I Spit On Your Grave (2010)
I Spit On Your Grave (2010)
Studio: CineTel Films and Anchor Bay Entertainment
Theatrical Release: May 1, 2010
Home Release: February 8, 2011
Directed by Steven R. Monroe
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
The remakes refuse to stop! Yet again, we get a rehash of a cult film from the early 80's that has now been updated for modern audiences. The original I Spit On Your Grave (1977) is considered one of the more controversial horror films from the golden age of slasher/revenge films. I don't like to even call the original a horror film, let alone a slasher film. The movie was about a beautiful author of children's novels who is brutally attacked and raped by a gang of hillbillies and left for dead. She recuperates and then goes on a revenge spree, seeking her own justice. If Hollywood would have done the film, they would have had a bigger budget, casting a star or two. The film would have been raved about by critics, saying how the film speaks out against misogyny or what not. But because it was a low budget film with no stars and yet didn't shy away from the violence or rape, the film was ousted by Roger Ebert and was smeared with it being classified as a horror film. Only a few critics came to its defense, one of them being Joe Bob Briggs (who even did an audio commentary on the DVD). I am also one of I Spit's defenders and think it's an effective shocker, being well directed and beautifully shot.
This now brings us to the remake. The purpose of this remake is simple: to shock and gross out, cashing in as another Hostel/Saw rip-off. The original film was exactly what I call it; original (although I do feel it may have found inspiration in Last House on the Left). This remake is just a cheap ploy to make a gore film. I really hate the term "torture p -o -r -n". I think it is degrading to a lot of films and just a way for people to look down on the genre that I love. However, I feel this film fits that term perfectly.
The storyline is almost identical to the original; beautiful Jennifer rents a cabin to write a book and is attacked and raped and left for dead by a bunch of backwoods hicks. She then takes revenge on the men who attacked her. I have numerous problems with this version so I will break it down.
First, the reason why a lot of people despise remakes is that it just copies the first film and doesn't do anything original or different to improve on it. Aside from new actors with different hairstyles and clothing, the film is exactly the same. So why remake it? There are literally shots from this film taken directly from the original, right down to the opening credits. What made remakes such as The Thing or The Hills Have Eyes work was it took the same concept but made it its own film which then improved over the original. But if you look at the remakes of The Amityville Horror, Friday the 13th, or A Nightmare on Elm Street you will see all the pointless reasons for making the film. These films including the remake of I Spit On Your Grave even contain some of the exact dialoged as their original film. And don't get me started on the Psycho remake.
Second, the film is technically amateurish. The editing is downright awful with characters in one setting and suddenly in the next shot they are some place else. The music is forgettable and just mediocre (the original film never had music which made the film even more effective). The directing is also bland, copying the style set by the Saw films.
Third, the reason why we cared for Jennifer in the original was that after she is attacked, it shows her slowly recuperating from her wounds, even crouched down in a ball crying. We see her go to church and pray, almost as if asking God for forgiveness for what she was planning to do. Jennifer wasn't this super model either; she was pretty but had more of a girl next door look to her. And when she got revenge she never spouted off any comic relief one liners. When she killed her attackers, she just coldly looked at them and walked away. In the remake, she babbles away tormenting her victims, trying to be funny. The character of Jennifer in the remake is never shown mending her wounds or upset at what has happened to her. She suddenly turns into this Jigsaw/Freddy Krueger type who can suddenly set up all these Saw-inspired traps. The torturing is much more graphic this time around and while it is pretty gory and nasty, it becomes un-necessary and downright boring. Clocking in at almost an hour and 50 minutes, this film needed to be edited down by at least 30 minutes. Although the torture scenes are longer, the rape is much less brutal. I guess showing a man choke on his vomit while birds peck his eyes out is ok, but showing a naked woman isn't. It's as if the film makers were afraid of making a realistic film and wanted to center their attention on just the violence.
I can go on and on about how much I disliked the film but I have written more than I should have regarding this pile of dung. I spit on this remake.
Related Movie Review
Post a Comment