Oeil pour oeil

It's very popular to "hate" the nowadays trend of horror movie remakes, but you always have to bear two things in mind. 1) If we would collectively stop watching them, Hollywood wouldn't make them anymore and 2) there exist some remakes that are truly worth watching even though they still can't hold a candle to the original. Steven R. Monroe's update of the one of the most notorious cult movies ever made is such a remake. Meir Zarchi's original is a bona fide cult monument. You either love or hate it, but you can't deny it's a powerfully shocking and unforgettable film. The remake is perhaps not as memorable, but it definitely does contain a few sequences that are extremely brutal and hard to digest. Especially in comparison to the remake of that other notorious 70's classic – "Last House on the Left", which is rather soft and intended for wider audiences – this film is exclusively meant for experienced horror fanatics with a strong stomach and nerves of steel. The plot is commonly known, I presume. Jennifer, a young writer in search of inspiration for her second novel, withdraws herself to a remote cabin in the Louisianan backwoods area. Upon her arrival, she immediately draws the attention of the local "tough" guys working at the gas station as well as from the mentally handicapped handyman Matthew. Few days later, Jennifer gets humiliated and brutally gang-raped by the four men and even a local authority figure. What follows is her hardcore-to-the-bone vengeance, clearly executed with a deep hatred and zero morality whatsoever. The "I spit on your Grave" remake blends the raw atmosphere of the original with the more modern horror trend of torture-porn. The revenge that Sarah has prepared for her assailants are carefully planned and imaginative death traps to assure a maximum of agony. Some of the death sequences, like for example the acid bathtub or the eye-picking, would even make the Jigsaw killer of "Saw" jealous. Sarah Butler makes a strong impression in her role as not-so-vulnerable young girl and it's definitely a courageous performance. I hope she'll still find other roles without forever being known as the "I Spit on your Grave" girl. The rapists, on the other hand, are not as repulsive as they ought to be. Their performances aren't too memorable either, with the exception of Andrew Howard as the rotten sheriff. His whole character is a nice addition to Zarchi's original script, as a matter of fact.

If ever there was a candidate for banning a film it's this. It's not giving anything away to reveal that there's a rape scene in this film but be warned it puts anything you saw in "Last House on the Left" the remake to shame. Graphic doesn't even begin to describe what the audience are subjected to by the voyeuristic intentions of director Stephen Monroe as he puts the audience in the front row seat for almost two hours of pure abuse.

But this is a good thing. Surely rape is visceral, brutal and sadistic and this film embodies all these elements. And once the reported revenge begins it's even more brutal than anything done to her.

Superb and bold performance from Sarah Butler in a role that is probably considered by most to be career suicide. When her character takes revenge it truly is the stuff that nightmares are made of and some scenes made me cringe for at least an hour afterwards.

Watch this one at your peril.This is highly recommended only for those who sit through a showing of cannibal holocaust without vomiting. Strong stuff indeed.One of the few examples of a remake vastly improving on the original.

Remakes are a dime a dozen these days but when you go through your old DVD or video collection and you come across the 1978 original I Spit On Your Grave you cant help but think "not a chance they will remake this". But remake it they have and the storyline is a mirror image of the original but for some reason this new version doesn't seem to be as nasty as the original. The reasons for this might have to do with the fact that the actors can actually act, its shot in a cleaner, more professional manner and maybe most importantly of all : we are just not that shocked by anything anymore. With more and more films pushing the boundaries of violence and gore, this just doesn't offend as much as the original did in its day. Having said that its still a tough watch and anybody not familiar with the original and not a fan of this genre will find its extended torture and intimidation scenes very difficult to stomach, but with a title like I Spit On Your Grave this movie will only attract a certain type of viewer.

I Spit on Your Grave (2010)

** (out of 4)

One could argue that the original film is one of the most notorious movies ever made so it's impossible for this sequel to stir up the same type of outcry from various members of the public. The story in this remake is pretty much the same as a female writer from the big city (Sarah Butler) travels to the country where she plans to finish a book but she's eventually raped by five men (one more than the original) and then seeks her revenge. I'm sure anyone walking into a movie called I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE is going to be aware of the original movie and I'm going to guess that your feelings on the original will have an impact on your feelings towards the remake. If you found the original to be a poor movie then I think you're going to enjoy the remake a tad bit more because it's certainly more polished, has better production values and some of the performances are better as well. Personally, I've always found the original film to be underrated band while it was rather brutal and untasteful I thought it had a level of authenticity that really made it stand out from countless other rape/revenge flicks. Sure, the acting wasn't excellent and there were a lot of questionable points but I think overall the film has an authentic look and feel to it and that's what makes it seem so real and brutally honest. A lot of that is missing from this remake because I think it would be safe to say that what we get here is a lot cleaner and not nearly as offensive. For example, the rape scene is still rather brutal but it's not nearly as bad as what we saw in the original and it doesn't go on nearly as long. I think that's going to be a good thing for most people. Where the film does go more extreme is when it comes to the revenge aspect because the death's are extremely violent and over the top. I certainly won't ruin them but I will say the most famous death from the original is re-imagined here and the others are just as memorable and they don't pull any punches. The death scenes are more in line with what you'd see in SAW so some might question how she was able to pull everything off, although I do think they have them set up a certain way so that people can look at the female victim in a different way. Performances were good for the most part with Butler doing a nice job in the role of Sarah but I think the screenplay does her more justice early in the film and during the attacks. When she goes to seek her revenge the screenplay makes the wrong decision of having her talk and some of the stuff said was just lame. Chad Lindberg, Daniel Franzese, Tracey Walter, Rodney Eastman and Andrew Howard play the rapist and all of them do nice jobs with their parts. Fans of the original film are going to notice a couple nods to that film, which were a nice touch and I do think the film threw in a few twists and turns to throw off those familiar with the earlier movie including an extra bit that puts a twist in the rape sequence. I thought the director also milked up the drama of most people knowing what was going to happen by building some tension as we wait for the eventual rape to happen. Overall, I think this remake is a decent enough of an attempt but in the end it just doesn't contain some of the magic of the original movie. A couple of the death scenes are more effective but on the whole I'd recommend it to those who can handle such films but I'd still stick with the original.

It's not often that I'll favourably compare a remake to the original, but in this instance, I must. I thought the original was a pretty bad film, undoubtedly shocking, and deserving of its infamous name, but the remake I feel captures the essence of the revenge, and desperation of the victim to get her own back.

It is of course shocking, and at times is quite sickening to watch, there were plenty of moments when I had to look away, but you can't help but feel a sense of justice as the tables get turned.

Very nicely produced, and well acted. A remake I know, but worthy of being deemed something of a horror classic, one to give you a fear of Ravens for life. 8/10