The Rosemary's Baby Prequel's Obvious Story Problem May Actually Be Its Biggest Strength

Summary Terry's inevitable tragic fate in Rosemary's Baby presents a unique opportunity for tension and dread in Apartment 7A's prequel story.

The horror genre's recent success makes now the perfect time for the release of Apartment 7A, adding to the trend of pregnancy-based horror.

By utilizing the known outcome of a character's fate, horror prequels like Apartment 7A can enhance narratives and keep audiences engaged with the story.

The most obvious problem with the upcoming Rosemary’s Baby prequel Apartment 7A is that audiences already know how the story ends – but that could be the movie’s greatest strength. Set to be released on Paramount+ on September 27, 2024, Apartment 7A will fill in the backstory of Terry Gionoffrio. In Rosemary’s Baby, Terry is a recovering addict that Rosemary and Guy’s neighbors, Minnie and Roman Castevet, have taken into their home, seemingly to help get her back on her feet. However, it turns out that Terry is the initial target chosen to bear the Antichrist before Rosemary.

Apartment 7A has terrific talent working both in front of and behind the camera. It’s being directed by Natalie Erika James, who previously helmed the psychological thriller gem Relic in 2020, and it features Ozark’s breakout star Julia Garner in the role of Terry. Dianne Wiest and Kevin McNally have been cast as the Castevets and A Quiet Place mastermind John Krasinski is on board as a producer. The issue with making a prequel to Rosemary’s Baby is obvious – the Roman Polanski-directed classic already revealed Terry’s grim fate – but that apparent weakness could end up being the film’s greatest strength.

The Biggest Hurdle For The Rosemary's Baby Prequel Is That Audiences Already Know How Terry Gionoffrio's Story Ends

Terry's dark fate was already revealed in Rosemary's Baby

The most glaring issue with making a Rosemary’s Baby prequel about Terry is that audiences already know how her story ends. In Rosemary’s Baby, Terry is shown through Rosemary’s eyes. Rosemary initially meets Terry in the basement laundry room of the Bramford Building. She learns that the Castevets have taken in Terry and she’s staying in their seventh-floor apartment while they’re seemingly helping her recover from her drug addiction. However, shortly thereafter, Rosemary and Guy come home to find Terry dead from an apparent suicide, having jumped from the Castevets’ apartment and fallen to her death.

Apartment 7A will essentially retell this story from Terry’s perspective. It’s unclear exactly why Terry died; it’s possible that Terry took her own life after learning what the Castevets’ true intentions were; she may have jumped from the building because she didn’t want to take part in their Satanic ritual. Alternatively, if Terry’s womb was too damaged from her drug use to bear the Antichrist, the Castevets might have orchestrated her death to cut her out of the picture. Either way, her ending is determined, and anyone who’s seen Rosemary’s Baby knows that going into Apartment 7A.

The Best Horror Prequels Use The Inevitability Of Fate To Create Tension

Pearl and The First Omen both use Apartment 7A's biggest weakness as a strength

All the best prequel movies use the inevitability of fate as a dramatic tool. George Lucas introduced Anakin Skywalker, the kid destined to become Darth Vader, as an adorable little boy who wouldn’t harm a fly in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould used the fact that Better Call Saul’s two most lovable characters, Kim and Nacho, were absent from Breaking Bad to keep audiences on the edge of their seats, worried about their fate. Knowing where the characters are going to end up isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it can enrich the narrative.

Horror prequels, in particular, can use the inevitability of the characters’ fate to create a feeling of dread in the audience. Ti West’s X prequel Pearl is a deeply unsettling movie, because the audience knows that, at some point, this starry-eyed farmhand who dreams of becoming a Hollywood star is going to become a cold-blooded murderer. Arkasha Stevenson’s Omen prequel The First Omen uses the inevitability of Damien’s birth to create tension in Margaret’s attempts to uncover the church conspiracy before it’s too late. Apartment 7A can similarly use the fact that Terry is doomed to keep the audience engaged.

A reboot of Rosemary’s Baby has been in development since 2008.

Why Now Is The Perfect Time For A Rosemary's Baby Prequel

The horror genre is having a great year

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A Rosemary’s Baby reboot has been in development in different shapes and forms since 2008, and it’s taken more than a decade and a half to finally come together. But everything happens for a reason, because Apartment 7A is about to arrive in the perfect form at the perfect time. For starters, the horror genre is having a really great year. Under Paris became a global sensation on Netflix, In a Violent Nature performed well enough for a sequel to be greenlit, and A Quiet Place: Day One has been a blockbuster hit at the box office.

And on top of that, it’s the ideal time for a Rosemary’s Baby prequel in particular. Immaculate, False Positive, American Horror Story: Delicate, and the aforementioned The First Omen have all contributed to a recent trend in pregnancy-based horror stories. Apartment 7A will be the latest pregnancy-themed horror film to arrive, and it has ties to the most iconic pregnancy-themed horror film ever made.