I Spit on Your Grave Remake Begins Production
By Marc Patterson
I’ve been contemplating the forthcoming remake of Day of the Woman, AKA I Spit on Your Grave all weekend long. And I mean all weekend long. People who frequent here have come to realize (hopefully) that we’re not the type of site to merely dole out the basic “news” details on upcoming horror films, nor are we the type to take a knee-jerk reaction to remake news. On Friday I caught a blip over at Bloody Disgusting that today will see production officially begin on the remake of I Spit On Your Grave. Steven R. Monroe (Left in Darkness) will direct, and a young actress by the name of Sarah Butler will star in the lead as Jennifer, taking over the now notorious role made famous by Camille Keaton.
Whether or not the film deserves an updating quickly faded from my mind. I wasn’t that interested in wracking my brain on that worn out debate. I started to think instead about how the film should be updated since it’s now being done, and as I speak. After all, why more incessant and unproductive complaining? After much pondering I’ve come to one conclusion. To remake this film properly and deliver the same powerful punch it delivered in 1978 is impossible. It cannot be done. It’s absolutely an unmakeable film. Forget about the censors. No studio in their right mind would touch this film as it stood in 1978 with a ten-foot pole. Even Dark Sky, who picked up Dead Girl, a film that was controversial for many of the same reasons, would be unlikely to take a risk on a film like this. It’s simply too edgy.
Nonetheless, the film is being made, which can only mean the content has to be softened to appease investors, potential buyers, and the general cinema going public. As a sidebar thought what really gets me going is that I can’t fathom to begin to understand why anyone would WANT to remake this film. What’s next? Lucker the Necrophagous? Or, Thriller: A Cruel Picture? Potential revenue producing advantages aside, (which have to be limited) I Spit On Your Grave is not an uplifting film. The original was bleak and downright sadistic. If you have read my review, you know my thoughts on the film. It lacked any sort of moral tone, and makes even Hostel look like a PG-13 rated outing by comparison.
So okay – How would I remake this film? Well, my version is as said unmakeable, but here goes…
My goal would be simple: remake the film, updating the look and feel of it to something a bit more current. Keep the simple streamlined story intact. Inject no moral undertones, or subtext. Go in and strengthen up the weaker points of the film while doing nothing to diminish the strong affecting violence that make the film as notorious as it is. My goal is to think of horror fans first and the investors second.
The first thing I have to do is place this film somewhere in time. My thoughts are to set it in the early to mid-nineties. The early mid-nineties would at least give me a slight pre-internet setting, without the need to lamely allude to shoddy cell phone coverage. Plus it would give me access to a great soundtrack of Seattle based grunge music that was just starting to sweep the nation. A little old school STP or Alice in Chains to ramp up the revenge sequences would be rather cool. Kinda reminiscent of The Crow in ways. Being that the original had no real soundtrack or scoring this would be part of my “updating”.
The next thing I’d do is cast a no-name girl with a down to earth role as Jennifer. In this I think Monroe may have hit the mark with Sarah Butler. 
This girl is perfect for the role in just about every way. I watched her in a couple web-episodes of Luke 11:17. Her acting felt a little forced, but if Monroe can pull a believable performance out of her then he’s found his go-to girl. I’d also spend a little more time with her doing some additional character building, giving the audience a real character they can genuinely like. Being able to emotionally connect with Jennifer in a strong way is going to be important. This is where I thought the original came up a bit lacking.
Now again, we’re just updating the original film, so I want to bring in some equally no-name primaries for the troop of villains. What I don’t want is the cast of the Last House on the Left remake. They were just too damn pretty and studio friendly. I want these guys to look and feel like your typical small town blue collared working boys who run on the opposite side of the law. They don’t have to be clichéd rednecks. Just some good ‘ol boys who hate yuppie scum from the city traipsing about their turf will work fine. They are the kind of guys who work hard for what they earn, and enjoy hitting the bar after work. Gang rape might not be the first thing to have passed through their mind when they lay eyes on Jennifer for the first time, but it should be a close second.
Now, when it comes to the violence I’m going old school relentless. I’m talking an extended rape scene that will have folks walking out of the theater. Why? Because I want to do it proper in holding to the original. Remember? And of course this is what the original delivered. And I don’t want to back down or softfoot around my task. Like it or hate it, the torturous rape scene worked to the effect of the film and I want my version to be Irreversible, if you follow, in effect. I’ll utilize some long takes and a camera that refuses to look away. This is going to be dirty, grisly, and realistic above all else. This girl is getting “punished” and the only way to accomplish this is to punish the audience. I’ll push this sequence short of showing actual penetration. Did you think Last House on the Left remake was uncomfortable? Well, try to remember how you felt when you watched I Spit on Your Grave for the first time.
Revenge is what I Spit on Your Grave is really all about and each of these local boys is going to get their comeuppance in the most brutal of ways. I think here is where I might do the most updating. The bathtub scene is rather enduring, so I would likely keep that, though I might cut back on making Jennifer look as sexy as Keaton did in the original. She needs to look a little shaken up, a little beaten up, and a little unnerved. After all, revenge or no, she is facing her attackers for the first time since. And for that she also needs to be angry beyond limits of rationale.
Some of the other lesser memorable set-pieces will need some updating as well, even including the death by propeller finale, which though memorable is perhaps a bit lacking. I mean, even Harper’s Island has used that kill and that’s a CBS friendly prime time mystery show. This can’t be CSI grade murder. I want to create an iconic set piece that ends up on T-shirts the way the impaled cannibal did on Cannibal Halocaust. I want women in the theater to actually stand up and yell with satisfaction. As an additional sidebar note, I’d personally really like to bring in a good old Estwing hammer kill. Making these guys some local carpenter’s would allow easy access to a full array of nasty medieval like tools. The potential is endless. And perhaps that is our setup. Instead of joyboating goons we can give them access to the house via a repair project.
My conclusion to the film would be equally empty as the first film. Once the revenge is done there is no fancy scene of redemption and no cops closing in. Rape is never justified. Just a fade to black on Jennifer escaping the men who have done her wrong and not looking back. This will be the ultimate rape/revenge film for my version will strip away every glamorized bit of Hollywood that could possibly infect the film. I’ll make no commentary on rape or its victims and I won’t exploit for the sake of titillation. Everything about this will be ugly and dank in the way Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer was. And when it comes down to it, since I’m not the one remaking this film, I’ll be judging the new one by these standards.
Trailer for the original:
