'I was obsessed with Rosemary’s Baby': Apartment 7A screenwriter on how the Paramount Plus horror movie avoided the curse of the movie sequel

With Tinsel Town experiencing a terrible drought of original ideas of late, anxious studios, screenwriters, and producers person been gazing into nan rear position reflector much to analyse existing films and TV shows to excavation for imaginable cinematic projects branded arsenic caller prequels.

One of nan astir caller examples of this inclination that uses established properties pinch built-in audiences tin beryllium seen successful Paramount Plus’ Apartment 7A, an unsettling prequel that dovetails perfectly into head Roman Polanski’s award-winning 1968 supernatural shocker, Rosemary’s Baby.

That seminal movie starring Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes arsenic a yuppie mates who move into a venerable Manhattan flat building lodging a coven of Satanists rocked nan established Hollywood roster that had been filled pinch bloated westerns and musicals. Here, Farrow’s character, Rosemary Woodhouse, is unwittingly drawn into a diabolical scheme for her to go impregnated by nan Devil aft her husband, Guy, makes a acheronian woody to boost his acting career.

This was disturbing worldly for wide audiences of nan precocious ‘60s, but it was a astonishment smash that year, becoming 1 of nan best scary movies. Rosemary’s Baby ushered successful a caller era of maverick indie filmmakers for illustration Martin Scorsese, Brian DePalma, Francis Ford Coppola, William Friedkin, and George Lucas. Based connected a 1967 caller by Ira Levin and adapted for nan surface by Polanski, nan movie earned a brace of coveted Oscar nods, including a Best Adapted Screenplay information and a Best Supporting Actress triumph for Ruth Gordon, who played nan overbearing aged occultist, Minnie Castevet.

A hanging thread you tin pull

Directed by Natalie Erika James (Relic) from a crisp screenplay from Skylar James and starring Ozark’s Julia Garner, Dianne Wiest, and Kevin McNally, Apartment 7A targets nan tragic characteristic of Terry Gionoffrio, who commits termination by diving from nan notorious Bramford building successful nan 1968 movie – watch nan trailer to get a glimpse of nan prequel communicative to nan 1960s scary hit. James, pinch co-screenwriter Christian White, supply her pinch a backstory arsenic an injured dancer who comes into interaction pinch nan seemingly benevolent Satanists and moves into their ornate flat free of charge. With dancing opportunities suspiciously blossoming, it’s not agelong earlier she’s being seduced into becoming nan mother of nan Antichrist.

“It was an original thought that I had. I was very, very greenish and this was my first point that had gone done and I had written up this 12-page treatment,” James tells TechRadar. “I was obsessed pinch Rosemary’s Baby and I ever thought of Terry arsenic this hanging thread that you could pull. It was truthful absorbing that location was communicative earlier this. Something had happened and she died this mysterious decease and seems to beryllium instantly forgotten. What was her spot successful nan world? I benignant of obsessed complete it. A friend of excavation besides happened to beryllium friends pinch John Krasinski and we sewage double-booked for meal 1 night. I sounded him nan thought of Terry and it turns retired he’d studied Rosemary’s Baby for A Quiet Place. It was a really influential movie for him.

“I ne'er expected to perceive from him again and I get a matter nan adjacent greeting from John. He wanted maine to spell meet pinch nan different 2 producers connected nan movie correct away. We workshopped nan pages and each dug successful connected those 12 pages, and ended up trading that curen and we were disconnected to nan races. Christian is Natalie’s penning partner and erstwhile she signed connected arsenic nan director, she and Christian arsenic co-writers did a walk connected nan book then.”

Protecting a bequest spot

As 1 of nan pioneering horror movies of each time, Rosemary’s Baby was a revolutionary flick erstwhile it was released and nan container agency tally reflects that, pinch it raking successful $33 cardinal disconnected of a $3.2 cardinal budget. James was good alert of nan classic’s position successful Hollywood history and was observant to respect nan peculiar reside and spirit of nan root book and Polanski’s iconic film.

“We’re opinionated connected nan shoulders of giants and you want to grant that work,” James explains. “And there’s a tremendous magnitude of movie buffs who are really acquainted pinch that activity and clasp it close. So you want to beryllium loyal to nan look, nan feel, but past astatine nan aforesaid clip you want to do thing caller pinch nan story. It’s specified an astonishing movie that you don’t want to spell successful location and tinker pinch it if you don’t person thing caller to say. Weirdly, arsenic overmuch clip has gone by, we’re still having conversations astir abortion and women’s rights. It’s an absorbing measurement to look astatine nan desperation that still echoes today.

“If you look astatine nan original caller there’s a small spot much accusation connected Terry. Her large dream successful nan book is going to secretarial school. Which is specified a nosy small nugget. But really do we update that for 2024? Terry is an eager personification and knows she tin do more, truthful that’s wherever nan full thought of creation came in. How do you grant that tone of this female successful nan 1960s who dreams of being independent and really tin we make it consciousness caller and springiness her her ain identity?”

Paramount was people very protective of Rosemary’s Baby arsenic a bequest spot and refrained from pushing Apartment 7A’s imaginative squad to worldly nan communicative pinch a jump scare a minute.

“It’s a different type of horror,” adds James. “It’s a conceptual horror. Minnie Castevet is nan scariest characteristic successful nan movie, and nan Devil is successful nan movie, truthful that’s decidedly saying something. She’s truthful terrifying because it’s this benignant of embodied evil that walks among us. Whether she’s really empowered by nan Devil aliases whether she’s conscionable your vulnerable personification correct down you successful a section store, she’s ruthless either way. You don’t find retired until nan 3rd enactment of nan movie erstwhile nan walls are closing successful connected Terry and you get nan realization that this threat is very real. And Julia was truthful great, she conscionable killed it.”

Apartment 7A is presently streaming connected Paramount Plus.

7 scary movie prequels to stream

Looking for much paranormal and scary prequels to watch connected nan best streaming services for nan spookiest clip of nan year? Here are 7 scary suggestions to sample to make your Halloween play moreover sweeter.

These are disposable connected aggregate platforms arsenic good arsenic offered for acquisition via online outlets. The First Omen and Prometheus are disposable to watercourse connected Hulu successful nan US and Disney Plus internationally, while A Quiet Place: Day One and The Thing are only disposable successful nan US connected Paramount Plus and Shudder, respectively.

Meanwhile, Netflix subscribers tin find Annabelle and The Nun in nan US, while those successful nan UK tin drawback those titles connected Sky. As for Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist, that's only connected Prime Video successful nan US aliases nan best free streaming service Tubi.

1. The First Omen (2024)
   
2. Prometheus (2012)
   
3. The Thing (2011)
   
4. Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist (2005)
   
5. Annabelle (2014)
   
6. A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
   
7. The Nun (2018)

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