I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE

I Spit On Your Grave Movie Review

Writer Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton) goes to an isolated cabin for some peace and time to write. Unfortunately, she stumbles upon a group of rednecks who soon rape and torture her. Trusting the slower member of the group has killed her, the bunch go on with their lives, but are shocked when Jennifer returns for revenge.

"..and then I'll hide a knife next to the bathtub"

It has been over 40 years now since the release of this film, but its depiction of savage rape and violence still gets it mentioned in discussions of the most disturbing movies ever made. In 1978, not much of this had been seen in film--at least not to this degree--and this movie was lambasted by critics the world over. Somehow, someway, the movie has hung around--what was once a cult classic that only the seediest of seedy video stores carried, is now a film that is practically worshipped by gorehounds everywhere, and is often regarded much higher now than it was in 1978. All that said, let's make no mistake--I Spit On Your Grave is not a good movie.

"How dare you?!"

The acting is beyond bad, the plot is thin, practically all technical aspects are weak, and the directing is rough, to say the least--these things, along with the brutality of the attacks against Jennifer--make this movie hard to watch, but your patience pays off in the third act, when Jennifer starts to get her revenge. The scenes of the rednecks getting their comeuppance are wickedly vile, and you don't feel the least bit sorry for any of them. What is probably most interesting about Jennifer's technique is that she doesn't sneak up on these guys--she comes right at them, using sex to lure them into trusting her before lowering the boom. The payoff at the end is what makes this film worth watching. Does I Spit On Your Grave hold an important place in horror movie history? I would say it does, even if, ultimately, you may perceive it as a ripoff of The Last House On The Left. I guess that makes it worth watching as well.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6

I Spit On Your Grave Movie Trailer