Apartment 7a overturns the concept of motherhood in Rosemary's Baby, Rose was married, she wanted to be a mother and therefore have a child instead Terry, the protagonist of the prequel, is a single girl who as soon as she finds out she is pregnant she thinks about having an abortion , therefore the film shows the path of a girl struggling with an unwanted pregnancy.
Everything can clearly be framed in relation to the discussions on abortion, a very sensitive issue in the States, as the sect, Castavet and friends, want to keeping Terry's child therefore the conservative society that forces a single girl to have a child while denying her the opportunity to have an abortion.
 

Natalie Erika James manages the mise-en-scène well, the photography is well cared for and I particularly appreciated the chromatic touches of green which recall Minnie's herbs and the famous Tanis root.
 

The structure of the film is very similar to that of Rosemary's Baby, with Terry who practically is grappling with what Rose experienced in the original film, there are also identical shots that I would always like to avoid in these prequels, the camera movement on the walls where the protagonist, this time Terry, hears the chants of the sect, the knife held by the protagonist as in the original film the wide angle of Minnie at the door, a certain way of framing the corridors, hail Satan, it is year one in the final confrontation, it would be preferable to differentiate and not opt ​​to re-propose the moments of the original.
The expressionist touch in the esoteric sequence is nice, then it's clear that if you want to make a comparison between the sequence of getting Rose pregnant in Rosemary's baby and that of Apartment 7A, there is no comparison, but at least that expressionist touch from a a bit of personalisation.
On the other hand, some reverse games are more welcome, in Rosemary's Baby, Minnie didn't make Rose wash the dishes, while in this prequel there is the evidently appealing scene where Terry washes the dishes together with Minnie or even Terry's choice to use the knife on her unlike Rose.

There are however some well-constructed and suggestive shots.
 

Given the basic setting equal to that of Rosemary's Baby, we already know everything, we know that the sect is real, we know that they practice witchcraft, we know that Satan is the father etc. so everything is predictable and since in the original we also know Terry's outcome, how it ends, we already know the ending and how it happens, so in terms of impact, this is less.
The final sequence it's Terry's choice to have control over his own body and his own life, the narrative arc is there, the meaning too, the sequence is also well directed, but from the moment he enters the room we already know how it will end for her and therefore the choice she will make.
 

In terms of timing the film rushes a bit too much, especially at the beginning, Terry just agrees to be with Minnie and Roman and immediately after 'it's the sequence with the Satan who gets her pregnant.
Some scenes could also have been stronger, such as when the protagonist goes to church, visually everything could have been more atmospheric and suggestive at that moment; furthermore in the film there are some jump scares, they are not abused but it's always better when they aren't there also because one in particular with the satanasso is also made to look bad.
On the jump scares, unfortunately, James takes a step back compared to to the beautiful Relic, his debut film which was devoid of these and created atmosphere if easy means.

On the characters, the real antagonist of the film is Minnie, much more than Roman , perpetually invasive and pressing and in the film even with more authority than Roman and perhaps here a little more could have been done in managing the character of Marcato's heir.
Well done Julia Gardner who plays Terry with a character that relives exactly what happened. which instead for the timeline of the film will happen to Rosemary but from opposite views and choices, the final one will be emblematic.

So a film that talks about abortion, about the freedom of the female body against a conservative society, for a narrative that follows that of the original by showing a different protagonist who makes opposite choices.
There is not all that sense of perpetual restlessness of Polanski's film, knowing everything something is missing even at the of impact and atmosphere, some good shots, the suggestion is there, every now and then we fall into banal jump scares and in tracing, for me always wrong, scenes from the original and the score always from the original, the film fails to deviate from the progenitor and appear not to be courageous.