I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE: STILL DISTURBING

 

 

In 1978 a film was released that some considered a horror film but that everyone thought of as disturbing. The movie was I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. The movie was released sporadically when it first came out and was banned in the UK as one of its “video nasties”. Critics hated the movie. It lost money but thanks to its notoriety it did a ton of business when released on video. 

I remember the first time I saw it I wondered why anyone would make such a vile movie. I thought it was terrible. It was poorly made and the subject matter was horrific. The only saving grace was the redemption the victim got at the end of the film. The film is being released on Blu-ray from Ronin Flix and I decided to give it another viewing. 

If you haven’t seen the film it tells the story of Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton), a young woman who leaves the city for a quiet place in the country to work on a book she’s writing. When she reaches the town she has a house reserved in she stops at the local gas station to buy gas and meets Jonny (Eron Tabor) the station owner and two of his friends, Andy (Gunter Kleeman) and Stanley (Anthony Nichols). The same day at the house she has rented she meets Matthew (Richard Pace), a kind and mentally impaired young man and friend to the other three. 

Andy and Stanley begin prowling around the house, cruising by on the lake in their boat and more. One day the four men attack her. Their intent is to make Matthew lose his virginity but the attack leads to the other three men viciously raping Jennifer. Matthew refuses to participate though. Beaten, bloody, covered in dirt she makes her way back to her house only to find them there waiting for her. This time they all participate in raping her again, including Matthew. As they leave Johnny realizes she can identify them and sends Matthew back in to kill her. He can’t bring himself to do so and merely wipes blood on the knife to show Johnny. 

Jennifer recovers and does her best to pull herself together and clean her house up, repairing her manuscript that they tore to pieces. She plots her revenge and the rest of the film is her inflicting the most painful deaths possible on her attackers. Yes I know that’s a spoiler but by now everyone knows what happens in this film. 

At least 30 minutes of this 1 hour and 41 minute film are used for the disgusting rape sequence. The most horrifying thing about it then and now is how real it seems. This is one of the most brutal sequences ever put on film. It is horrifying and not entertaining at all. You feel the need to shower after watching it. But watching it this time I came to realize something. 

Like any movie this was storytelling. Rapes had been depicted in the past, most notable the Ingmar Bergman film THE VIRGIN SPRING which is still praised as a great film. The biggest difference is the brutality that is seen here where in the past it wasn’t so obvious. And while this brutal sequence was bad it wasn’t the focal point of the film. 

The focal point was the story of Jennifer. It was her reclaiming her dignity by the actions she takes following. This was a revenge story plain and simple and one of the earliest one to turn a victim into a heroine. She goes from a timid woman sitting in her home to a vengeful spirit representing women that have been abused since time began. 

I think about the movie DEATH WISH starring Charles Bronson released 4 years earlier. It too featured an incredibly brutal rape sequence. And yet no one felt the need to ban that movie. Maybe it was just because it took place over a few minutes rather than 30. But in taking 30 minutes to depict this rape the movie made it clear that these men deserved no sympathy and the following actions of Jennifer were truly deserved. 

Written and directed by Meir Zarchi he didn’t find the film led to a long term career for him. He only has 3 directing credits and one of those is a sequel to this film. As a producer he was behind the remakes and sequels to the remake of this film. None of the actors seemed to move much further than this film either. 

The film definitely shows that it was made on a shoestring budget. When I saw it the first time you could tell the quality of the transfer to video was terrible. The photography was basic to begin with but made worse due to this. The camera work was a bit shoddy too. All of this combined with the content and contempt for the film may have been what was responsible for the film developing a cult following. 

I can’t say that this is a great movie or an enjoyable one for most people. But for those whose curiosity draws them to it this is the best version to be available of the film. Fans will want to make sure and add this one to their collection. 

Ronin Flix has gone out of their way to make this version the best there ever was beginning with a 4K HD scan & restoration of director Meir Zarchi's 35mm original camera negative. They’ve also added a number of extras worth noting. Those include the newly shot “Jennifer’s Journey - the locations of I Spit on Your Grave” featurette hosted by writer Michael Gingold, an audio commentary with writer / director Meir Zarchi, an audio commentary with Film Critic Joe Bob Briggs, “The Value of Vengeance - Meir Zarchi Remembers I Spit on Your Grave” featurette, the alternate “Day of the Woman” opening title (the original title of the film), theatrical trailers, TV & radio spots, and stills gallery and a new slideshow with rare & behind-the-scenes photos from the set.

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