I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE: DEJA VU

Directed by: Meir Zarchi

Starring: Camille Keaton, Jamie Bernadette, Maria Olsen

Jennifer Hills is now a successful feminist author, celebrating  the publication of a book based on her ordeal. When she and her supermodel daughter Christy meet for lunch, they are abducted and dragged back to upstate New York, where the widow of Johnny, one of Jennifer's rapists, is waiting to wreak revenge.

ISOYG: De Ja Vu is an interesting concept which hasn't been successfully developed.

The film starts with a quote about how if you are looking to seek revenge, first dig two graves, as the cycle of retribution is unending. Maria Olsen plays Becky, Johnny's widow who runs the local garage. The publication of Jennifer's book and its tone have reopened old wounds, to the point that she demands revenge of her own., despite what crimes Johnny had committed. She convinces some locals to help her in her plan.

However, they fail to appreciate that Jennifer has been in this situation before and is as resourceful and fierce as she ever was. Its not long before she and Christy manage to escape but end up separated.

As before, there are long excruciating rape scenes to endure before the tables are turned. There are also some graphic gore scenes including a drawn out beheading which is quite shocking. The dwelling upon the perpetual nature of revenge adds an interesting element to the story also. However, the film is way too long, clocking in at just under two and a half hours (for context, the original was 1hr 41min). There isn't nearly enough story to fill out that amount of time so we end up with a lot of drawn out scenes. The opening luncheon between mother and daughter is a prime example of scenes vastly outstaying their welcome.

A lot of people online have attacked Maria Olsen's performance as Becky, as she seems incredibly manic and over the top. However I think her performance is in keeping with the actress who played Becky in the original film (IMDB has unfortunately failed me here!). In addition, there is a particular monologue which she gives at her husband's graveside which gives a significant amount of depth to the character. We find out that Becky was well aware of what kind of violent sleazeball Johnny was (but he was HER violent sleazeball, goddammit!) and that she wanted their children to have better life opportunities than she and her husband had - making sure they succeeded at school and saved for their college tuition.

While revisiting the same motifs of the original film - the new generation of characters find themselves more or less following in their elders' footsteps on both sides of the rape-revenge equation - the film is just as interested in the perpetual cycle of violence brought about by revenge. This is also a factor as to why the film is so long - as one side takes revenge, it leaves the door open for  another injured party to step up. This is perfectly exemplified in the film's final moment, which hints that the cycle may not have been broken just yet.

THE VERDICT

There is a strong attempt to make this film visually similar to the original, replicating a similar film stock and cinematography. It could be argued that many of the performances are as outlandish as they are to fit in with the original's aesthetic as well. However the film is approximately a whole hour too long and not for the reason fans of the original might be expecting.

6 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)