Spooktober Day 30 I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE!!!

Day 30

I Spit on Your Grave

Yes, this film made it to the list, and surprisingly not in first. Which is surprising!

Hell even I debated a long long time about this film and its place. Between it and the film that ultimately made it to number one on the list. This one, though it certainly has its reputation and incredibly heated takes. It rightfully earned its place near the top.

Both films hold a place with me, I’d say in my heart but. Well yes. In my heart.

I’ve shared this story a few times with friends and family, and I believe it’s come up a time or two on our podcast. So here we go one more time with feeling, my connection with this film through my life.

Thanks to the majestic wonder that is old video stores, we had a woman that worked behind the counter who knew very well how much I love horror films. Every time we came in there I was renting another horror flick. This was between when I was 8 and 10. These people knew our family and made good recommendations. This woman however. Was a special breed of video store clerk. One day in store I was looking for a good horror flick and I can’t tell you what I ended up taking home that day, but I can tell you this. The girl behind the counter made a recommendation directly to me with these words, I remember it word for word, though I can’t remember anything important to land me a job she said, “Oh you’d LOVE this movie. It’s about a girl who goes around killing these guys who did bad things to her! And one of the guys? She cuts off his weiner!” I was sold. I loved it, she was enthusiastic about it and smiling. This was a fucked up lady and someone I likely would’ve dated later in life. That might explain a few things actually…

I was 10.

I was 10 and this lady tried getting my mom to let me rent I Spit on Your Grave. My mom did not buy it and we went with something else at the time. But that films description stuck with me. For some reason I always remembered it and how she described it. 

It would be another 6 years until I learned both the name of the movie, and finally. Was introduced to the film also known as Day of the Woman. Thanks to my cousin being the only person I knew who could name the movie I was talking about when describing it to him. We searched our local Blockbuster and there it was, waiting to be picked up and oh boy.

Oooooooh boy.

This movie earned its controversy and certainly its haters. But it also certainly earned its respect and place for sure in exploitation films. Not to mention its fans. Which sometimes feels like you have to defend it to people when you sat you’re a fan of it, given the films content and story. But it deserves those fans. People do defend it on many fronts, which. We will touch on at the end of this walkthrough review. So lets begin.

So when the big city just, which is mighty pretty. Won’t allow you the comfort of quiet solitude while you write. What do you do? Well go to the country just outside the city naturally.

Only it’s highly recommended when or if you do so. That you don’t do so in Backwoods Rapetown.

You know what I mean too. The places that are so backwoods and country that cellphones get stared at, and people snicker over anything you wear that isn’t red, denim, or plaid.  You don’t need horror films to teach you that, But they often serve as harsh reminders to us on just that.

Not to say that there aren’t good folk down in those parts. But when you enter a place you can just feel the eyes on you, and you know it’s only a matter of ‘how long’ before things go down. Yeah. Yeah.

Well our lead actress doesn’t catch onto that initially. She’s more and rightfully captivated by the beauty and quiet of the place she’s staying. Which honestly I can get behind. The place she has waiting for her is very beautiful, rural but well tended and nice.

Her first stop before that though, is innocent enough. But again. If anyone today witnessed these things. Well we’d reconsider such.

As she stops for gas, the man pumping it for her does eye her a bit, but nothing too out of the way or harsh. What I found to be more troubling, honestly. Was two grown men playing a knife game. Keeping one foot each together and tossing a knife into the ground. Until one of them looses balance? I have no idea. But literally. If you ever see two men tossing a knife into the ground, and shoving one another. It’s best to hold your bladder, get the gas, drive off about 5 minutes down the road. Get out and stretch, relieve yourself and move on.

No worries here though, they’re all just neverminding their own business, and she’s just being quiet, keeping to herself and everyones just fine. She gets her gas and heads up to the cabin she’s staying at. She plans to write a book away from the city and felt this setting would really help her. Once there she overlooks the very beautiful front yard, and the best part of it, a boat and access to a lake.

Which she immediately makes use of and our director showcases her in her. Natural beauty. Meaning she strips off her dress, has nothing on under it and goes for a quick dip in the lake. No harm there, and she is alone away from everyone else.

But she has things to do and needs to get them done. She’s a responsible woman! So with a tied top and some cut off shorts she puts away her clothes and sorts the house out. Leading us too our first interaction with the local wild life. No not a snake, but a man with coke bottle glasses, who appears to be a little slow in the head. His name is Matthew we learn, and hers is Jennifer. He’s surprised to hear she comes from ‘the big city’ and informs her “You come from an evil place!” when she mentions New York. Which I have to agree, the time I spent at Mariners Stadium working? And having to deal with and watch New York fans? Those people are not at all wrongly characterized in movies. They are all horrible people. But this lady is not evil. And Matthew isn’t that bad. He’s just there delivering her groceries she’d ordered from the store. But it amuses her that he believes she comes from an evil city, so she tips him for the groceries “Well here’s a big tip from an evil new yorker” which shocks him greatly as he’s never gotten a tip that big before. We also learn a bit more about her. Like this is her first novel. That she’s written countless short stories that have all been published in women’s magazines. We sadly don’t learn what the novel will be about. Just that it features a female protagonist.

The sad thing we learn though, is that Matthew. Being slow in the head, and Jennifer. Not understanding somehow his wording. Have a miscommunication.

He obviously likes her, because she’s nice to him, but he’s not trying to flirt with her or come onto her. He’s just curious. He assumes because she’s writing that she’s likely famous and he may have heard of her. He ask if she’s out there alone and she says not really, she has the character from her novel with her. What goes awry however, is when he ask her if she has a boyfriend. Well, she answers him “Yes, I have many boyfriends, would you like to be my friend?”, You can tell from his reaction, he takes it that she’s seeing multiple men, but for her, she’s taking it as male friends.

French and Italian people, writers as well. They don’t necessarily have a term like Americans for boyfriend girlfriend. You usually say ‘this is someone I’m seeing”, “We’re dating”. Or even go with ‘This is my lover”, it’s not just there though, some groups of well to do and the ‘well read’ out there like to do the same as it feels more part of the upper crust in society. So for her yes having guy friends is fine, same as girl friends. Just not in the romantic sense, but Matthew isn’t going to grasp that. Sadly.

So off he goes on his bike, back to the store where the gas man and two knife buys await. The for of them are all friends. I won’t say apparently because small towns like that well. Yeah. So with his friends he instantly has to impress them that, he saw the new lady, but they’ve already seen her. So he has to make it more interesting and tell them she even showed him her breast! Which impresses two of the men, Especially the gas man. This is not a good start to things.

But that’s the extent of things, as these three are off for a night on the country. Does that mean movies? No, they’ve seen what’s out twice already. Bowling? No that’s boring. They’ve got 3 bucks for beer between them, so. Time to fish. And talk about women, and shit in the woods.

Literally they do. One mans fishing, another is taking a shit, while the third has the most intriguing talk about women to grace any screen. “You know, sometimes I think about, all those gorgeous women, like the real knockouts. And I wonder if they gotta shit too.” Riveting. They continue that topic however, because. I don’t know. But they end it when the three men discussing it decide all women are full of shit. But thankfully one member in the group is tired of all this shit talk. Matthew ALSO is tired of it. Well no he isn’t. He just wants them to be quiet because “I can’t concentrate! I can’t shit if I can’t concentrate” He says this multiple times. I never realized how much zen like concentration was needed for the act of shitting, but here we go.

Does it get any better? Not especially, as the top turns from shitting, to hooking Matthew up with the new lady in town. Because Matthew needs to lose his virginity. We learn Matthew likes girls too! But not all of them, only the special ones. Don’t ask what makes them special. He just knows what makes them special. But his friends assume what makes them special is Jennifer. A girl showing him her breast just once and she’s special. They also talk about their life dreams.

Which are about one guy wanting to go to new York and ‘screw all the broads’, another wants to go to California..for the same thing. Pretty much all these guys want to have sex with every woman out there across the four corners of the world. But they also come to the conclusion that, any time a lady comes down from the city to the country? It’s because she wants to get laid. Because city men are all business, and well yeah. You see where this could be going.

So thankfully the night ends with these people fishing, drinking and shitting in peace. But the next morning our author finds herself lounging in a hammock in her bikini. Enjoying the quiet while writing her book. It’s pretty nice and I miss hammocks. They’re a bitch to get into, but nice to relax in. However that relaxation is ended when Red shirt, who wants to bang the state of California, drives his boat around her lake, while Baldy who wants to bang all of New York smiles at her while hovering at the front of the boat. She’s already annoyed the moment they break her quiet setting. Made even more so when they decide to repeatedly circle the lake. She says enough of this crap and storms off into the cabin to write.

If this is how you court someone in the country, I have questions.

But it turns from simple dumb hick tricks of annoyance, to straight up creeper stalking. As she’s reading in bed, and begins to hear voices of two men outside in the dark, making random noises. Drawing her outside to investigate, but the moment she does. All noises stop. It’s pretty damn creepy and being alone in the woods absolutely would be ten times more so. However, what she could have done? She had found a pistol in one of the dresser drawers when she first got there. But she discarded it and we can tell it makes her uncomfortable. She could have gotten that pistol, and fired off into the night. Let them know she’s armed. But alas she did not. So she returns home, for what unfortunately will be her last night of peace.

The next morning she decides to relax in her bathing suit out on the lake in her canoe. Only again to end up with the same duo of baldie and red shirt driving their boat around circling her. This time however, they escalate things. They try grabbing the rope to her canoe, while she slaps at them with her wooden oar. But it’s not enough, as they grab the rope, and speed off dragging her behind them.

Again, she could’ve jumped out, swam to shore, it might’ve helped, or might have made it worse. Who can say.  But they drag her along a ways and finally stop having reached a shore. Where they poke at her and chase. Until she takes off running and unfortunately is met by Gasman, who trips her to the ground. This is where things change, and you can see it on the mens faces.

The Gasman, who is the leader of their group of friends, he’s the one calling the shots, and you can tell immediately he knows what he wants to do. And had been planning. She tries crawling off as he trips her, and as she does so he reaches down and tares the back of her bikini, taring it off. The moment it comes off the other two men stare in mild disbelief. That is until he commands the two to hold her down. Which they do and without question remove the rest of her bathing suit. But Gasman doesn’t attack. Instead he calls out “Well go ahead! We got her for you!” Which is when Matthew pops out from the woods. Alerting us that he can’t do it. He’s not ready yet. So, they shout at him to help hold her down at least. And. He does.

It’s a graphic, scarily realistic rape, as Gasman assaults her. It is not over with quickly either, and yes it can be hard to watch. And as it comes to an end, and she seems broken. The men let her go, Gasman falls back with a chuckle, and she slowly makes an escape from them. Stumbling and dazed. Of course they push at Matthew to take her now, but he still wont do it.

She actually does get away, wondering through the mud and woods. Still dazed and barely able to walk, she hears a harmonica playing off in the woods, For those who had seen Deliverance and joke about running if you hear Banjo music? Yeah. She follows the music and there sitting on a rock, casual as can be. Is Redshirt. And the rest of the gang. Who quickly again hold her down, bending her over a large rock and Redshirt takes his turn assaulting her. Which is even worse, and louder. Her screams are sincerely real and the look on her face is terrifying. She’s in absolute pain and this guy is just, going to town. It’s hard to say but yeah. And just as he finishes. The men leave her there, taking off for their boat. Tossing her bikini in the lake, dragging her canoe. She eventually comes around, and makes a very long cold walk through the woods and mud back home. Crawling a majority of the way. Even managing painfully to put a shirt on herself.

Once she has that, she crawls over to her phone, dialing 911 immediately. You hear the police answer and. Boom. Baldies boot kicks the phone from her hands. She finally retaliates. Biting his leg. He gets pissed and straddled her, immediately beating and choking her. But she bites him again this time on the neck. However it’s to no avail as the man over powers her and begins kicking her on the ground. Matthew watches this and is clearly losing it. But being slow in the head his emotions are mixed. He sees the men drinking and grabs a bottle from  Gasman. Chugging immediately. The men cheer him on taking it as he’s ready to join them finally. Matthew immediately seeing them all cheering him. Decides to go with it. Undressing and posing for the men, until hes naked and lays ontop of her trying to have sex. When the men realize he can’t do it, he resorts back to his earlier shitting comment “I can’t cum, I can’t cum if I can’t concentrate”, So they mock him and he dresses backup, as she lays there motionless, and Redshirt mockingly begins reading her first few pages from her novel.

What makes it worse, is the makeup. Her whole body is bruised, blood smeared, she has welts on her face and cheek. Baldy stands over her, seeing him fearing what was coming. She pleads with him. Begging that she hurts, but she’ll do it. She’ll use her hand, and he’ll really enjoy it. He stares at her and…well puts the neck of a bottle he was drinking somewhere it should never go, and tops it off by straddling her shoulders, shouting “Suck it bitch!”, which she does not. He ends up beating her more, until Gasman decides enough is enough and ends it. The group return to the boat, but with one last mission. For Matthew. They give Matthew the knife they used earlier to play with in the dirt, and tell him to kill Jennifer. He has to do it, or she’ll go to the cops and they’ll all go to prison. Matthew can’t handle shitting in the woods, least of all killing. Right?

Well the men growl at him to do it, of course they would. Then if they do get in trouble, he goes away for murder. As Matthew returns to the scene, and Jennifer lies there passed out. He can’t do it. So instead. He takes the blade, and covers it with blood from the open wound on her cheek.

What follows, are now four men having a grand time, having gotten away with what horrible acts they performed out there, leaving her nearly dead and badly beaten, assuming their friend had killed her. Never once letting on to them that he hadn’t gone through with it.

On the other end of this tale. We have a broken, bruised and very shaken Jennifer showering herself, wrapping herself in damp towels over most her body. You see a shift in her clothing too. Where before she wore more open relaxed clothing. She’s not hiding her body. Spending every moment indoors, smoking and focusing on healing. Building herself back up from what she was smashed down into. You can see, rather well visually. The changes in her. More so when she finally is able to make it outside for a walk, then sits out on the front lawn, watching and hearing her canoe come back to the edge of the lake. All those memories rushing back, and the beginning of a change in her. She wants to destroy it, but doesn’t. Instead something changes and she takes the rope from the canoe, securing it to a tree.

Back inside, she begins piecing together the torn pieces of her novel, even attempting to write more. She’s reclaiming her life. Slowly but surely, as all her bruises heal and scars form, over two weeks. She’s finding strength again.

As for her attackers? They’re bored, and worried. All of them are. They know what they did was wrong, it’s beginning to  settle in. Gasman can’t take it either. He ask if any of the guys had been over to her place and checked on the body. Redshirt and Baldie both admit they couldn’t do it. Neither one wanted to. He’s worried because that body has got to be rotting and stinking by now and eventually someone will find it, and maybe, somehow they could get fingered for it. Which leads to Matthew cracking under some pressure. As they ask him where he stabbed her, trying to get him to admit that he did or didn’t do it. He begins to stumble and Gasman isn’t happy anymore. He demands Redshirt and Baldie go off and check to see the body, they won’t go on their own, but when Gasman orders it, of course they go.

And of course they find her staring daggers into them from a tree as she reads. They don’t do anything to her. They just stare dumbstruck by her being alive, and of all things, her staring back at them not in fear but rage. So naturally when they return they beat the hell out of Matthew for lying.

However, now we enter the great part of why this movie earned its praise, and its original title, Day of the Woman.

Jennifer is not going to wait for them to come back for her, now that they know she’s alive. She’s not going to be a victim again. She picks up the gun from the dresser, checking to make sure its loaded. She dresses up in black and heads into town, right for the church. Where she prays to the cross and ask god to forgive her, for the unholy sweet revenge she’s going to rain down on these highly deserving fuckwits.

Which begins with recon missions. Starting with Gasman. Who seems the most shocking of all. The leader of those dumbasses, and lead rapist. Has a family, and two little girls. Which upsets her even more. Next on her list? Matthew. Whom she messes with this time. She tells the grocery store she needs a delivery of groceries to the house, so Matthew must deliver them. But he’s scared. He doesn’t know if she’ll hurt him, report him, but he also doesn’t want his friends mad at him. So. He grabs a knife from the butchers counter and heads off to her house. Intent on defending himself, and or possibly making his friends proud, and murdering her. So which is it? Which part of his small brain reigns supreme?

Neither! She’s the one calling the shots!. When he arrives. She’s wearing nothing but a very clearn and incredibly see through open white night gown. He freaks out seeing her and she runs for the woods. He follows and this time with the butchers knife in hand. Barely aware. Well, not at all aware. That he’s being lead somewhere. Eventually he stumbles onto her, right where she wants him. She’s nothing but soft spoken and kind, showing off her thighs and. Natural red hair. Undressing for him as he curses at her, saying he hates her. Because he was supposed to kill her, and now his friends hate him, because he didn’t do it. So he’s sorry but he has to kill her. He says he’s sorry that he has to kill her, and sorry for what he did to her with his friends. He actually struggles with the knife and stabbing her. Until she kisses him, Even unfastening his pants. His mind is made up and her being alive is awesome now! She lays down on the ground and. Well. Apparently Matthew is finally able to concentrate and begins having the sex. Which he’s rather enjoying. Until she slips a noose around his neck and begins to hang him. The rope hung over a tree branch above a jumping point by the lake. So pants around his ankle, dick waggling in the air and choking. Matthew dies.

She could’ve left it at that, but oh no. She wants to make sure he is dead. She secures the rope as best she can and swings his body around until there’s no more wiggling and dick waggling in the air. Then dumps the body and his beloved bike into the lake.

1 down, three to go!

As she takes off, she picks up the butchers knife Matthew brought with him. This will come in handy shortly. Believe that. But she’s also not dumb. She calls the store and alerts them that she never received the food she ordered and no one came by.

Now its time for the ring leader. Cut the head off the snake and the body will die.

She arrives at his gas station dressed up and in makeup, waiting for gas. When he sees her, he’s taken back but, decides as she’s smiling and not glaring into his face. She must’ve enjoyed it. “I knew you’d like it here.”, he brazenly gets into her car and she drives off with him to a deserted dirt road. Where once he gets out of the car, she commands him at gun point to undress, butt naked. He growls out about not liking women telling him what to do. She fires off a round at his feet, and he is more than happy to do as she wishes, while begging for his life.

Which is glorious and pathetic. He goes from blaming Baldie for what happened saying it was his idea, then turning it to Matthew being the one who planned it all. Right down to saying it was her fault. For sending out mixed signals, for showing off her legs, purposely walking as slow as she could to show them off and make sure he and everyone else could see them. He goes through every motion and tired excuse before begging out right, pleading with her that he has a family. Which she lets him know she is fully aware of, and how dare he do what he did. His only defense is that men are men and even a married man is gonna look and how can they resist. He’s not really doing well for defending himself. Or anyone really. But the big question is, does he get shot in the dick? Does she shoot him in the heart? The butthole? DOES HE GET SHOT?!

No.

No he doesn’t.

He pleads and pleads to her and eventually she stares at him and he slowly moves to take her gun away. Which he is able to do, and grins up to her, knowing he’s won. She kneels down beside him and brushes his chest, telling him that she’ll give him a nice bath. So he follows her and sure enough, he gets a nice bath, and she’s naked, doing her hair before her turn comes to join him. Filling the time talking about his family. Asking the age of his kids, if he loves them, if he loves his wife. Then about his two friends. Trying to find out where they work, what they do. He’s all too happy telling her and relaxing in the tub. Which she joins him in and helps rub down his chest. No. No she is not going to have sex with him. Or is she?

As they talk about his friends, he talks about Matthew and how he heard that Matt never came back after delivering groceries. She tells him “Oh he’s never coming back. He’s cooling off alright.” He ask what she means, asking if she’s saying he killed himself. “No, I killed him” he tells her she has a sick sense of humor but she tells him its no joke. Even throws out that he actually came when she did. He finally came. All this while her hands sink lower and begin stroking his ding dong. He tells her she’s got a sick twisted humor but he loves those hands. That. That is when as the video store clerk sold me as a ten year old. We see her grab the butchers knife, bring it under the water and cut off his dick. We know she did. Because he suddenly feels a sharp pain, but still pleasured somehow. We see a bubble of blood spurt upward, then the greatest moment in film ever. She stands from the bath tub, directly over him and tosses his penis into the tub between his legs, walking off calmly, and locking the door. Listening to him screaming out in pain bleeding out to death, playing a record to cover his screams. Until they go silent.

And all she is left with, is the job of cleaning up the tub of all the blood, disposing of his clothes and body.

That alone makes up for a large chunk of the movie, You can argue vigilante justice but, her cutting his dick off and seeing his smug face turn to panic. Priceless.

But now his two remaining friendos are out for vengeance. They know that girl is alive. They know Matthew is missing, and now their friend Gasman is gone too. So back in the boat they go, bringing an axe with them. Meanwhile back at the house. Jennifer waits, swinging in her hammock. We are indeed at our final act of the film.

The boat finally arrives at her house and the two men have separated to try and cover more ground. But as they arrive. Jennifer is nowhere to be found. Redshirt, axe in hand walks around her front yard, Baldie stays on the boat. Just like a shark she swims up beside the boat and lets her self right up into it. Startling Baldie. Whom she ask where his friend is. He lies telling her he stayed back in town. She’s happy to hear this and shoves Baldie out of the boat. Beginning her revenge of circling him in the water. Getting closer and closer to him. Even charging toward him threatening to hit him, but never managing. Redshirt can’t stand it and calls out, challenging her to come after him. So she does!

She takes the boat along the short and rams into his ribs as he readies to swing the axe. The axe falls into the boat and. We need some nudity here. Apparently. So Redshirt obliges buy stripping naked. For some reason. Before going into the lake to save his friend. Jennifer sees this, and charges toward them in the boat. Axe above her head. She’s a woman on a mission wielding a holy relic of asshole begone. Driving right between the men and burying the axe into the back of Redshirt. Oh it is not a fun death for him and he is having a bad bad time. While dear, dear Baldie. Is on his own. Crying and begging for help. She draws the boat over to him and turns it around, letting him come right up to the rear of the boat. Hugging onto the back motor. Pleading with her, telling her it was their fault, they made him do it. Same as Gasman. She just stares at him as he begs her to help him and listens to him plead his case. Finally leaning forward, grabbing the pully for the motor and repaying him the same line he gave her, “Suck it, bitch” and she pulls on the line, bringing the engine to life and the blade taring up his junk and intestines. In glorious, beautiful revenge.

Driving off at full spead in the boat, slowly giving an earned relieved smile, as the credits roll with no music, and she steers the boat off into the sunset.

The End.

Now, I have to admit, this was not a fun one or easy one to review. Which says a lot about the movie. I love it. I love this movie and I do feel it is a very feminist piece of exploitation. I love it enough that when I got the chance to meet Joe Bob Briggs at a Seattle Cryptocon, I brought it for him to sign. Joe Bob has been one of the most vocal people out their praising this movie and believing it deserves a lot more respect and to be not just seen, but understood. He also uses it as a comparison to Hollywood and its approach to subjects like this. Which is fair because Hollywood will always take a safer approach to things compared to more independent cinema. But there are certainly some discussions. Is the film truly exploitation or rapesploitation? It’s not in any way or at any time endorsing or showing rape in any sort of positive light. It’s not even shown in any way to be remotely entertaining or something for a true deviant to look at and get off on. I am sadly sure there are sick fucks out there that would watch it and enjoy it. But the film is not promoting this, or selling itself as the great rape film. It shows you unfiltered and honestly as horrifying as it can what rape can be like. The director deplores rape, and did his best to portray and show the men as being monsters. Terrifying mindless monsters.

He wanted to tell a story about a woman surviving the worst nightmare situation imaginable, and rising from victim to hero, taking revenge on her attackers and standing up for herself. But the film because of what it showed, was hailed as vile sexploitation and nothing more. But others hailed it too. Just at the time it became one of those films that some places banned, and others refused to shoe entirely. It grew in legend and through that. Became one of those films people would hunt down to watch. JUST to see what was so horrible and wrong about it. It’s an interesting piece of human behavior. We don’t like the idea of violence or seeing the result of it. But whenever we see an accident we all slow down and find ourselves looking. Does that make it wrong? It makes it human. It’s how we react to these things that people differ. The movie is shocking, it’s meant to be. It told its story and found its audience. People still talk about it today. Hell the unthinkable happened a few years ago. The film got remade! It got remade, a LOT more tamer than the original, and then it got a sequel. I used to tell people I knew the end of the world would come the day someone remakes that movie. So you can guess how much laughter I got when someone told me it was being remade and I just sat their silent and said ‘God why.”

But really why? Why would anyone think of all things to do. Remake I Spit on Your Grave. But it makes sense. There is a cult following, people found it wherever they could. So of course why not remake it, because those people saw the message of the film, they enjoyed it as a revenge flick. The stigma had worn off. But at the time it was failing in a lot of places. They had to cut out 10 minutes of the film otherwise it would get an X rating from the MPAA. Even after the cuts, theaters pulled it, other people refused to see it. Now here we are, and I have not only a signed blu-ray of the film with Joe Bobs signature and “This film kicks” and an arrow pointing to the butt on the cover. I love it.  But more so now, I own not just the movie on blu-ray signed. I have it now in 4k, along with the recently made with the original director, AND actress returning sequel.

They made. A sequel. I mean…..damn.

So for a movie that was supposed to be anti-woman, sexploitation and only enjoyable by truly sick deplorable human beings. The damn things got a sequel, and a reboot with a sequel. That says a lot. And it shows this film has found its place.

I can literally go on and on but I am reserving some things. Because I don’t want this to be a novel, and I’m here to talk about the film. The last thing I will leave you with on this movie, is a bit of interesting marketing that surprised and upset the director. Like I said when the movie was released as Day of the Woman, it bombed and no one cared for it. But he later said screw the MPAA, readded the edited ten minutes, and released it but no one wanted it. So he tried distributing it again and, the films title got changed to “I Spit on Your Grave!”, as soon as it was? Suddenly the movie is being seen, People are getting into it, they hail it, and many many many still call for the director to be hung. Which is sort of funny because they believe for all that he put that woman through, the lead actress Camille Keaton, he should be dragged through the streets and shot. Imagine their reaction when they found out she was his wife. Yeah. They were married.  What a world!

And as for the cover? It’s very hard not to know it if you’ve heard of it, and having seen it once, you’ll always remember it. You have a forest in black and white, with a woman. Wearing a torn white shirt hanging onto her shoulder, and panties that have tares on the outside. Bloody cuts on her back and thigh. Holding a knife in her hand. With the great tagline “This woman has just cut, chopped, broken and burned five men beyond recognition. But no jury in America would ever convict her!”

Its hard to beat that, and again, it stays with you. If you were around when it made the rounds in video stores, you’d find it eventually. But no posters. Not for many many years. As for the remake? It coped the same, because the image is known, and has a lot of power still. Does the director like it? He actually likes the remake.

And as I said and the director himself has. We could talk about it on and on and on, what people think, what they’d like it to be like, what others liked or hated about it. But the most important thing, and best thing you can do with your time, is to watch it, and judge for yourself.

So with that. Definitely check it out, give it a watch and tomorrow. Will bring us to the top film on our list.