Apartment 7A, Natalie Erika James’ prequel to the iconic 1968 horror movie Rosemary’s Baby, released a first look on Vanity Fair.

The film, which will be released on Paramount+, is the fourth installment to the franchise. The movie will focus on Terry Gionoffrio’s (Julia Garner) story which covers the events that happened in the apartment building before Rosemary and her baby arrived.

Before Rosemary’s Baby, there was Apartment 7A

Set in 1965 New York, the movie pays close detail to the decade’s costume design and architecture. Terry is a struggling dancer who suffers a career-ending injury. Things take a darker turn for her when she meets a strange older couple who happen to be her neighbors at the Bramford apartment building.

The Castavets, Minni (Dianne Wiest) and Roman (Kevin McNally), secretly worship the devil. They seduce Terry to join them by promising her a second chance at her career, then fame and fortune. In the original movie, Minni was played by Ruth Gordon, who won an Academy Award for best supporting actress.

James said, “With Dianne, it was about creating something really distinct, because Minnie is so wonderfully flamboyant and pushy in her way.

“Even in the costume considerations, we went for more ’50s silhouettes. There’s a garishness to her character that is definitely there in the original film too, but we twisted it a bit to make it our own,” she continued.

In one of the images, it shows an injured Terry being helped by the couple, most likely their first encounter. The photos seem to hint that Terry takes them up on their offer, as she’s seen looking very much like someone who has reached stardom. However, there’s no such thing as a free lunch so her having to pay it back is where the movie starts its road to horrorville.

When kindness is suspicious

Garner explained her relationship to the Castavets, “They’re childless, so I’m like the daughter they never had. At first I thought they wanted me for some kind of a sex thing, but they’ve turned out to be like real grandparents.”

In the original movie, Rosemary (Mia Farrow) meets a young lady in the building’s basement laundry room. Garner’s Terry is that young lady. In the 1968 film, she was played by Angela Dorian. The first look gives us images of this scene with Garner walking suspiciously towards a young woman sorting her laundry.

Apartment 7A is based on Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby, which in turn was based on his 1967 book of the same name. It’s produced by Paramount Pictures along with Sunday Night Production. James wrote the screenplay with Christian White and Skylar James. Vicki Dee Rock and Alexa Ginsburg serve as executive producers.

James told Vanity Fair that when she first took on the project she “was very dubious.”

“For sure, I never would’ve signed on to do a remake of such a classic and seminal film. But it’s been a joy to be able to play within the world and the sandbox of Ira Levin’s novel and also play with the characters. I guess my motivation for taking it on was feeling like there was a different emotional journey to be explored and to do it in a way that skewed the genre a little bit,” she added.

Rosemary and Terry’s parallel lives

The film also draws parallels between itself and the original. In the original movie, it’s Rosemary’s husband who’s the entertainer. In Apartment 7A, Terry is no longer able to dance which leads her to the edge of poverty and a crippling drug addiction. Out of desperation, she clings to Minnie and Roman’s kindness. Their promises of stardom are made solid by their Broadway producer friend played by Jim Sturgess.

However, one of the key differences between Rosemary and Terry is that the former began as the victim of her husband Guy’s (John Cassavetes) choices. Guy was wholly aware of the couple’s plans, while Terry is only aware of a part of it. Terry then becomes both Guy and Rosemary — the bargainer and the vessel. This serves to make her feel complicit in the horror that befalls her.

Garner is best known for starring in Ozark from 2017 to 2022, where she won three Primetime Emmys for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series. She also played the controversial con-artist Anna Delvey in Netflix’s Inventing Anna. The actress will next be seen in Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four as Shalla-Bal.

The movie also includes Marli Siu, Rosy McEwen, Amy Leeson and Scott Hume. The movie is rated R due to “some violent content and drug use.” It will premiere on Paramount+ Sept. 27.