Déjà vu
2017 · 9m · Canada
Directed by Olivier Labonté LeMoyne
A young woman in a diner enthusiastically recounts a sexual fantasy to her best friend — but when a mysterious man enters the restaurant, an overwhelming sense of déjà vu transforms her retelling into the account of a nightmare, shifting the film from flirtatious excitement to creeping dread.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Single-location diner monologue where a sex fantasy reframes itself as assault halfway through — horror through micro-expression only. That structural move is the entire film, and it's a good one.
A single-location monologue that reframes a fantasy as assault through micro-expression alone — the conceit is sharp and the restraint admirable, comparable in spirit to early Lucile Hadzihalilovic. The page summary alone doesn't confirm whether it lands.
The Vimeo cast block confirms a fully staged diner ensemble — waitress, cook, multiple background customers — supporting the single-location monologue claim, and at 8:57 the dread-by-anticipation framework should hold. Reframing fantasy as assault through micro-expression rather than violence is precisely the kind of horror craft that matters.
Reviews
Masterclass of face-acting, Castellanos bounces between cheery excitement and fear with only minor changes in intonation and expression.
The script seamlessly shifts from the thrill of sexual conquest to the fear of sexual violence, anchoring the growing dread in something all too recognizably horrific.
Festivals
- SPASM Festival 2018, Best Horror Film
- REGARD Festival 2018