MOVIE REVIEW: APARTMENT 7A

 

An ambitious young dancer, Terry Gionoffrio, dreams of fame and fortune in New York City. But, after suffering a devastating injury, an older, wealthy couple welcomes her into their home in the luxury apartment building, the Bramford. 

Director: Natalie Erika James

Cast: Julia Garner, Dianne Wiest, Jim Sturgess, Kevin McNally

Release Date: September 27, 2024

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Rated R for some violent content and drug use.

Runtime: 1h 42m

Review:

Apartment 7A works better than it should as a companion piece to Rosemary's Baby, albeit unnecessary, thanks to competent and efficient direction and a strong turn from Julia Garner.  Natalie Erika James does her best to recreate the creepiness of the original while avoiding outright mimicry of Roman Polanski's original with a few fascinating flourishes that stand on their own.  She would have been better served to pave her own path more often throughout the film's brisk runtime in order for this entry to stand on its own.  There are just too many checkbox moments where the original's events or people are referenced even if it doesn't serve this particular story.   The set up is different enough to give this story a different angle but it never takes full advantage of it before it starts down its final, predetermined path.  It feels like a missed opportunity especially since the cast is more than up to the task.  Julia Garner brings a level of ambitious paired with trepidation to her character that makes her performance incredibly watchable throughout.  Garner's talent is on full display as her character goes through subtle, emotional turns as her plight gets more precarious.  It’s a solid performance that mostly avoids any Mia Farrow imitations outside of a late stage moment that the film could have done without.  Kevin McNally and Dianne Wiest turn in their best impressions of Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon as the Castevets.  McNally does a great job of capturing Blackmer's appearance and intonation in his line delivery.  Likewise, Wiest captures the distinctive voice from Ruth Gordon's Oscar winning turn as Minnie while giving her performance more of an outright menacing quality.  They'll never measure up to the original performance, but they are competent enough to work within the context of this film.  The same could be said for the film as whole since it’s well crafted and acted but never does enough to make it required viewing.

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: RELIC

A woman links her mother's increasingly volatile behavior to an evil presence at their family's decaying country home.

Director: Natalie Erika James

Cast: Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin, Bella Heathcote, Jeremy Stanford, Chris Bunton

Release Date: July 3, 2020

Genres: Drama, Horror

Rated R for some horror violence/disturbing images, and language

Runtime: 1h 29min

Review:

Natalie Erika James debut film is an impressively crafted horror film that works smartly as an allegory for real life issues.  Her film heavy on atmosphere and light on cheap jump scares which works in the film’s favor.  Its Spartan use of jump scares makes the few that pop up all the more effective.  This story itself runs thru some standard haunted house/ghost story tropes but here you can feel a lot more weight in their actual meaning.  The cast is all understated but effective throughout with the trio of actresses displaying some impressive chemistry together.  Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin & Bella Heathcote all bring an air of authenticity and emotions to the entire proceedings.  Each interaction is believably heavy with subtext with very little said outright but there are lingering wounds that are heavily implied.  As is the case with most of these types of films the build up is better than the climax with the finale leaving multiple story threads left unresolved.  Regardless, it’s hard not to appreciate the high level of craftsmanship and talent on display throughout. 

B