Warning! Contains major spoilers for Apartment 7A.
This article contains mentions of self-harm, violence, and murder.
By drawing subtle references toRosemary’s Babyand revealing several details about the movie’s characters' past,Apartment 7Aeffectively adds more depth to its parent movie’s story. With its opening arc unfolding only a few months beforeRosemary’s Baby,Apartment 7Agradually catches up with the parent movie’s narrative and presents several story intersections. Through these story connections withRosemary’s Baby,Apartment 7Anot only expands on the original film’s themes and character beats but also enriches a viewer’s understanding of the 1968 movie.
From a critical standpoint,Apartment 7A’s reception has been far more mixed than the parent film. However, it still deserves some credit for adding more heft to the original movie’s lore while unfolding its own standalone narrative. Since many plot threads fromApartment 7Aplay a crucial role in revealing what happened beforeRosemary’s Baby’s timeline, it is worth examining how it allows viewers to watch the 1968 film with fresh eyes.
8The Cult Targeted Another Woman Before Terry
Her Name Was Joan
InApartment 7A’s opening arc, Terry gets invited to stay in one of the homes of the Bramford building by the Castevets. Since the couple seems kind, Terry assumes they are only being nice to her and believes them when they claim they helped the previous tenant of the house stand on her feet. After moving into her new home in the building, Terry finds a shoe with the name “Joan” on it. When she asks Minnie about it, she reveals thatJoan was the previous tenant in the housewho suddenly decided to flee the building one night.
…Joan was the coven’s previous target and had likely tried to escape after learning what they were trying to do to her.
Although it seems strange that Joan left so abruptly, Terry just feels grateful she has a roof over her head. However, much later in the film, when she finally grows increasingly suspicious of the building’s residents, she sets out to track down Joan. Her search for answers eventually leads her to a nun in a nearby church who reveals that Joan was hit by a bus as soon as she left the building, and bystanders claimed someone was chasing her. This confirms that Joan was the coven’s previous target and had likely tried to escape after learning what they were trying to do to her.
7Lily Gardenia’s Death Was Linked With Terry
Reason Behind Lily’s Death Was Unclear In Rosemary’s Baby
When Guy and Rosemary Woodhouse move to their new home inRosemary’s Baby, their agent informs them that their previous tenant, Lily Gardenia, died a few days ago. Guy and Rosemary question whether she died inside the house, but the agent assures them she passed away on a hospital bed.Rosemary’s Babynever delves into the details of what happened to Lily Gardener, butApartment 7Aprovides some solid answers.
Rosemary’s Baby Ending, Explained
The unsettling final scene of the 1968 horror classic Rosemary’s Baby confirms the title character’s fears and solidifies the movie’s timely themes.
The prequel movie reveals that Lily was also a part of the coven. However, she eventually realized she could not support their sinister plan of bringing the Anti-Christ to rule the world. Therefore, in a desperate attempt to stop the coven,she tried to kill Terry before she could give birth to her demonic child. However, before she could kill Terry, someone from the cult murdered her.
6Terry Was A Struggling Dancer
The Castevets Manipulated Her By Promising Her Material Success
Apartment 7A’s opening arc portrays Terry as an accomplished dancer whose career takes a nosedive when she breaks her ankle. After struggling to find new job opportunities in her field, Terry gets addicted to painkiller medications and even fears her best friend will eventually stop supporting her by not letting her stay at her place. Owing to this, when the Castevets offer her a place to stay and even claim to know some influential figures from her field, Terry instantly falls prey to their schemes.
5Alan Marchand Was Also A Resident Of The Bramford Building
He Likely Played A Crucial Role In Terry’s Recruitment As The Cult’s New Target
Alan Marchand is not a part ofRosemary’s Baby’s roster, butApartment 7Aintroduces him as a new character, who also lives in the franchise’s central Renaissance Revival apartment building. Promising her to help her land better opportunities as a dancer, Marchand lures Terry into the cult’s plan. Although Terry kills him before he can witness the plan come to fruition, his character serves as an intriguing catalyst for the movie’s primary narrative. Jim Sturgess also does a satisfying job at portraying Alan Marchand as one of the primary villains in theRosemary’s Babyprequel movie.
Apartment 7Aalso features an intriguing mid-credits scene. The scene recreates the moment fromRosemary’s Baby, where Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse talk to police officers, and Rosemary tells them what she knows about Terry. However, instead of unfolding this scene from Rosemary’s perspective like the original film, the prequel presents it through the Castevets' eyes. It highlights how the Castevets spot Rosemary from a distance and share a smile with one another before walking up to the crime scene.
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Their shared smile highlights how Rosemary was always their backup plan. They knew that if things did not work out with Terry,they could always target Rosemary and use her as a vessel to bring the Anti-Christ to their world. With this assurance, the two walk up to the crime scene and pretend to know nothing about Terry’s death. They even take the opportunity to introduce themselves to Rosemary and Guy before secretly drawing them into the coven’s plan.
3Terry’s Death Paved The Way For Rosemary’s Baby’s Events
Rosemary Wouldn’t Have Been Targeted If It Wasn’t For Terry’s Death
Apartment 7A’s endinghighlights that the Castevets and the cult’s other members had almost convinced Terry to help them bring the Anti-Christ to the world. However, Terry eventually chose to walk down the morally righteous path instead of bringing darkness to the human world. If Terry had conformed, the cult members would never have thought about targeting Rosemary. As a result,Rosermary’s Baby’s events would not have happened at all.
2Terry’s Reason For Keeping The Baby Was Different From Rosemary’s
Rosemary Wished To Embrace Motherhood While Terry Wanted Something Else
While Rosemary is initially ecstatic about becoming a mother, Terry grows concerned about the future of her dance career when she learns about her pregnancy. Owing to this, the Castevets do not have to initially convince Rosemary to keep her child but have to come up with a plan to encourage Terry to do the same. Realizing that she hopes to see herself under the spotlight someday, the Castevets promise her that if she moves forward with her pregnancy and eventually allows them to take care of their child, they will help her rise in the ranks as a dancer.
Even though Mia Farrow was vegetarian duringRosemary’s Baby, she ate raw liver to accurately portray her character.
Unaware of what she is stepping into, Terry agrees to keep the child, and, in turn,sells her soul to the devil. Fortunately, for her, she does not feel as attached to her child as Rosemary does in the parent film. Therefore, when she learns about the true evil nature of the child she bears, she makes a drastic decision to end the coven’s plan for good.
1Aborting Her Pregnancy Was Never An Option For Rosemary
Terry Tries To Get An Abortion In The Prequel But Fails
When Terry finally learns the truth about her pregnancy and the cult’s plan, she sets out to get an abortion. However, she soon learns that she cannot get one when an evil, invisible force kills the woman who tries to abort her child. Later in the movie, she even tries to stab herself to end her pregnancy. However, the same invisible force stops her doing it. These moments inApartment 7Aestablish that even if Rosemary wanted to get an abortion inRosemary’s Baby, she would not have been able to.
Rosemary’s Baby
Directed by Roman Polanski and starring Mia Farrow, Rosemary’s Baby chronicles the chilling tale of Rosemary Woodhouse, the wife of an actor who, after finding out she is pregnant, begins to suspect that her unborn child is something far more sinister than a normal baby. John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, and Maurice Evans also star.
Apartment 7A
In this psychological thriller, a young woman is forced into a mysterious cult after moving into a seemingly ordinary apartment complex. As strange events occur there, she begins to question her sanity and the motives of her enigmatic neighbors.
