I Spit On Your Grave
Rape revenge movies are among the few genuinely controversial subgenres in cinema history. It’s good that the bad guys get what’s coming to them, but how oh how is the ACTUAL RAPE SCENE presented?? This nugget of mystery was solved for the first time ever (and only time necessary) with this depiction of an (R rated non pornographic) exceptionally drawn out and horrifying rape scene which was followed by an orgy of bloody revenge that would make most gorehounds wince. Thankfully, this 1978 release (filmed in ’76) was surprisingly realistic and convincing, making it all the more grim and driving home the sad point that while gang rape might be enjoyable for the scumbags committing it, it’s not quite as fun for the one viewing it and certainly not erotic (keep in mind that this was also the porno “roughie” era, where rape and mutilation were common occurrences in those films). Directed by a (literal) one shot wonder named Meir Zarchi and starring a courageous young actress named Camille Keaton (a cousin of the silent movie icon Buster Keaton) who admirably over the years since has never disavowed, disowned, distanced herself or ever expressed any kind of shame or embarrassment over the film, defending it as a work of feminist art and even convincing a small portion of the overall feminist movement to agree with her as well. Keaton plays Jennifer Hills, a hard working, fast living New York City girl who rents a summer cottage in a (very) rural Connecticut town where she intends to write The Great American Novel in this place where everybody knows everybody and they’re all up to no good. Jennifer doesn’t care, strutting her stuff in front of the cocky gas station attendant (Eron Tabor, a dead ringer for Last House On The Left lead villain David Hess) and his two misfit, feeble minded friends (a balding savant and a musclehead wearing candy striped suspenders) whose main activity is driving their motorboat up and down The Housatonic River. But the real catch in this village is Matthew (Richard Pace), The Town Retard complete with a prissy, effeminate quality whose lingering virginity and compulsion to always hang out with the three other previously mentioned pieces of shit makes him absolute mush in the ethereal presence of Jennifer when he delivers groceries to her rented house. Openly flirting with the mentally disabled young man and even hinting at it being more than just a friendship, The Retard rightfully becomes agitated around his friends, finally prompting The Gas Station Attendant to cook up a scheme to put her in her place, something that The Balding Savant and The Candy Striped Musclehead gleefully agree to. The Retard isn’t so sure, halfway convinced that any kind of connection which he felt towards Jennifer was for real, but the boys drag him along anyway for some criminally minded fun, first kidnapping Jennifer by towing her boat towards a special rendezvous spot for two (or five) and when The Retard becomes too scared to lose his virginity so soon, The Attendant takes first dibs, doffing off his mechanic outfit (all four male cast members insisted on doing full nudity on camera as a show of solidarity for their female star) and drilling Jennifer in an R rated way as the others hold her down. As The Attendant struts and poses afterwards, The Retard tries to help Jennifer along only to get cussed out and (by retard logic) he becomes angry enough to finally decide that maybe she deserves this. Candy Stripe goes next, obviously trying to outdo Attendant by going in the back door, but any sort of semblance about this being of a competitive nature goes out the window when Savant gets his shot at the title but alas, sadly proves to be impotent, unable to perform but instead preferring as an alternative to savagely beat Jennifer about the face and head without ever reaching the sexual heights of either Attendant or Candy Stripe (and also taking some hard shots himself from a fiercely defiant Jennifer). When The Savant gets tired of this and crawls off, it’s time for a now confident Retard to give in to his friends’ peer pressure, strip off his clothes (still wearing his stupid Gilligan hat) and then achieve penetration with a girl for the first time in his entire life, albeit being unable to finish because of all the cheering and high fives going on around him. As a final crushing insult to injury, The Attendant gives everyone a nice live reading of Jennifer’s new novel in progress, which is such an obvious piece of crap that they all start laughing at her and telling her what a terrible writer she is. That about does it. Jennifer goes to church to ask preemptive forgiveness, then starts stalking the four clowns around this apparently copless town, getting familiar with their behavior patterns and family connections before finally taking revenge with a razor sharp psychological precision that is almost frightening, coldly picking The Retard to be the first one marked for extermination, a controversial call in and of itself because one can argue that retards are not really responsible for their own actions (especially when bullying was involved), but Jennifer doesn’t care, having him fetch some more groceries for her and then luring him to the backyard where she willingly(!) gives herself to him, reminding him of the friendship that they had started while playing off of his real feelings for her and when he finishes this time (thank god), she slips a noose around his neck while he’s still tired and weak and performs a legitimate old fashioned hanging, keeping The Retard bobbing up there until his tongue is halfway down his face. The Attendant is targeted next, as Jennifer comes by the gas station and does a Howdy Stranger routine that gets The Attendant out of his pants and into the bathtub at her summer house before Jennifer pulls a knife and deftly slices off his Jack Johnson, which results in a chaotic, panicked scenario when the bleeding doesn’t stop and then we realize that The Retard really did get LUCKY. Savant and Candy Stripe (who rarely leave each other’s side) along with their motorboat give this flick a proper one two punch type of ending that despite its bleakness, can actually come across as being humorous in a dark way (similar to Silent Night Deadly Night), insofar as in depicting the painfully intricate forms of psychological torture inflicted by Jennifer on her murder victims in addition to them being physically killed as well. As for Ms. Keaton, she is certainly a beautiful woman with a unique look to her and watching her go from being a naughty flirt to a broken woman and finally to taking on the persona of a stoic, sociopathic killing machine capable of performing elaborate setups on those she seeks out for removal from society is quite a sight to behold. But these are RAPISTS, right? The guys responsible for all of the horrifying theatrics in the first half of the movie? Fuck em…
8/10