Product: Day of the Woman (1978)
Rating: 4.0
I Spit On Your Grave
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE has been the source of controversy for decades since its initial release in 1978. As a rape and revenge film, it belongs to a very specific sub-genre of cinema that many critics consider to be intolerable exploitation. On the other hand, fans of these movies must consider it to be top-ranking in this particular category. In it, Jennifer heads off to a small getaway by the lake so that she can relax and complete her work on her first novel. Her arrival draws the attention of four degenerates in town, who abduct her and repeatedly rape her out in the woods. Just when it seems she has escaped, she returns home only to find the men there waiting for her. Jennifer barely survives the brutal attacks, but rather than going to the police, she regains her strength and sets out to seduce each of the men before exacting her own bloody revenge!What makes I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE so powerful is that it never glamorizes the rape sequences. In fact, they are hardly bearable to watch due to Camille Keaton's harrowing screams and failed attempts to free herself. There are hints of hesitation and regret that come from several of the men that humanize the characters, which is even more dangerous than painting them to be soulless monsters since it draws them back into reality. It is not just the extreme violence against women that must critics condemn, but the manner in which the subject of rape is handled. Jennifer's independence and sexual liberation entice the men, which seems to suggest the common excuse that "She was asking for it." They hoot and holler as they each take their turns with her, shouting "You want to be a man, don't you?" This has brought fire down on the film, since it seems to depict that Meir Zarchi's views rape as a sex act, and not as an act of power and domination. It isn't enough for Jennifer to suffer physically, but she is humiliated as well as the men mockingly read from her unfinished novel before destroying her work.The original title of DAY OF THE WOMAN can also help in reading the film as an underestimated but radically pro-feminist work. Jennifer is entirely independent and successful, writing for a number of women's magazines before setting off to complete her own novel. Her sexual freedom is a demonstration of a progressive society where women are treated equally to men (though the men in this story try to restore prior order). Even during the attacks, Jennifer is never depicted as being weak. She struggles with all of her might, but she is overwhelmed and outnumbered. After, she becomes that much stronger and more cunning, and she uses that strength to emasculate and eviscerate her adversaries. At the heart of any rape and revenge story is the revenge, and being that this is a Horror movie, Jennifer's revenge is swift and painful. Each of the men suffer a terrible death at her hands, the worst of which involves a knife and a bathtub as she takes the lead villain's manhood in hand.I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE remains an undisputed classic in the rape and revenge genre, and its notoriety as such has kept it banned in countless countries around the world for over thirty years. To say that it is nothing more than despicable exploitation, however, is to blindly overlook many of stronger points that Meir Zarchi brings to the screen.-Carl ManesI Like Horror Movies