I Spit on Your Grave (2010) Review

CLAYTON'S CREEPY CINEMA!

WEEK 5: REMAKES AND REHASHES

I Spit on Your Grave (2010)

Day of the Woman, more commonly known by the re-release title I Spit on Your Grave, is a highly controversial 1978 horror film that is both considered one of the worst films ever made, and one of the most disturbing horror films ever made (confusing, I know). This remake of the same name, which more or less tells the same revolting story as the original, is an interesting example of a remake that’s not as cut and dry as being good or bad. Much like how the original is both hated and not hated, the remake can be looked at as being better than the original, or worse.

The film follows a novelist who goes to a remote cabin in the woods to work on her latest novel. If you think this is going to be a supernatural cabin in the woods type horror flick, you’re dead wrong. A nasty group of guys, one of whom is mentally handicapped, sneak into her cabin at night and do some of the most unspeakably ghastly things you could think of. She escapes and reaches a local sheriff, but there’s no safety with him. He and the other guys are in cahoots, and now there is no one to save her. Their intent is to have the mental guy lose his virginity, and he does. Then they rape her, hold her head under water, make her suck on a loaded pistol, and then when she’s bleeding, dirty, and naked in the woods, she falls off a bridge into a river. Worst. Day. Ever. But things are about to get almost as bad for the gang of murdering rapists. The girl comes back with a vengeance, and one by one, defiles and kills the men who abused her.

I Spit on Your Grave is one of the most uncomfortable movie viewing experiences I’ve ever had. On a purely visceral level, it’s definitely a disturbing movie, but the scares don’t feel earned. You can’t help but feel sick at the graphic portrayal of murder and rape on screen, but beyond these shocking and appalling scenes, there’s little else to be scared of. No character is relatable; you obviously can’t be on the side of the rapists, but you can’t really be on the side of the victim either as she gets revenge in brutal, completely over the top ways. I’m not sure what’s harder to watch, the rape scene, which goes on way too long and shows a surprising amount of uncensored footage, or the murders, which become increasingly unsettling, including a guy getting his penis hacked off and shoved in his mouth and a guy getting a shotgun shoved up his ass. The special effects are convincing and the acting is quite strong, especially given the difficult nature of the roles.

I Spit on Your Grave is not a film I can recommend, even to horror fans. I don’t know how it shapes up against the original, but from what I understand, it’s a less campy version of the same brutal tale. To save you any curiosity you might have about it—hopefully just because you’re a horror fan like me and want to get scared, not because you actually want to see someone get brutally raped on film—just don’t watch it. It’s not scary, it’s a waste of time, and it’s a piece of poor filmmaking.