I Spit on Your Grave Film Review 1978

Content Warning: Rape

For those who are not aware I Spit on Your Grave is a 1978 low budget rape revenge horror film that was originally titled Day of the Woman. My mum had mentioned a few years back that she had watched it once and it came up in conversation at work that there was a recent remake (2010). Ever since then we kept talking about getting both versions and comparing them.

Finding the older version was tricky but through Amazon reviews I discovered the German edition with the original title and the man on the cover - see below - was the original uncut version. The version that was released in the UK was apparently quite heavily edited and made the consequences seem over the top.

So for those who don't know the story fiction writer Jennifer Hills rents a waterside cottage in the countryside in order to write her first novel. Unfortunately she attracts a gang of local men's attentions. They kidnap her to be the first sexual experience for their mentally disabled friend. He refuses, later agreeing but not finishing, and the other 3 then rape her vaginally, anally and one a bit later orally while also assaulting her with a wine bottle. The disabled one is ordered to kill her but doesn't and she later exacts her revenge killing them each in turn.

The length of the film is short 110 minutes but it feels like it could be cut a little. Not much happens at the start of the film, Jennifer spends periods sitting writing or at her typewriter, not overly interesting scenes to watch. The rape scenes are horrible in their brutality but the motions of the male actors are very odd to watch, with one almost rocking from side to side. The low budget is evident in the revenge scenes where the blood is way too bright a red and when she kills the one man the scene obviously cuts to a separately filmed stand-in scene using what looks like a pig in place of the body.

I imagine in it's time it was a shockingly brutal and graphic film but in 2016 as someone who is a big fan of the Saw franchise it seems quite tame. I will be watching the 2010 version soon in order to give a comparison and see what modern viewing habits have done to the story and action.

Rating 2/5