Remakes of horror classics can easily make people angry, unless of course they find some way to improve on the original or just take the story in a completely different direction. I Spit On Your Grave, the newest in a long line of horror remakes takes a cue from some of the greats like last year's The Last House on the Left and 2003's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (among many others) in changing the movie's original story into a slightly more complex but awesome gritty thrill ride with plenty of intense gore scenes and deeply intense moments to go around. The remake is directed by Steven R. Monroe from a script by Stuart Morse, and starring in the production are Sarah Butler, Chad Lindberg, Daniel Franzese, Jeff Branson, Rodney Eastman, and Andrew Howard, most of whom are relatively unknown and do very competent jobs in their respective roles.
Going deep into seclusion to stay at a cabin and work on her newest novel, Jennifer Hills (Butler) expects a quiet few months in the middle of nowhere. After a brief run-in with a few folks from town, she is assaulted in her home and savagely raped, then left for dead. The bulk of the film deals with the aftermath of this event and Jennifer's fight to get revenge on those who wronged her.
Having just watched the original, it was a real treat to see how much the filmmakers really put into giving it justice. There are several scenes that are lifted from the original, but this remake adds so many modern aspects to the plot that almost every inch of it is something fresh. I loved how the ending was a perfect wink to the original, although this one goes out on a much more awesome note.
While the original had a few plot holes and some inconsistencies as well as a lack of any real edge-of-your-seat suspense, the final act of this remake pumps it into full gear with some superb kill scenes. The violence is incredibly extreme and admittedly made me cringe more than a few times. While the original's kills were less about the gore and more about the simplicity, the brutality of this remake never seems to hold back. Probably the most brutal of all is the ultimate ode to the most famous death scene in the original, which I won't mention here for fear of spoiling it for the uninitiated. The particular scene made me slightly queasy, but it's extremely effective.
The female empowerment quotient that is so obvious and evident in the original is all the more powerful here; the audience almost has to question if the sort of overly sadistic torture that Jennifer grants her victims has been rightfully deserved. So much exposition is added to the story that it makes us care much more for Jennifer and root for her as soon as she comes back a bit later in the picture. The introduction to our characters and the subsequent horrors is a very great one; there are many great camera angles utilized, as our director clearly has skills behind the camera.
The acting has very few holes and was actually pretty impressive. While few of these actors have been seen in major studio productions, they all manage to impress and mostly shatter audience expectations. Sarah Butler delivers her lines with a sarcastic witty nuance that few actresses with as little experience would have been able to pull off effectively. The hillbillies are all particularly horrific, but it's Jeff Branson that really shines here. He has massive charisma on the screen, and several scene-stealing lines throughout the movie. It's a shame he hasn't had the chance to do more with his career yet, but I easily see a bright future ahead for him. The rest of the cast is not without their own respective merits, and they carry the film's crisp runtime easily on their shoulders.
This movie was above and beyond one of the best horror films so far this year. It's incredibly brutal and deeply controversial with its depictions of death and rape, but it's message is a very interesting one. The acting and direction are exceedingly perfect and the movie's final act is sure to be remembered. To say it surpasses the original movie by a country mile would not be inaccurate; I Spit On Your Grave is a hugely entertaining and outrageous thrill ride.
Going deep into seclusion to stay at a cabin and work on her newest novel, Jennifer Hills (Butler) expects a quiet few months in the middle of nowhere. After a brief run-in with a few folks from town, she is assaulted in her home and savagely raped, then left for dead. The bulk of the film deals with the aftermath of this event and Jennifer's fight to get revenge on those who wronged her.
Having just watched the original, it was a real treat to see how much the filmmakers really put into giving it justice. There are several scenes that are lifted from the original, but this remake adds so many modern aspects to the plot that almost every inch of it is something fresh. I loved how the ending was a perfect wink to the original, although this one goes out on a much more awesome note.
While the original had a few plot holes and some inconsistencies as well as a lack of any real edge-of-your-seat suspense, the final act of this remake pumps it into full gear with some superb kill scenes. The violence is incredibly extreme and admittedly made me cringe more than a few times. While the original's kills were less about the gore and more about the simplicity, the brutality of this remake never seems to hold back. Probably the most brutal of all is the ultimate ode to the most famous death scene in the original, which I won't mention here for fear of spoiling it for the uninitiated. The particular scene made me slightly queasy, but it's extremely effective.
The female empowerment quotient that is so obvious and evident in the original is all the more powerful here; the audience almost has to question if the sort of overly sadistic torture that Jennifer grants her victims has been rightfully deserved. So much exposition is added to the story that it makes us care much more for Jennifer and root for her as soon as she comes back a bit later in the picture. The introduction to our characters and the subsequent horrors is a very great one; there are many great camera angles utilized, as our director clearly has skills behind the camera.
The acting has very few holes and was actually pretty impressive. While few of these actors have been seen in major studio productions, they all manage to impress and mostly shatter audience expectations. Sarah Butler delivers her lines with a sarcastic witty nuance that few actresses with as little experience would have been able to pull off effectively. The hillbillies are all particularly horrific, but it's Jeff Branson that really shines here. He has massive charisma on the screen, and several scene-stealing lines throughout the movie. It's a shame he hasn't had the chance to do more with his career yet, but I easily see a bright future ahead for him. The rest of the cast is not without their own respective merits, and they carry the film's crisp runtime easily on their shoulders.
This movie was above and beyond one of the best horror films so far this year. It's incredibly brutal and deeply controversial with its depictions of death and rape, but it's message is a very interesting one. The acting and direction are exceedingly perfect and the movie's final act is sure to be remembered. To say it surpasses the original movie by a country mile would not be inaccurate; I Spit On Your Grave is a hugely entertaining and outrageous thrill ride.