I Spit On Your Grave (1978 & 2010) (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

( Max score: 100 )

84

Film Synopsis:

I Spit On Your Grave (1978): UNCUT. UNCENSORED. AND STILL UNPRECEDENTED. Some condemned it as ‘vile’, ‘depraved’ and ‘degenerate entertainment’. Others acclaimed it as ‘disturbing’, ‘misunderstood’, and ‘the ultimate feminist movie’. Now more than 30 years later, re-experience one of the most hated, debated and controversial movies of all time: Camille Keaton stars as Jennifer Hills, an attractive city woman who rents a backwoods cabin to begin writing her first novel. She is soon attacked by a group of local lowlifes – including one who is mentally disabled – and dragged screaming into a nightmare of rape, sodomy and violence. Left for dead, she devises a horrific plan for revenge. These men will be cut, chopped, broken and burned beyond recognition...but no jury in America would ever convict her. You may be shocked, outraged or even disgusted. Yet you will never forget the raw impact of the original I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE.

I Spit On Your Grave (2010): UNFORGIVING. UNCOMPROMISING. UNMERCIFUL. UNRATED. The original version was reviled, condemned, and banned around the world for its on-screen depictions of depravity and violence. Now experience the acclaimed remake that dares to go even further: Jennifer Hills (a fearless performance by Sarah Butler) is a big-city novelist who rents an isolated country cabin to write her new book. But when she is brutally raped by a group of sadistic rednecks, Jennifer has plans for more than mere revenge. One-by-one she will find them. She will inflict horrific acts of agonizing torment upon them. And no jury in America would ever convict her.

My Take:

On February 8th, Anchor Bay entertainment debuts 'I Spit On Your Grave 1978 & 2010' on Blu-ray. I have seen the original a few times, but didn't get a chance to check out the remake theatrically. I tend to be very let down by remakes, but considering the source, but felt this one had a chance. The original film got a bad rap, considered this almost underground taboo horror flick, which it really isn't. Stripped down to its core it is a vigilante justice/revenge flick, not too unlike Extremities, Sudden Impact or even Death Wish.

The plot of the original and remake are the same; Jennifer Hill, a city slicker/author, rents a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere, hoping to get some peace and quite while working on her novel. Well you can imaging she gets a lot more than she bargained for, or consents to, when a group of local guys rape and abuse and torture her. Jennifer snaps and has her revenge on the guys, in what is best described and brutal and unforgiving.

These films are horror films, as they do have horrific killings. However, its reversal of having these killings justified, and the killer being the lead of the film makes it easier to stomach, as we actually route her on. And why shouldn't we?? The men raped, abused and tortured the poor woman. They deserve this and more.

The originals writer/director, Israeli born, Meir Zarchi, was not a film-maker when he came up with this story...he was a dad. He came upon a young girl, naked and panicked on the side of the road, gave her his jacket and drove her to the police. She had been raped and he helped her...but this thought tormented him, as she was only 6 years older than his daughter. His film was his way of getting revenge for the girl, and doing what he believes these men deserve. He is quoted as saying he thinks his film is the most misunderstood film in history. I guess that can be attributed to the title 'I Spit On Your Grave' which was changed by the distributors from its original title, 'Day of the Woman'. Regardless of what he believes, it is a brutal revenge film with merciless killing, that really will only appeal to the horror crowd, and even though it has a super strong anti-rape stance, I don't see woman universally uniting for these films

The differences between the two is really summed up in budget and production values. I like the first better, mostly for its cheese factor. The terrible lines, acting and budget are flaunted all over, and just ads to the experience. The remake, though having a top-notch production, fell flat as the men were less dynamic. The remakes kills were more graphic and violent, which was cool in context, but didn't make it a better movie. If you were a fan of the original, the remake is worth a watch...but if you have not seen either, be warned, neither are fun films. All the hoopla of supposed controversy around the original is really not more than a marketing strategy. If I want to watch a crazy a exploitation film, these wont be my first choice.

Parental Guide:

Unrated - pervasive strong sadistic brutal violence, rape and torture, nudity and language.

Audio: 82

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Video: 86

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'I Spit On Your Grave (1978)' comes to Blu-ray Disc from Anchor Bay Home Entertainment featuring 1080p VC-1 encoded video that has an average bitrate of 30 mbps and lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 4.1 mbps.'I Spit On Your Grave (2010)' comes to Blu-ray Disc from Anchor Bay Home Entertainment featuring 1080p VC-1 encoded video that has an average bitrate of 29 mbps and lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound that has an average bitrate of 3.9 mbps.

'I Spit On Your Grave (1978)' wont rank up there on the best Blu-ray lists, but it is none the less an impressive effort from Anchor Bay, especially considering the source, a super low budget 35mm production from first time filmmakers. The image is a little soft, but surprising details are rendered on close-ups. The image has a golden hue, which does translate into flesh-tones being slightly warm. Black levels are a bit crushed, which lends to less details on the evening scenes. The film seems to shine in the daylight scenes but do fold when the evening and darker elements take over. The color timing is a bit exaggerated, especially in the reds of Jennifer's dress, window curtains and kitchen wall. I also noticed some flicker on certain shots as well as some pops and scratches, but far less than any release before. There was a healthy amount of grain, as there should be with a 35mm print. Over-all this looks better than I have seen it before, and worth the upgrade for fans. Its audio track really shows its roots, dialogue is for the most part intelligible, but does muffle at times and have inconsistent volume. The track is really concentrated in the front sound-stage, my rears seemed hardly used. The track has is not the most dynamic, and really it was just designed to be there, not to impress. This is not a release you will consider for its lossless audio merits.

'I Spit On Your Grave (2010)' is in a different league than the original. Well filmed, with an artistic eye, having an bluish gray tone to the production.; the look matches the somber feel, and was quite effective. Fine details translated very well, from the texture in Jennifer's hair to the grime on the cabins bathtub. Black levels were outstanding, as were the flesh-tones. I quite enjoyed the look and encode of this one. This is a fine release, but is held back by the sound design. It just was not as aggressive as I feel this film could have used. I wanted to hear every minute gross detail as well as see them, but the mix never took that extra step. All dialogue is discernible, rears play when needed, and LFE does its job, but really, nothing stands out.

*My ratings are a combination of the two films.*
Separate I would rate:
'I Spit On Your Grave (1978)' Audio 78 Video 82 Film 3 out of 5
'I Spit On Your Grave (2010)' Audio 84 Video 90 Film 2 out of 5

Bonus Features:

'I Spit On Your Grave (1978)'

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• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Meir Zarchi
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• Audio Commentary with Joe Bob Briggs
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• The Values of Vengeance: Meir Zarchi Remembers I Spit on Your Grave
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• Trailers, TV Spots and Radio Spots
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• (HD) Alternate Main Titles
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• (HD) Poster & Still Gallery
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• (HD) Previews: I Spit On Your Grave (2010), Frozen, The Killing Machine, Stonehenge Apocalypse, The Disappearance of Alice Creed

'I Spit On Your Grave (2010)'

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• (HD) The Revenge Of Jennifer Hills: Remaking A Cult Icon
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• (HD) Deleted Scenes
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• (HD) Trailers: Teaser Trailer, Theatrical Trailer, Theatrical Trailer #2, Radio Spot
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• (HD) Previews: I Spit On Your Grave (1978), Frozen, Altitude

Final Thoughts:

'I Spit On Your Grave 1978 & 2010' are as much similar as they are dissimilar, but this is mostly derived by production values and acting. I don't think they are as horrific or taboo as popular culture was led to believe. Writer/Director Meir Zarchi's heart was in the right place, but his attempt at 'Day of the Woman', a pro-woman, anti-rape film went askew, looking and feeling like a horror/exploitation film. The extra features on the original were worth the watch as I did like learning about the back story of how Meir Zarchi came up with the idea. The remake was almost as good, and was saved by a strong performance by Sarah Butler as Jennifer Hills as well as some totally gross out kills. Feature wise, it was nothing really of note. If this sounds like your cup-o-tea you will love em', if not you most likely wont get through them.