Post by Mr.HoRrOr on Jan 24, 2011 20:02:14 GMT -5
Plot:Remake of the 1978 horror pic. In the remake, writer Jennifer Hills (Butler) takes a retreat from the city to a charming cabin in the woods to start on her next book. But Jennifer's presence in the small town attracts the attention of a few morally deprived locals who set out one night to teach this city girl a lesson. They break into her cabin to scare her. However, what starts out as terrifying acts of humiliation and intimidation, quickly and uncontrollably escalates into a night of physical abuse and torturous assault. But before they can kill her, Jennifer sacrifices her broken and beaten body to a raging river that washes her away. As time passes, the men slowly stop searching for her body and try to go back to life as usual. But that isn't about to happen. Against all odds, Jennifer Hills survived her ordeal. Now, with hell bent vengeance, Jennifer's sole purpose is to turn the tables on these animals and to inflict upon them every horrifying and torturous moment they carried out on her... only much, much worse.
Cast:
Andrew Howard
Chad Lindberg
Daniel Franzese
Rodney Eastman
Sarah Butler
Jeff Branson
Saxon Sharbino
Amber Dawn Landrum
My Thoughts:Nicely done revenge tale.
Review:"I Spit On Your Grave" (aka Day Of The Woman), is remembered as being one of the most disturbing, and effective horror films of it's era. Remaking it would be a chore, but filmmaker Steven R. Monroe, decided to take a crack at it. And for the most part...succeeded. The movie, being reworked for 2010...follows Jennifer (Sarah Butler), a writer from the city...who heads to a small town to get some quiet, so she can write her next novel. While she's there...she's flirted with by a few good ole boy locals.
Things don't go anywhere from there...as Jennifer heads up to her cabin, and begins writing. But the good ole boys manage to convince themselves that this city girl has "slighted" them some how. Thus, they plan some redneck revenge in the form of a ritualistic raping and brutalizing of young Jennifer. A sick act which is even partoken in by the local sheriff. After the act, the rednecks do even more damage by raping Jennifer a second time. But just as they go to ice her shotgun style, she escapes by throwing herself into a nearby lake.
She's washed away, and the group is now in panic mode. As they must find her to make sure they finish the job. But will Jennifer find them first? And make them pay for their crimes? Is the question. "I Spit On Your Grave" redux is a remake which manages to be just as effective as it's originator, the '78 original. I supposed it's not very hard to remake a movie about some hicks raping a city girl, and just when they think she's dead...having her track them down and pick them off one by one. But this movie works sort of as a reverse "Deliverance" as well. Which is the intriguing thing about it.
The usual patterns are also followed here in this film, which can be compared to movies such as "Last House On The Left" (2009). Make the villains hateable personality wise, and behavior wise. Give them a terrible act to commit. Then allow the victim of said act to go through a small recovery period, and finally...bloody revenge is sought. The formula is predictable, and not easy to replicate. But this movie still manages to get the formula right, and replicate it the right way.
And in an effective way. A way which makes the viewer cringe, yet applaud at the same time. Films like this are supposed to create a large build up of anger within the viewer, which is then decompressed as the viewer watches the victim get even with her victimizers. And Jennifer...certainly does get even. The kills in the movie are bloody, gory, twisted, and very solidly vicious, nasty, mean, and bad. But the movie does such an excellent job of making you hate the villains that you feel no remorse for them when Jennifer gives it to them each, one by one.
Saving the local sheriff for last. The pic also manages to make the villains more than one-dimensional. Making them be normal pricks one minute...and then the next minute...making them into vicious monsters who would do such horrible things to a human being they don't even know. The sheriff character in the film being the most shocking, since he is a family man with a wife and daughter. Which could be filed as one of the films early twists of a sort. Another thing that makes the moviework is it's pledge to remain gritty, and indie like.
It doesn't use fancy locations, or expensive sceneries despite being a remake of a movie made 33 years ago. In the 70's, a whole nother era. The film remains in it's small-town, woodsy settings...and keeps the action confined to a small town environment, using abandoned cabins, ruins of old houses, etc. Kind of in the vein of some of the older "Friday The 13th" sequels. Which adds a slight edge of camp to the remake as well. But just a tad, as this movie most of the time...is very bloody, disturbing, serious, and chilling.
And not chilling in the sense of movie monsters, but in the sense of creating monsters from it's human characters. And then turning the victim herself into a monster. A monster though who because of what she's just endured and survived...feels more like a vengeful anti-hero. Instead of a cold-blooded killer. No matter how vicious and stomach-turning the acts of her vengeance may come across looking and feeling. A movie like this could've also taken the easy way out with it's ending...but instead it concludes on a very effective note.
Leaving the audience for the most part, satisfied with the period at the end of the cinematic sentence. Although I am not a big supporter of remakes, "I Spit On Your Grave" redux is an excellent attempt at resurrecting an old classic, and at the same time...keeping with the original films most basic elements.
Positives:Butler's performance is terrific in the movie, and she shows great range as an actress as she switches from easygoing writer, to vengeful vixen. The kills are very powerful, and real-feeling. The ending is terrific as well.
Negatives:At times, the rape scenes are too graphic to watch and might've been pushed somewhat too far.
Overall:Three and a half stars out of four.