I Spit On Your Grave (1978) Review

• 28th Sep 2010

AKA Day of the Woman, which is a much more apt title for this classic movie (although that particular name wouldn’t have had the shock factor the financing body were after during a period of film making that was out to shock at all costs).

This misunderstood movie, banned in the UK during the infamous ‘video nasty’ outrage implemented by Thatcherite Britain in the early 80’s, is not so much a malicious exploitation movie but an arguable feminist instalment, highlighting the lengths depraved men can fall to and the power a woman can have in righting a terrible wrong dealt to her. Actually a very bold move considering other films in the genre that I Spit on Your Grave was lumped into which often highlighted women as weak creatures: out to be down-trodden, abused and killed in as many horrible ways as possible. Of course, this viewpoint is probably a little over the top but watching this film should give especially the male viewer a far different experience of a disturbing revenge movie and this is why I Spit… has cemented itself in the annuls of cinema, giving it the probably false moniker of ‘the most controversial film to hit the world’.

The plot of the movie is simple: a beautiful, successful writer (Camille Keaton) retreats from the hum-drum of the city, to the tranquil countryside to work on her next novel. Everything seems idyllic and the locals helpful and welcoming until the local attention becomes more malicious and a group of guys along with the village idiot abuse and rape the writer again and again. Having thought they’d offed the girl after the event, the rapists make a fatal error, leaving the writer to plot their downfall in suitably just fashion.

The subject matter in I Spit… is of course, disturbing fare. No film detailing abuse and rape should ever be seen as anything but disturbing. This movie however, is suffering from being rather dated in this de-sensitised day in age. Modern cinema is littered with way more disturbing scenes of rape. Take Irreversible for instance. The rape scene Monica Bellucci suffers makes the viewer want to avert their gaze from the screen. In I Spit On Your Grave however, the event pans out in very much a soft-core fashion. There are no penetration shots, or even many shots below the midriff that are considered ‘graphic’. Then again, this UK release of the film is boasting itself as ‘the most complete version released in the UK’. This means that whilst most of the film is here to view, it’s still cut and without the actual packaging to hand, I am unable to tell you by how much. It’s also surprisingly hard to find out by looking on the net. Not that the soft-core portrayal is any less shocking; you do know that a rape is happening and the performance by Keaton is convincing, (if not by the by the gang themselves) and the revenge scenes are wince-worthy. Again, Keaton accounts for herself well as the cold, remorseless killer. However, collectors of this kind of movie will want and find, if they look hard enough, a totally uncut, unrated version of the film making this release, bells and whistles included, a slightly pointless endeavour.

I know this film fairly well, having watched it many times pirated on dodgy VHS. The print that is shown on this release has been restored as much as possible but at times hasn’t transported to DVD that well. It may be my Xbox but during playback, the picture seemed to jerk during panning shots but we do have a fully anamorphic 16×9 picture to look at so thank heavens for small graces. There are some interesting extras for the uber-fans with plenty of TV and radio spots and image galleries to feast the eye upon, along with a useful full length commentary by director, Meir Zarachi. There are also other featurettes about the hoo-hah and controversy the film caused back in 1978 and in 1981 when the film received its first re-release.

The best thing to say about I Spit On Your Grave is watch it and judge for yourself whether this film is a work of feminist genius, or should be filed under ‘highly offensive, exploitative shit’. There appears to be two completely different camps who believe the direct polar opposites of each other. I however lean towards the fact that the film has been subject to yet another Hollywood remake and that to me is the real exploitation. It’s bound to be jazzed up and the gore and violence enhanced, ripping the soul out of yet another film.

The ORIGINAL I Spit On Your Grave is out now on both DVD and Blu-ray.

Dan Beadle