George Carlin once said that rape can be funny. A questionable statement, though nonetheless quite truthful depending on given context. The idea of forcing yourself on someone in such a way, and in doing so laying their dignity to waste, is indeed a horrific thing. Whether a movie that centers around the subject of rape is horror can be debated though. I actually find the idea to fall more into the exploitation category myself. But there are many films that have dealt with this theme and some are even considered classics of the horror genre and can be found in your local video shops labeled as such.
Movies that center around rape and revenge are rather popular, though often times they can be quite ugly experiences for all viewers. In depicting both the defiling of humanity and its subsequent counteraction these films go to extreme lengths in efforts of catering to both genders. Although, I cringe to think that there would be men out there cheering from the theater or the couch as the female characters of such films are violated. Still, while this might be a harsh reality I cannot help but think that these movies serve one ultimate purpose and rape can only be considered the catalyst for what is certainly the real draw here. It’s all about the big payback.
I love horror films. They are arguably the most fun that audiences can have at the movies. So, while Carlin pointed out that yes indeed rape can be funny, I don't find anything fun about it. Therefore, once again I do not consider movies dealing with this subject matter horror films at all. In fact, their roots can be traced to quite a non-horror home base.
Favorites of the rape and revenge sub-genre such as Lipstick (1976), and Ms. 45 (1981) are really nothing more than retreads of Death Wish (1974) told from the point of view of the vagina itself rather than featuring Charlie Bronson running around in a whacking coat dispatching hoodlums.
Even Death Wish itself is nothing more than a streetwise take on the far more visceral brutality of Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs (1971).
As with any other film genre there is always room for variation and experimentation. One of the sleaziest grime fests in film history must be the 1973 Swedish cult classic Thriller- A Cruel Picture aka They Call Her One Eye.
In addition to the unique methods employed by the director (an actual corpse is rumored to have been used for the lead characters eye gouging scene) as well as featuring erotic film favorite Christina Lindbergh in a role that required her to inject saline solution and mix it up with live ammo, this cesspool of celluloid and filth was a heavy influence on Quentin Tarantino when making his epic masterpiece Kill Bill.
On the flipside of such a vile film going experience one can find the Jodie Foster vehicle The Accused (1988). Here revenge is served lukewarm in the courtroom via its questionably suitable but judicially proper tactics. The big payback here was that foster won an Oscar for her performance. Me? I’d have rather seen her slice and dice the offenders to ribbons.
More of an art house favorite than an exploitation film, my personal vote for the most disturbing movie to emerge from this gruesome circle of cinematic sludge is Irreversible (2002).
The story of the vile monstrosities of reality that befall the characters in the film are shared with the audience in reverse chronological order. I think the one thing that truly sets this movie apart from all the rest of its contemporaries is the focus of the tale being more so in touch with the rape that is committed and the events that follow or precede, depending on how one were to take it all in. Revenge does play in the tale being told, but once all of the secrets of its plot are revealed at films end things are not exactly set right. Not at all an easy film to watch it is only suggested for those with an iron stomach and a most unyielding temperament.
Without a doubt though the two most well known and relevant films of the rape and revenge sub-genre are Wes Craven's Last House on the Left (1972) and I Spit on your Grave (1978).
These films take their subject matters very seriously by not only throwing it in the audience’s faces but also forcing them to get down in the grime and roll around in it. The Last House on the Left would remain the champion of filth for six years before I Spit on your Grave was unleashed on an unsuspecting theater going public and even later it would stronghold its cult status from its home video release.
In Last house, Wes Craven crafted an unpleasant and unflinching look at the brutality of humanity and the lengths to which one might go in order to redeem the unwarranted fate inflicted upon their loved ones. In addition to being a bold and savage look at conditions both human and inhuman, the movie sold itself by reveling in the merits of its own sleazy reputation with one of the most genius ad campaigns of all time. It begged the audience to avoid fainting by repeating to themselves that "It's was only a movie . . . . . only a movie . . . . . only a movie . . . . . ."
Despite being hailed as the film that jumpstarted the rape and revenge motif Last House on the Left is actually a sort of retooling of a 1960 Ingmar Bergman film called the Virgin Spring.
A trio of murdering rapists seek refuge in the home of the parents to their victim and vengeance ensues. While Craven's film might find itself vilified by those who would abhor such a film in the first place, this being the average movie goer outside of the exploitation audience, the Virgin Spring would go on to win the 1961 Oscar for best foreign language film. Regardless of who reckons what film a work of art or a piece of garbage the one thing that can never be disputed is reputation and the Last House on the Left, still to this day, has an important one. So much that Hollywood felt the need to give it a scrub down and remake it in 2009.
I have made no lack of my unenthusiastic disdain for this remake nonsense many times and Last House light, as I’ll call it, was truly one of the most worthless and pathetic attempts that Hollywood has made thus far. The 1972 classic notoriously brutalized the viewer by forcing them to endure barbaric cruelty in its finest, albeit most vicious, form and then fondle blindly those who seek an eye for an eye, or as I mentioned earlier THE BIG PAYBACK. The 2009 version was a watered down shopping mall take on what had once been a grueling experience for those who would bear witness. If you are going to tackle something as fierce and hideous as rape and revenge why bother holding back? The film that came along in 1978 and unseated Last House from its throne of ill repute not only would answer that question but throw those who queried down on the ground . . . . and a rock . . . . and shove it in every orifice possible with an uncrisco'd iron fist.
Originally called Day of the Woman, the film I Spit on your Grave assaulted its viewers almost as harshly as it defiled its lead character, budding young author Jennifer Hills, who just wanted to be left alone to write her novel. Instead she sparks the interest of some men who work and hang out at a local gas station and from there we are subjected to one of the most agonizing and lengthy rape scenes to ever be committed to film. This followed by its revenge segment, which is highlighted by the infamous bathtub scene.
Though the director prefers the films initial title I always felt I Spit on your Grave to be a far more potent description for what the viewers will find themselves administered. Pure uncut exploitation trash of the tallest order. The tag line that boasts, "This woman has just cut, chopped, broken and burned five men beyond recognition . . . . . but no jury in America would ever convict her" might be rather argumentative of the sad reality. After all, the miscreants of The Accused were sentenced to only five years for their heinous acts. But as hammered into the wood all along here its all about the big payback and nowhere is this philosophy more extreme than I Spit on your Grave.
It should be noted though that the claims in its advertising were not only slightly exaggerated but as well inaccurate, as there are only four men in the film. But patience is a virtue and by the time 2010 rolled around with the inevitable remake the first noteworthy mention here is that we now have been given our fifth man.
The original I Spit on your Grave is an unparalled exercise in depravity and humiliation. The films reputation was largely sculptured by movie critics Siskel and Ebert who hailed it as the one of the most reprehensible pieces of garbage ever made at the time of its release. Surely to many this statement could still hold true and that alone begs to ask the most obvious question "what could a remake add to the equation"?
I do find myself watching these remakes out of curiosity and I have to admit that due to the ferocious standards set by its predecessor namesake, and how greatly I felt that Last House on the Left was reduced to insipid trash that wasn't even the least bit trashy, I expected nothing more than a limpwristed and hackneyed piece of Hollywood fluff from the 2010 version. But when I tread lightly into such waters and expect to be bored senseless I sure do love to be proven wrong and wind up pleasantly surprised on occasion.
The new film offers up pretty much the same premise as the original. The biggest difference being the aforementioned fifth man who is far from being a fifth wheel of terror here. This can only mean one thing . . . . . BIGGER payback.
The original I Spit on your Grave had a very amateurish look and feel to it. There was no soundtrack music either. All of this added to the authenticity of its grim ordeal and hit the viewer in the senses and the guts as if they were watching a snuff film. This aspect has been greatly sacrificed in favor of a far sleeker movie going experience but when it comes time to wax payback this movie not only rears its ugly head but also shoves it in your ass cavity and wriggles it around towards your intestines.
I Spit on your Grave 2010 takes a little while to get going. The story as well gets somewhat cluttered in the middle section. This is partly due to the fifth man. The beginning of the film is all build up. The middle is a mess. But let me tell you if you wanna see some revenge and death, your sick ass are in for a treat. Even women fans who would like to avoid having to sit through the rape scene might find themselves having one hell of a time should they skip the first hour or so and just view the final third.
Nobody watches a film like I Spit on your Grave for anything other than seeing some cretins get smashed to bits. These expectations will be delivered too. The murders in the film are more than your typical knives and axes from the original. As with most remakes there are some variations to details and plot and the most essential revamping here is that in the revenge portion of the original film the woman used her sexuality to lure the men back to her and in the end wound up dispatching them with a smile on their face. In this film the character of Jennifer is a cunningly calculated killing machine who uses her wits to lure these men to their deaths, which she carries out by some most unusually creative and quite entertaining means. I will even spare the particulars here for anybody interested in giving it a look because I am just a hell of a guy.
A movie like this one makes no qualms in its appeal to its audience and when it comes time to deliver the goods let it be said that your ass is being served. I enjoyed I Spit on your Grave 2010 more than I have any exploitation movie in a very long time. It's vile and over the top and, once you get past the rape scene, it's a whole lot of fun. Anybody who calls themselves a fan of exploitation owes it to themselves to put this one on the top of their must see list. If you enjoyed the original film or the original Last House on the Left and are skeptical about this remake mess you will find yourself to be most pleased here.
The rape and revenge thing is a tricky undertaking. I am not exactly sure that I should say I enjoy watching movies like this and even as much I dug on this new turn out of I Spit on your Grave its not something that I would want to sit through again. Still, I found myself more than a little curious to see what they would do with the payback portion of the festivities and as big paybacks go, this one was more than generous.
***Original post date 2/12/2011***
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