1978 was a very good year for horror films. There were movies that broke the barrier in fear such as John Carpenter’s Halloween, George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, Martin and others such as Pirana, The Omen 2, Jaws 2, Patrick and The Grapes of Death. They where all horror films that made their mark in 1978. However one film stood out that would be more controversial than all of them combined. A film that would be loved and hated by many; I Spit on Your Grave.
I Spit on Your Grave is the story of a young women named Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton) a beautiful novelist from the big city that rents out a cabin in the back woods so she can begin writing her first novel. However, what she thinks will be a nice relaxing vacation where she can peacefully write her novel, will soon turn into a nightmare. Four local men with trouble on their minds break into Jennifer’s Cabin and begin to have some fun with her. Their fun soon leads to them brutally raping Jennifer repeatedly throughout the woods and area around the cabin. After having their way with her, they leave her for dead. Confident that she is dead, the men return to their normal lives of mischief and mayhem not knowing that Jennifer is recovering from this ordeal and has become a new woman; a woman that is hell bent on revenge. She won’t stop until every last one of them pays the price for what they put her through.
My first experience with the 1978 version of I Spit on Your Grave came about ten years ago when I rented the DVD. I had heard many good and bad things about the film, but never did anyone say that is was just plain alright. Everyone always had an opinion about this film. The horror fans that saw it told me it was brutal, but it was a great film. Others that I knew hated the film not because of its story, but because of the content. It was a film that in 1978 turned many heads. Some disagreed with its message while other praised it. I for one praise it. It is a film that does have a lot of intense and gore filled scenes, but it does speak volumes in the wake of human rights, in this case women’s rights. There is a clear message here, no matter how gruesome the content.
If you look at the overall production value of I Spit On Your Grave, it does come off like a cheap porn flick or as many have labeled it a smut film. It is a film that has that gritty, grind house look to it. The production value is basic almost b-movie like without the camp. The acting in the film is decent, even though many of the characters are one dimensional. The real credit in performance should go to Camille Keaton for putting herself in such a controversial role and embracing it the way she did. It’s got to be hard for a beautiful women such as herself to go into a film where she is not only pretending to be raped, but also appears fully nude in the film and even has to enter a bath tub semi-nude with one of the other actors. It takes a dedicated actress to do such a thing, and I think this film would of not have worked as well as it did if someone else was in the role.
The Blu-ray disc has a few features which include audio commentary with writer/director Meir Zarchi as well as author and horror historian Joe Bob Briggs on a separate track. There is also the featurette The Values of Vengeance: Meir Zarchi Remembers I Spit On Your Grave, as well as a Poster & Still Gallery, Radio Spots, TV Spots & Trailers and an alternate main title sequence.
Overall, the original 1978 version of I Spit on Your Grave is far superior to the 2010 remake.
I mentioned that one of the things that bothered the most about the remake was a scene involving a mentally retarded person as one of the rapist and how I disagreed with his treatment in the film. I also disagree with it in this film also, however it seems to work better than it does in the remake. It is something that I think was done in poor taste, and is one of the many reasons why people disliked this film so much. We all know that some people with disabilities are capable on anything, but for some, independent thought and good decision making is not one of them. And the film does not question it, but labels the boy as a rapist. There is a lot that is not right with this film, but it does get its point across none the less.
Overall, the original 1978 version of I Spit on Your Grave is far superior to the 2010 remake.
It is a film where the female is the heroine of the movie and she defies one of the greatest tragedies any women could ever go through and comes out on top. I Spit on Your Grave is a film that paved the way for a lot of the torture films we see today. However, unlike the films today which don’t really have much of a message I Spit on Your Grave speaks volumes in more ways than some might think. It’s a film that horror fans should pay respect too for what it has become, and what it did to the industry. Just like Tod Browning’s Freaks, and Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left before it, I Spit on Your Grave is a film that turned heads, and will forever be remembered as one of the most controversial horror films of all time.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
