Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
Stars Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace, Anthony Nicols,
Gunter Kleemann, Alexis Magnotti, Tammy Zarchi, Terry Zarchi,
Traci Ferrante, William Tasgal, Isaac Agami, Ronit Haviv | Written by Meir Zarchi
UK Certification 18 | UK RRP £19.99 | BR/DVD Region B/2 | Runtime 100 minutes | Directed by Meir Zarchi
Originally known as Day of the Woman in 1978 but renamed for its second theatrical run two years later after bombing at the box office, I Spit on Your Grave is one of the most controversial films of all time. It's been banned, slashed to ribbons countless times on home video, labelled as one of the most “depraved and corrupt” films on the Video Nasties list back in '80s Britain, and even hailed as the worst film ever made by world renowned critic Roger Ebert. Met with overwhelming success and controversy upon its newly titled re-release, the film, which is now regarded as a cult classic, was Israeli film-maker Meir Zarchi's first feature film, and one of the only two that he has ever made.
Inspired by Zarchi's real life experience with helping a woman who was brutally attacked and raped, I Spit on Your Grave follows Jennifer Hills, a writer of short stories published in magazines who is working on her very first novel in a quiet riverside cabin. Quiet that is until a gang of sick and perverse locals prey on the young woman and subject her to a living hell of sexual assault and violence. Left to die a bloody, naked and broken mess, Jennifer, twisted from her ordeal, sets her sights on extracting her revenge in all kinds of nasty ways. If you're a feminist, you'll love the second half of the film if you can get through the misogyny of the first.
There's no need to take any notice of what Ebert said as this is far from the worst film ever made. It's a grungy, violent revenge horror with extremely unsettling scenes of rape (yes, there's more than just one), and so it does its job. While the first half is essentially a mission to get through because of the aforementioned scenes, all the fun takes place in the second when Jennifer sets out for her maddened vengeance. While Ebert is one of, if not the most respected film critic on the planet, and deservedly so to some extent, the guy to me will forever be an ignorant hypocrite who has always been, and most likely will remain, wildly out of date with the genre that is horror.
This Ultimate Collector's Edition is the first time the film has ever been released in the UK on Blu-ray, and the new HD-remastered print has been handled exceptionally well. While I've seen films from the '70s look a lot better on the format, I Spit on Your Grave was cheaply shot and so it's difficult to gauge whether or not it could look any better, although there is also the factor that those supervising the remaster wanted to retain the dark, grimy aesthetic of the film, the one that heightens the voyeuristic look of the various long shots and lengthy takes, which I do hope is the case as I believe the movie would be losing a great deal of its power with vibrant colours and the complete loss of grain. The grim nature of the picture quality is what makes the look and feel of the movie so reflective of its harrowing story.
I unfortunately do not consider this to be an Ultimate Collector's Edition. It simply isn't a definitive release, and there will never be one until the BBFC sorts itself out and passes the film uncut in the UK. Resubmitted for classification this summer, I Spit on Your Grave had five previously banned minutes passed for the first time in the country, only to have almost three minutes remain cut. And this new release has even been banned outright in Ireland
. I struggle to understand the harm of a movie from 1978 that is available in its completely uncut form in the US and even Australia of all places. I haven't heard of any "corrupted" minds in those countries as a result of the film in all these years. Not having the picture uncut here is senseless and quite simply idiotic. Even Wes Craven's Last House on the Left was passed in its entirety in 2008.Finally, like most successful horrors of yesteryear, I Spit on Your Grave has been remade. Only, like most of them, it's not a stonking load of rubbish. In fact – now this may come as a humongous surprise to most of you – it's actually a vastly superior film.
EXTRAS ★★★★ A 24-page booklet written by critic Calum Waddell; a glossy A2 poster featuring the original artwork on one side and images from the remake on the other; a 30-minute interview with Meir Zarchi; English and Spanish trailers for the film's original release as Day of the Woman; two trailers for the 1980 re-release as I Spit on Your Grave; three TV spots; three radio spots; a gallery of VHS and DVD sleeves from around the world; stills from Zarchi's own personal collection; the complete 80-minute phone interview with Zarchi conducted by DVD Monthly Magazine; filmographies; a PDF version of the booklet for use on your PC or Mac; and feature-length audio commentaries with Zarchi and film critic Joe Bob Briggs.