DVD Review: I Spit On Your Grave
I Spit on Your Grave (Millennium Edition) (1978)
Studio: Elite Entertainment
DVD Release Date: July 6, 2004
Directed By: Meir Zarchi
Cast: Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace, Anthony Nichols, Gunter Kleemann
Review By: Marc Patterson
A woman rents a cabin in Upstate New York to work on her novel and is ruthlessly beaten and raped by a group of locals. After recovering, she exacts out her revenge on her attackers one by one.
Vile, contemptible, and depraved have all been words used to describe this film. I Spit On Your Grave is nonetheless a notoriously popular exploitation/revenge film. This is undoubtedly the hardest of the hard. There’s not much more going on here than violence. No moral undertones. No social commentary. No real moments of reflection, or laughs, as we find no tears and no emotion at all. There is nothing to make you feel good at the end of the film. Actually, the film will leave you feeling numb.
Savage brutality and vengeful retribution on a scale that rarely has been duplicated since, this is a tale of sickening rape and revenge. No more and no less. Despite a low budget, the presence of no score, and hardly any auditory enhancements, this film still comes off as highly effective. The acting is surprisingly top notch. So good it almost seems real, which only furthers the horror of the film.
This “Millennium Edition” comes loaded with extras. Most notable is the audio track by director Meir Zarchi, where he talks in-depth on his inspiration for the film as well as the repercussions of making the film. There is a second commentary track by Joe Bob Briggs, of the Joe Bob Briggs Report. Briggs provides some great commentary, but you’ll find the directors commentary track to be the true highlight. In addition to the commentary tracks there are some photo stills, two theatrical trailers, and some radio and television spots. All in all, not too shabby.
For fans of hardcore horror, this is recommended, and is almost a “must-see” based on its notoriety within the genre. However, for fans of horror-lite I would recommend passing this one by.
