With a title like I Spit On Your Grave: Vengeance Is Mine, you really aren’t expecting to go in and see the cinematic masterwork of such classics as Gone With The Wind, or Casablanca. But you are expecting to see something that you might have never seen before. This being the third installment of a franchise rebooted in 2010, remake of the infamous 1978 film that caused a huge controversy, you are expecting to see something that is quite over the top. Where the previous two films lacked, and seemed to drag on from time to time, this film keeps it’s pace very nicely, and you are never waiting for something to happen. Which is a nice change for films of this nature. With the blatant “I hate all men” bashing that goes on throughout this film, albeit well deserved, you are getting an onslaught of graphic imagery, that might be very tough to watch at times; especially if you are a male.
The film starts of with Jennifer (Sarah Butler), reprising her role from the 2010 reboot), but she has changed her name to Angela, to try moving along with a new life. However, she is still haunted by the events of her vicious attack, including being raped by a police officer. Jennifer is in therapy, and by request of her therapist, she joins a rape survivors group. This is were she meets Marla (Jennifer Landon). The two become friends, and discuss there dreams of getting revenge on all woman-beaters. Unfortunately, Marla meets an untimely end by the hands of an abusive ex-boyfriend, who gets off on lack of evidence. It’s when this boyfriend turns up butchered and mutilated, that Detectives McDylan (Gabriel Hogan) and Boyd (Michelle Hurd) show up at the group to investigate the gruesome murder. As more murders begin to occur, can Jennifer keep her vengeful ways secret, or will she end up right in the crosshairs of these two detectives?
I have to say, I honestly wasn’t expecting much from this film. But was pleasantly surprised with the final results. This is honestly the I Spit on Your Grave, for the “next-generation” that I would have wanted to see in 2010. Not that there is anything wrong with that film. But times have changed so much since the original came out in 1978, and like it or not; this is the insane imagery needed nowadays to invoke the same shock the original had on viewers. To say this film can be hard to watch, is an understatement. This is by far the most graphic I Spit on Your Grave film to date. Not so much so on the rape side of things, which isn’t a bad thing, because they hit you over the face with that enough in the previous films, not to mention the flashback sequences in this film. But like I said earlier, if you are a male, there are at least two scenes in this movie that will have you clutching yourself, feeling the pain you are witnessing on screen.
The one thing I didn’t care for in this film (SPOILER ALERT), is what they did with the Jennifer character. The original tagline for this franchise was, “This Woman Has Just Chopped, Crippled, and Mutilated Four Men Beyond Recognition…But No Jury In America Would Ever Convict Her.” That was a very bold, but true statement. Because you felt for this character. However, in this film, there comes a point where she is kind of entrapping people. Playing on that misogynistic rape excuse, “well she was asking for it.” Well, at one point, Jennifer is roaming the streets in a very slinky dress, gets down on her knees, and literally asks for it. And when the male accommodates, she attacks. Now, I do believe there is an actual reason for this, that they do not mention in the film, but I don’t want to give any more than that away.
To sum all this up, if you are a fan of this brutal film franchise, I highly recommend giving this a viewing. It will hit all the points that you are expecting to see in a film of this kind. However, if you have never watched an I Spit on Your Grave film before, this probably isn’t the one for you to start down that road on, because like I said, it is brutal. Makes me wonder if Meir Zarchi and Anchor Bay have any plans to make additional sequels to the franchise. If they do, I can’t imagine what could possibly be in store for us in those. I give this film a solid 4 out of 5. I was going to give it 3.5, but because of nostalgic love for the original film, I bumped it up a bit. Enjoy the movie, and watch at your own risk.
Till Next Time Kiddies…
-RJ
The Movie Pit 