One of the biggest horror movie of all time was 1973’s “The Exorcist.” The themes of demonic possession, childhood innocence and vulnerability, and the battle of good and evil, God vs. Satan, made the film chilling and effectively horrifying. One could make the argument though, that many of these themes were also explored successfully in 1968’s “Rosemary’s Baby.” The events of the film set-up a number of questions about what the hell was going on in Rosemary’s apartment complex, and a new prequel is set to answer some of them.
The original film stared Mia Farrow as the titular Rosemary. It was written and directed by Roman Polanski, based off of Ira Levin‘s book, released the year prior. While it did receive a sequel in the form of another novel and a made-for-tv movie, neither of these matched the success and acclaim of the originals. To understand the nature of the prequel, we’re about to drop a spoiler for a 56-year old film, so get ready; Rosemary’s neighbors in her new apartment building are all worshipper’s of Satan.
(Sure it looks impressive, but it’s not really pushing the boundaries of a high score)
Yup, Rosemary and her husband just happened to pick an apartment in The Bramford building, surrounded by hardcore Satanists. We’re not talking about the symbolic Satan of freewill and anti-authoritarianism, we mean people who are actively trying to bring about the antichrist in a very Biblical sense. But because the movie starts off with Rosemary moving into the complex, those tenants were there before she was, so what’s their deal? And who was in that apartment before Rosemary and what in the name of Satan was going on with them?
That’s what “Apt. 7A” from director Natalie Erika James is going to tell us.
3-time Emmy winner Julia Garner (“Ozark“) will play the titular character. According to an early logline, “Apartment 7A” is set in 1965 New York City, and tells the story prior to the legendary horror classic ‘Rosemary’s Baby.” The film will “explore what happened in the apartment before Rosemary moved in. When a struggling, young dancer suffers a devastating injury, she finds herself drawn in by dark forces when a peculiar, well-connected, older couple promises her a shot at fame.”
While an exact date hasn’t been given for a premiere, we do know it’s going to drop before Halloween on Paramount+. Makes sense, it’s as good a time as any to party with Satan and his followers in their upscale apartment complex… even if the rents are devilishly high… Or maybe they’re devilishly low, who knows? Maybe Satan negotiated for rent control. Guess we’ll find out in a few months!
