I Spit on Your Grave

Director - Meir Zarchi (Don't Mess with My Sister!, I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu)

Starring - Camille Keaton (Savage Vengeance, Sex of the Witch), Eron Tabor, and Richard Pace 

Release Date - 1978

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Day of the woman...the ultimate day of terror!"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I was in high school I befriended another horror fan.  He liked some of the same films as I did but his taste in horror went in a different direction than mine.  One weekend I stayed over at his house and we dug into some of his movies. We watched a few of his Ernest tapes and then he showed me I Spit on Your Grave.  My older brother had told me about this one before but I had never seen it but nothing could prepare me for what I was about to see.  This viewing stuck with me for years.  Sometime ago I was sent the press release from Ronin Flix for their new box set of I Spit on Your Grave on blu.  I reached out to them and they were kind enough to send over a review copy of this amazing set.  Thanks guys!

     The film follows a New York writer who goes into the country to relax where she can write her first novel.  A group of locals spot her and before long they make her their object of offection.  When she refuses their advancements they decide that if she doesn't want them willingly then they will force her to have them.  The four men then gang rape her and leave her for dead.  After two weeks she appears and one by one she seduces and kills the men that had raped her.  

     I've been a fan of horror and exploitation going on 20 years now and very few films have can make me feel disgusted and anxiety ridden like ISoYG.  There is so much going on in this film but for the average movie fan you will find yourself squiriming for most of the film.  I know the film faced backlash when it was first released but if you get your head out of your ass you will see that this film is one of the most important pieces of exploitation cinema.  Not only is it a staple in the rape/revenge sub-genre but it also works as one of the earliest pieces of feminist horror.  The acting in this one is great which is amazing considering most of the cast had no prior experience.  Camille Keaton is absolutely gorgeous and plays the innocent characters perfectly.  After the violation she becomes a calculating and bloodthirsty character that will stop at nothing to get her revenge.  Her performance here is legendary and inspired so many other actresses to tackle horror.  The four men that star alongside her as great as well.  Their rape scene leaves my skin crawling and their portrayal of womanizing scumbags left my skin crawling.   Most of these men had no on screen experience and they absolutely nailed their performances.  The story for this one is simple and straight to the point.  We follow a beautiful young city girl who ventures into the woods where some dumb locals rape her.  Some may argue that this film promotes rape but those people did not finish watching the film.  This film is clearly a film that advocates women's rights.  The pacing is damn near perfect and the movie does a great job with character development and building atmosphere.  Finally, this film does not have a high body count but the kills we do get are fucking memorable.  With that being said, the tub scene is something that will stick with you the rest of your life.  It is so memorable and done absolutely brilliantly.  I highly recommend this film just for that scene alone.  Overall, I Spit on Your Grave is not what I would call an extreme horror movie but it does strike a chord with most viewers.  It's an unsettling film that has a lot of power in the store.  This blu release looks great especially compared to my DVD copy.  Ronin did a fantastic job with this release.