains. Meanwhile, there’s a potent and hair-raising moment when Alan grips Terry’s stomach, again showing how everyone wants to control her choices and her bodily autonomy. It doesn’t matter how many times she says it’ll end her career. They promise her fame and fortune, if only she’ll birth the demon.

While Apartment 7A does have a few callbacks to the 1968 classic, including a few familiar characters and one infamous line, it’s strong enough to stand on its own. The set and costume designs, coupled with some of the dance sequences, are also standouts. James’ talents as a director were evident with the slow-burn Relic but they’re even more pronounced here.  This prequel continues 2024’s trend of powerful religious horror movies that echo our country’s post-Roe reality.

Apartment 7A initially premiered at Fantastic Fest. It will stream on Paramount Plus beginning September 27.