I just saw on Amazon that this movie is available with a commentary by Joe Bob Briggs. I really like Joe Bobs stuff but I am not sure I really want to see this movie. From what I have heard the opening rape scene is rather nasty. Just wondering if anyone has seen it and what you think of the commentary. Is it worthwile?
Thanks
The entire movie is rather nasty. On more levels than just the (multiple) rapes.
Knowing this, I was more than a little surprised to see the local Blockbuster had a copy of the very DVD in question available for rent. When I saw the note on the back of the case, that John Bloom (Joe-Bob) had recorded a comentary track, I knew I’d end up at least renting the thing, if not buying it.
However, I haven’t had a chance to do so, yet. If you’ve not got a strong stomach for this kind of flick, I’d say give it a pass.
I haven’t seen it either, but I know Roger Ebert used to campaign vehemently against the film on the grounds of the brutal rape scenes. And considering this is the same, quite liberal critic who wrote the sex-laden Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, I’d guess said scenes must be pretty disturbing. I like horror films, but have absolutely no interest in seeing this one.
The entire movie is disgusting, not just the opening scene. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Avoid.
A correction, and some further thoughts:
The first rape occurs somewhere around 20 minutes or so in, not during the opening credits. The film opens with the main character (a novelist, IIRC) talking to her agent about wanting to spend some time “in the country” before starting work on her next book/article/whatever.
If you’re a fan of the genre, (slasher/horror movies) and can deal with the subject matter of the film, it can be worth watching. It was one of the earliest “slasher flicks” to feature a female lead, and one of the only ones with a female slasher.* It’s influence can be seen in Jamie-Lee Curtis’ character in the second, and the last Hallowe’en films, and, in a small way, in the Ripley character from the Alien franchise of films.
But again, if you can’t sit through multiple scenes of rape, you wanna give this one a wide berth. I can’t speak to the realism, but they are pretty damned brutal. You won’t like this flick at all.
*[sub]That I can recall right at the moment, anyway. There was a film released shortly after this, with a similar storyline. Rape victim hunts down and dispatches the men who raped her, but with a 45. Ms 45, or something similar, I think.[/sub]
Haven’t seen the flick, but I worked in a video store for a while, and I recall the video case sitting on the shelf:
“She just killed 14 men… AND NO JURY IN THE WORLD WOULD CONVICT HER!!!”
Or something like that. It also featured a nice picture of a gal’s butt in a pair of Daisy Dukes, with her hand dangling and holding a scythe, as I recall. Clearly not a film for those of us who found “Deconstructing Harry” a little disturbing.
Heh. I didn’t know anything about this movie, but I recognized the title because my friend did her senior thesis on it, as well as other horror/slasher films. She double-majored in Psychology and Women’s Studies. I guess she had a lot of material to work with in this film. :eek:
I second the “avoid”. It’s just a distatsteful film.
Hey TV casuality…u here too? How is aintitcool.com treating u? I still remember that hilarious Harry Potter 2 thread…u are a funny guy.
Oh yes…terrible film. Easily one of the worst ive seen. Gross and poorly acted,directed.
Disturbing. Anyone have a cite on Ebert campaigning against this film? I have trouble seeing him advocating ANY form of censorship or abridgment of “artistic” freedom.
The cut-off shorts would be somewhat unique, but otherwise it seems like 4 out of 5 boxes on video store shelves have a babe on the cover wearing lingerie and holding a gun or knife.
I’ve never heard Ebert campaign against in the sense of wanting it banned or censored or anything. I have, however, heard him on numerous occasions describe it as the worst film ever made, a complete waste of celloid, etc, etc.
Here’s how the movie works: You watch the brutal gang rape of a woman, depicted in the most titillating manner imaginable, and then watch her exact sadistic revenge on the men involved. This way, the viewer gets to vicariously enjoy the rape without feeling too guilty about it afterwards. Manipulative and smarmy on multiple levels.
Carol J. Clover’s book Men, Women and Chainsaws is a must-read if you’re interested in slasher films, and she gives I Spit on Your Grave a respectful analysis. Always acknowledging that it’s hard to sit through, of course.
(I thought it was fascinating reading, but I’ve only made it through 25 or 30 minutes of the film and have no interest in trying again anytime soon.)
Um… what the hell are you talking about?
Sick and stupid usually go together without too many problems, but it’s rare that disturbing and stupid go together. I Spit On Your Grave is disturbing and stupid. Or at least it was whenever I first watched it, years ago.
Since I’ve never seen it, this should hardly be taken as a recommendation on any level … But, at the height of the whole “video nasties” demonisation craze by the British government in the 1980s, the two utterly despised titles were I Spit On Your Grave and Driller Killer. The oddity is that Abel Ferrara, the director of the latter, has gone on to a rather respectable career and so the culture thus reached the point where Channel 4 showed Driller Killer on TV a few years back. Heavily wrapped in warnings etc., but screened uncut. I’m not a horror fan, but I have liked Ferrara’s subsequent work, and so thought the film was worth seeing.
Watching it, knowing at first hand that it had that 80s taboo about it, was interesting in an odd way. And I’d expect that any Brit watching I Spit On Your Grave would bring similar baggage to it. Whatever its merits or lack of them.
That was indeed Ms. 45, by Abel Ferrara. Also not an easy film to watch, but I’ll say this about it - It is miles better than I Spit on your Grave. Which, granted, is not necessarily saying a lot. ISOYG was simply vile.
Interesting bit of trivia - The lead in Ms.45, Zoe Tamerlis ( who sometimes went by Zoe Tamerlaine 
), later co-wrote Bad Lieutenant with Abel Ferrara under the name Zoe Lund. Lovely woman - Looked a bit like Nastasja Kinski. Sadly she died young.