Then, in 2010, director Steven R. Monroe took on the herculean task of remaking one of the most infamous exploitation films in history. The result, I Spit on Your Grave (2010), is a fascinating case study in modern horror. It asks a brutal question: Can you take a story infamous for its graphic assault and transform it into a legitimate thriller about female empowerment?
Have you seen the 2010 version? How do you think it compares to the original? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
When the original I Spit on Your Grave (originally titled Day of the Woman ) premiered in 1978, it was met with a firestorm of critical revulsion. Legendary critic Roger Ebert called it a “vile bag of garbage.” For decades, it lived in the shadows of the “Video Nasty” era—banned, censored, and debated.
Because it set the bar for the sub-genre. In the wake of this film, we saw several imitators and a revival of the "torture porn" genre. However, this film stands out because it spends as much time on the hunt as it does on the horror.
3.5/5 (as a horror film); 5/5 (for practical effects and performance).
It is a nasty, brutal, and deeply uncomfortable film. But that is precisely the point. In the pantheon of revenge cinema, few films hit as hard, or as slow, as this one.
The film follows Jennifer Hills (played with fierce vulnerability by Sarah Butler), a successful journalist from New York City. Seeking solitude to write her first novel, she rents a remote riverside cabin in the deep woods of Louisiana. Her isolation is shattered when a group of local yokels—led by the sociopathic Johnny (Jeff Branson)—decide to “welcome” her. The group includes the dim-witted Stanley, the insecure Andy, and the sadistic Matthew (Chad Lindberg). What follows is an extended, unflinching sequence of harassment that escalates into a brutal sexual assault. Unlike the original 1978 film, the 2010 version adds a brutal twist: after the assault, the men panic and hire a Sheriff (Andrew Howard) to "clean up the mess." The Sheriff beats Jennifer and throws her off a bridge, leaving her for dead.
