The most eagerly awaited adult film of 2005 or so hype would have it. Having cut their teeth on countless DEBBIE DOES DALLAS remakes/updates/sequels, Vivid Video and their flagship filmmaker Paul Thomas decided to do the same to one of the industry's even greater sacred cows, Gerard Damiano's untouchable 1972 classic DEVIL IN MISS JONES, "re-imagining" the legend for today's audiences. As a longtime genre fan of a quarter century and counting, I couldn't help but be curious about the outcome, especially faced with the prospect of reigning quim queen Jenna Jameson essaying the part of the Horned One (Ms. Devlin, if you please !) and exciting new Vivid contract actress Savanna Samson who had received plentiful critical kudos for her work in P.T.'s LOOKING IN filling the void left by Georgina Spelvin. Most exciting though was the news that Spelvin herself would make a cameo comeback to tie this "cover version" in with the original, which was added as a bonus in a luxurious three disc DVD set. To my great surprise, I was not the slightest bit disappointed.
Working from a compelling screenplay by two of the industry's most intelligent scribes (Raven Touchstone and Dean Nash), Thomas has elaborated upon the central conceit within Damiano's first masterpiece, the one questionable element being the odd decision in light of the original's familiar outcome to obscure what leads to Justine's skewed perception until the very end. This is partially made up for by a knockout dramatic scene that has Spelvin, as a maternally protective bathroom attendant, explains what has really happened to the shell-shocked Miss Jones in dialog lifted ad verbatim from the '72 film where she herself received it from John Clemens' Mr Abaca, giving it the feel of a mythical tale passed on from one generation to the next. In this version, Justine's a lonely office worker who's awakened on her birthday by a chiding voice mail message from the date she apparently stood up, superbly played by Dick Smothers Jr., indeed son of the legendary entertainer. People at work casually ignore her and her sole card comes from an insurance company. Things are about to take a turn (for the better ?) when she's summoned by enigmatic chair person Ms. Devlin, after which she's hurled from one outrageous situation to the next with little or no recollection of how she got into this mess in the first place. One minute, she's a shocked not to mention very naked bystander at a Vicky Vette gang bang, guys silently queuing up to take their turn atop a centrally located dumpster, seemingly disembodied hands furtively groping our embarrassed heroine. Next thing, she's finally mustering up the courage to confess her feelings for swaggering office stud Jordan, played by impossibly handsome soap star turned stud Nick Manning, the brooding detective from Michael Ninn's PERFECT. Their poolside liaison proves one of the film's highlights, Samson remaining admirably in character as an insecure woman in awe of the incredible hunk she has finally landed. Watching bemused from the sidelines, Ms. Devlin orchestrates the proceedings towards the inevitable conclusion. Prior to attacking Justine herself in an award-winning Sapphic scorcher, Jenna lets off steam in a dungeon dyke scenario with the appropriately Gothic Rachel Rotten, who appears for an encore with real life husband Rob as part of the convoluted climax where all hell literally breaks loose. Smothers as the painfully pathetic Ted gets a few licks in with the formidable twosome of Roxanne Hall and Angelica Sin in a purposefully frustrating encounter, echoed by a genuinely shocking final revelation not carried over from the original.
Thomas cleverly thwarts expectations by throwing the viewer a number of curve balls, retaining just enough of the classic's flavor for this to work as a remake while still paradoxically making the material his own. Jameson further solidifies her superstar status with a wickedly witty portrayal, not hampered at all by her on-again/off-again decision to only work with other women at the stage this was shot. If anything, it makes sense to me as a gay man that Satan would be a lesbian ! Just kidding, ladies
Of course, Savanna Samson has the tougher assignment here with a part that takes up the full emotional range the actress can display, beautifully rising to a challenge presumably no one expected her to pull off. The first DEVIL was a tremendously well-produced film for its era, but Vivid has pulled out all the stops to blow it out of the water in that respect. Ralph Parfait, son of Ron Sullivan, signed on for the fluid photography, making splendid use of exteriors especially, and composer Michaelangelo - who has the odd distinction of scoring both the original MASSEUSE and its 2004 remake - added a truly haunting soundtrack. While comparison was bound to be inevitable, this NEW DEVIL really does stand on its own as a superlative achievement from an always interesting filmmaker and a heartfelt tribute to one of the founding classics underpinning the billion dollar porn industry of today. You have come a long way, baby