I Spit On Your Grave (1978) Full Review

Film Scene Investigation

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Transcript

00:00Hey everyone welcome back to another cults movie review with me Beau here on the film

00:18scene investigation channel. Hope everyone is doing well. In today's video I will be

00:25reviewing the controversial 1978 movie I spit on your grave. Before we get into it

00:34guys if you haven't already please do consider subscribing to the channel if

00:38you like the content that I do here all the support is greatly appreciated. So I

00:46spit on your grave from 1978 was this brutal revenge movie that starred a

00:56young Camille Keaton in the lead role. It marked the feature film debut for

01:02filmmaker Miyazaki who wrote and directed the movie. Behind the scenes Zaki was

01:09romantically linked with Camille Keaton which led to their marriage in 1979.

01:14Now with its graphic depictions of sexual violence I spit on your grave gained mass

01:22notoriety upon its release and was banned in several countries. I saw this movie many

01:31years ago when it was first released on DVD. I think it was back in the early 2000s. I had

01:41already heard a lot about this movie long before I ever sat down and watched it so

01:48yeah going into it I knew it was going to be a unpleasant experience. So in terms of

01:58the actual story the movie followed the character Jennifer Hills who was played

02:03by Camille Keaton. She was this aspiring writer from New York who was in the

02:10process of writing her first novel. At the beginning of the film we saw Jennifer

02:18leave New York and travel to a remote part of Connecticut where she planned on

02:25concentrating on her writing. The hustle and bustle of New York life had taken its toll

02:32on Jennifer who had to get away. She needed some much-needed seclusion if she

02:41was ever going to make any progress with her writing. She moved in to a small

02:47secluded cabin by the lake but it wasn't long before her presence attracted the

02:52attention of some local men who worked at a gas station. Another man called Matthew

02:58Duncan who was played by actor Richard Pace was tasked with delivering groceries

03:04to Jennifer. Matthew who was this mentally challenged individual was also friends

03:11with the guys back at the gas station and he told them where Jennifer was

03:16staying. From there Jennifer became the target for these men who were led by the

03:22gas station manager Johnny Stillman. Johnny played by actor Aaron Tabar was a real

03:29low-life scumbag who thought he was something special. You know I must stress

03:36that in no way did Jennifer indicate that she was romantically interested in

03:45anyone yet that didn't seem to register with Johnny. So the following day Jennifer

03:52was apprehended by two of the guys who had been cruising around and spotted

03:57Jennifer when she was alone in the boat. She was all by herself she was easy

04:03pickings and with nobody else around they decided to go ahead. The guys dragged

04:10Jennifer out of the boat and what followed was this long drawn-out sequence

04:17depicting the brutal sexual assault. She was held down on the ground, she was held

04:26over a rock. I mean she was you know held down like a dog and assaulted several

04:32times. Now when the attack began you know I remember watching for the first time and

04:43having a real kind of bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I could see it being

04:50played out in front of me and yeah just very very disturbing and just when you

04:58thought that the brutality was over the sickos then followed Jennifer back to her

05:04cabin and carried on with the attack. And you know I should praise the director

05:11here because he lulled the audience into this false sense of security before suddenly returning to the

05:23violence. It got me for sure you know I was shocked and you know you wanted to see

05:28Jennifer make that phone call you wanted Jennifer to you know get help and then the

05:34guys showed up and it was like here we go again. By the end of it you detested these

05:42guys you know you hated their guts you know these scumbags who reveled in the

05:49sadistic treatment of Jennifer yeah just a very tough sequence to sit through but I

05:58guess in a way the payoff to all the sexual abuse would have then been these

06:05slow and painful deaths of the men that were involved. After the assault Jennifer

06:11took some time to regroup and you know contemplate her next move. She of course

06:17should have done you know the right thing and called the police and reported

06:22these men and you know taken the proper procedures but Jennifer had other ideas.

06:31Ideas about murdering the men that attacked her. She wanted revenge and once she

06:40made that decision there was there was no going back for her. What came next were the

06:49systematic killings by a woman who was hell-bent on revenge. Now as mentioned

06:57this movie gained a lot of controversy when it was released over its depictions

07:03of extreme sexual violence but another controversial aspect that seems to get

07:12overlooked was the treatment of the character Matthew who was played by Richard

07:18Matthew was mentally challenged. He was mentally disabled and you know clearly a

07:27vulnerable person and not really a threat to anyone. Just you know taking a step

07:34back for a moment and seeing kind of like an overview of what happened to

07:39Jennifer you know it's safe to say that Matthew was no doubt roped in to the

07:47attack by the other guys who egged him on and because he was pressured into joining

07:55in with the attack an argument can be made on whether Matthew really deserved to be

08:03killed by Jennifer. Can he really be blamed for his actions given his mental state? Is there a case to argue

08:14him diminishing responsibilities on Matthew's part? You know it's a very

08:20interesting argument to make and I think one thing is for sure is that Matthew

08:26definitely didn't have the capabilities to carry out the assault by himself. He

08:32wasn't an outright threat to anyone. Jennifer was so intent on revenge she

08:39couldn't distinguish between right and wrong she couldn't grasp the fact that

08:45Matthew was also a victim in all of this and with that I have to credit the

08:53director for adding this Matthew character into the story. Matthew's

08:59involvement added a new and intriguing aspect to the story and you know I like

09:06that because ultimately life isn't black and white it's or there are many shades

09:14of grey. You know the movie was also heavily criticized for its exploitative nature of

09:22sexual violence. Critics at the time said the film would titillate audiences and was

09:30you know basically not fit for public consumption. Now while I agree that the film

09:35was exploitative with its depictions of violence I don't agree that the film

09:43intentionally sexualized Jennifer's attack in any way you know I found the

09:49sequence the assault to be very disturbing and I also think that many

09:55people would feel the same way. So yes criticize the movie if you must for its

10:02violent ways but don't make out that the filmmakers were making some pornographic

10:09you know sequence. Anyone who actually got sexually aroused by a Jennifer's attack

10:16are clearly sick and twisted individuals who don't represent the general movie

10:22audience. Now when it comes to performances I have to praise actress Kimil

10:28Keaton for her work in I Spit On Your Grave. From the way she spoke to the way that she

10:36carried herself I really bought into the idea that she was this intellectual writer

10:43from New York and her transition from innocent woman to this vengeful killer you

10:54know was executed brilliantly. While in reality most women would not take

11:01Jennifer's approach it didn't feel silly or outlandish to see Jennifer actually

11:08kill her attackers one by one. You felt the characters pain and all of that was

11:16down to Camille Keaton's efforts so yeah credit to her. Before we get into

11:23dislikes I just want to also quickly mention my love for the film's title. Ever

11:30since I was a kid the name I Spit On Your Grave was synonymous with the video

11:37nasties in the UK. In the eyes of our parents it was frowned upon to even you know

11:44mention a film like this but it was for me and still is a very powerful title that

11:52no doubt helped with the film's marketability. You know I Spit On Your Grave

11:58was a very shocking name that definitely stuck out amongst other film titles. Now

12:07the original title of the movie was called Day of the Woman and you know

12:13perhaps that was more appropriate but for me you know it lacked imagination and I for

12:22one I'm glad that the film got retitled. In Saw Dislikes for I Spit On Your Grave from 1978

12:32my biggest dislike for the film would have to be the length of the sexual abuse. Now

12:41don't get me wrong I completely understand what the director was attempting here you

12:48know by making the abuse this prolonged and agonizing experience it made the

12:55audience understand just how terrible a situation like that would be. You know the

13:02filmmakers achieved what they set out to do and so credit to them but I can't downplay the

13:13fact that the length of the sequence the length of Jennifer's attack you know it

13:21was so disturbing that it kind of ruins any kind of repeat viewings. Once you've

13:28experienced this film in its entirety there really isn't any need to go back

13:34and re-watch the sequence and the length was almost too uncomfortable to sit

13:42through again and so with that I do question whether the director could have

13:48perhaps toned down the abuse and still got his message across. A tighter edit with

13:56maybe less emphasis on the abuse itself may have improved the overall story and so

14:06ratings for I Spit On Your Grave from 1978. I am going to be rating this movie a solid 4.5 out of 10.

14:20I Spit On Your Grave is undeniably a 70s cult classic that went full throttle in its depiction of

14:31violent revenge it also exposed the pain and dehumanization of an innocent person

14:41caught in a tragic situation. The movie gets a bad rap and is easily dismissed by many but for me

14:54I feel that the movie had more substance than people give it credit for. Given the limited budget that the

15:04filmmakers were actually working with you know I Spit On Your Grave is actually quite an impressive

15:13achievement for independent filmmaking and well that's all from me today guys I do hope you have

15:21enjoyed the review of I Spit On Your Grave I will be back next week with another cult movie review

15:27don't forget to subscribe and of course guys take care

15:35like subscribe

15:39ring the bell

15:57bell

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