I Spit on Your Grave
(1978)
AKA: Day of the Woman
Directed by: Meir
Zarchi
Starring: Camille
Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace, Anthony Nichols and Gunter Kleeman
Genre: Horror,
Slasher, Exploitation, Rape-Revenge
Rated: Unrated
Jennifer Hills (Keaton) is an independent writer from New
York City, renting a cottage in the country to work on her first novel. Her
relaxing summer getaway soon turns into a nightmare when she is attacked and
raped repeatedly by four men from town. After her ordeal, she resolves to make
these men pay.
This film is not for the easily
disturbed. The rape scenes are very graphic and take up about a quarter of the
movie. This flick is actually known to have the longest rape scene in a feature
film. I wouldn’t say that is exactly something to be proud of, but it gives
potential viewers a scale to measure whether they want to see the film or not.
Jennifer is held down and forcibly penetrated, beaten mercilessly for fifteen
minutes before being left for dead in the home she thought she would be safe
in.
While the above sequence was brutal, drawn out and hard to
watch, it did portray how horrific rape actually is. The revenge scenes were
where things took a turn for the ridiculous. For instance, in getting back at
two of her assailants, she seduces them and performs sexual acts despite the
fact that she had been brutalized by these men only weeks ago. One of these
men, she had the opportunity to kill out in a field where no one would notice,
but decides, instead to bring him back to her house for a hot bath. Granted,
this led to a much more vicious death, but it was ridiculous and not something
I would think a recent rape victim willing to do. I think these scenes would
have been more effective if the seduction hadn’t been a part of it. I also feel
that the way she went about killing these men off was risky and left a trail
leading right back to her. Maybe at that point she didn’t care anymore.
As for the acting, Keaton does a good job alternating from
the carefree writer to the broken victim and, finally, to the woman hell-bent
on revenge. Richard Pace is very believable as the mentally disabled Matthew,
making him almost pitiable. In some ways, I do feel he was also a victim of his
friends’ animalistic behavior. While it was wrong for him to participate, I do
feel he was forced to a degree, and was afraid of what the other men would do
if he refused. The other men are just common egotistical trash who think they
have the right to invade the private parts of any woman they choose.
I didn’t like the style the film was shot in at all. To me,
there were way too many wide-angle establishing shots where there should have
been medium ones. I felt too far away from the characters when they were
introduced for the first time at the gas station. I felt that some moments
deserved to be closed in on because the multitude of extra space was simply
distracting. The director used maybe three different types of shots throughout
the entire film.
Overall, despite decent performances from Keaton and Pace,
this film has little to stand on. The cinematography is amateur and Keaton’s
behavior in the revenge sequences seemed highly unlikely and more of an excuse
to show off the actress’s body. Aside from brutality, this film has little to
offer.
4.5/10
I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
Directed by: Steven R. Monroe
Starring: Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard, Daniel
Franzese, Rodney Eastman and Chad Lindberg
Genre: Horror, Slasher, Exploitation, Rape-Revenge
Rated: Unrated
Young novelist, Jennifer Hills, has rented out a secluded
country cabin by a lake to work on her next book. She sees this summer retreat
as a great way to relax and let her creativity flow. Her summer plans are
destroyed when she is attacked, humiliated, beaten and brutally raped by five
local men. Leaving her for dead, these men soon discover what it’s like to be
terrified when Jennifer comes back for revenge.
I never thought I’d see the day when I’d legitimately say
that a modern remake is better than the original film. I especially didn’t
think this would be the one to curb my usual anti-remake tirade, as I thought
there was no way that this could capture the essence of the original. However,
this remake is different from many I’ve seen in the past because it actually
has respect for the original subject matter. The original was a bare-bones
outline while this version is the flesh to fill it in.
The writing is much better in this version. The characters
are more defined and have their own little quirks. Jennifer’s much stronger and
smarter in this version as well. She employs many well-known tactics to try to
scare off an attacker, she fights back and she tries going to the police for
help. (Something that she did not do in the original, which makes her killing
spree a little less justifiable.) It is only after these methods fail that
Jennifer takes matters into her own hands.
The character of Matthew was even more sympathetic to me in
this one than the last. Again, he is almost as much of a victim as Jennifer,
herself, because he never would have done anything to her without being forced
by his “friends.” He is visibly horrified by the things being done to her and
powerless to stop them. His actual participation, no matter the motive is
unforgivable, but it can be debated that he was raped too. He is also the only
one to feel remorse when the deed is done.
The length of the rape scene is toned down from the
original, abiding by the less is more ideal. The audience sees a lot more of
the emotional torment and humiliation the men inflict upon Jennifer and less of
the violent acts themselves. We don’t need to see each individual man take his
turn to get the point that each one violated her. Cutaway shots and dialogue
can fill in what the filmmakers didn’t feel necessary to show. Both this
technique and the original’s drawn out sequence successfully show the horror of
rape, but this film does a better job of addressing the emotional breakdown of
the victim.
The revenge sequences in this film aren’t entirely
realistic, but at least they’re not insulting like those in the original. These
attacks are thoroughly planned out, violent and cruel, and admittedly,
reminiscent of the traps in the Saw
franchise, but at least she’s not seducing these men to lure them to their
demise. This is no femme fatale – this is a brutalized woman, probably
half-insane, hell-bent on revenge. These kills are examples of what many people
believe men like this to deserve – a fantasy of what some would like to do to
such offenders. They also raise the issue that violence begets violence, and
the question of whether Jennifer was any better than the men who attacked her
when all was said and done.
The gore in this film is extensive and as uncomfortable as
the rape and humiliation scenes. The torture these men endure at the hands of
this young woman is every bit as detailed as the things they put her through –
many of which are twisted around and used against them. This movie really is
not for the squeamish.
The acting is also well-done. Sarah Butler really gives it
her all in both the scenes where she is victimized and when she is doing the
victimizing. Despite her tiny size and the fact that she’d hardly be able to
move these guys – at least 180 to 230 lbs of dead weight – she manages to sell
it with her performance. Chad Lindberg is very believable as the mentally
challenged Matthew, making him less of a source of humor and more a source of
partial sympathy. Jeff Branson was incredibly intimidating as Johnny, and I was
actually surprised at how believable Daniel Franzese (the lovable Damien from
Mean Girls) was as the voyeuristic
Stanley. It was also cool to see horror veteran, Rodney Eastman (Joey from
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 & 4)
cast in this film as well.
As I mentioned above, this remake truly seems to respect the
source material for what it was – an exploitation cult classic of the
rape-revenge oeuvre. This version just strengthened the original story and made
subtle nods to the original film, i.e. the total price of gas ringing up to
$19.78, etc. I also loved that they kept the same creepy harmonica tune from
the original film.
Overall, this is one of the rare remakes you will see me
value over the original film. The characters are much stronger, the heroine’s
motives more understandable and the overall tone creepier. I actually felt a
little creeped out being alone in my house after watching this film in broad
daylight. That alone earns this film points as that is hard to do. This is not
a film for everyone, and I don’t recommend it unless you’re familiar with the
sub-genre of exploitation film and enjoy gory revenge flicks. For being the
type of film that it is, it did its job well.
7/10
