'Apartment 7A' Ending Explained: Weak 'Rosemary's Baby' prequel finally reveals tenant's fate
Contains major spoilers for 'Apartment 7A'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: 'Apartment 7A', now streaming on Paramount+, serves as a direct prequel to 1968's classic psychological horror film 'Rosemary's Baby'. The timeline of the film is set right before the events of the original film, delving into the life of Terry Gionoffrio (played by Julia Garner) who rented the apartment from Minnie (Dianne Wiest) and Roman Castevet (Kevin McNally) before Rosemary and Guy.
The film starts off by highlighting Terry's ambitions of becoming a Broadway star which are soon shattered due to her leg injury. Desperate to restart her career, she chases Alan Marchand (Jim Sturgess) in the hope of getting another audition. On one odd night, an elderly couple finds her on the streets in a wasted state. They bring her home and offer her a rent-free apartment. She is overwhelmed by the couple's generosity and focuses on her career but things take a twist when she finds out that she is pregnant.
Terry Gionoffrio wants to abort her baby in 'Apartment 7A'
Terry feels a demonic presence but her suspicion grows when Mrs Gardenia has an outburst at the Christmas Party revealing Terry that she isn't the first girl who fell prey to Minnie and Roman’s evil schemes. The young dancer then starts to make sense out of the eerie occurrences and the hidden passage connecting her apartment to Castavet's.
She investigates Joan, the previous tenant, and realises that she met a tragic fate. She then turns to God for help where a nun tells that the residents of the building did ungodly things to Joan. The nun tells that Bramford resides the group of Satan worshippers who, at the turn of the century, held the door open for Satan as he entered the world. They are now looking for a perfect womb to hold the Antichrist so he can take the tangible form. When the nun discovers that Terry is pregnant, her face turns pale, she goes on her knees and begs God for mercy.
Terry then heads to an illegal abortion clinic but the demonic fetus doesn't let the nurse to operate. Terry, under the power of the demon, kicks the nurse, who then starts to choke. Terry comes out of the clinic and decides to deal things by her own.
Why does Terry Gionoffrio kill Alan Marchand in 'Apartment 7A'?
After knowing the complete truth, Terry returns to Bramford. But the elevator takes her to a level further down from the basement. She finds a stage and a table with strange objects used for demonic practices. Alan walks into the scene telling her that the place must be familiar to her.
Terry soon recalls that this is the place where her body and soul was violated. Believing that Alan is the demon who impregnated her, she stabs him to death. Her act serves as symbol of the demonic powers taking over her when she is inside the unholy circle. Soon after killing him, she realises that Alan wasn't the one who violated her, it's Roman. Terry heads to her apartment where she finds Minnie and Roman waiting for her.
How does Terry Gionoffrio die in 'Apartment 7A'?
Terry confronts the couple at the apartment. Roman asserts that they just prefer to worship a different god before telling how the religious, god-fearing mob once launched a violent attack on his father because he had harnessed a dark power.
Terry ties to stab herself to kill the baby in her womb but meets an invisible yet supremely strong resistance. She then realises that she has to play along.
In the final moments, we see Terry being welcomed by the group of Satan-worshippers. As they hail Terry for carrying the Antichrist, Terry gives a dance performance of a lifetime. Despite the strong chant of her name and the power that would come with the birth of her child, she isn't ready to be the mother of the Antichrist. The woman who always stood to her ideals decides to make the ultimate sacrifice. While freely dancing across the room, she heads to the window and jumps before anyone could stop her.
Rosemary and Guy witness the accident. In the final moments, they are seen giving their statement to the cops. Minnie and Roman bat their eyes on the young couple, as they have found their next victims. 'Rosemary's Baby' shows what happens next.
'Apartment 7A' is available to stream on Paramount+