I Spit on Your Grave (2011)

"The poster blurb really does say it best... If you can handle it, see it. Indeed."

I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE
Sub-Genre- Revenge
DVD PREMIERE- Feb 8th, 2011

Cast Members of Note- Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard, Daniel Franzese and Chad Lindberg.

What's it About?- Jennifer is a sexy little writer who decides to rent a cabin in the woods to work on her newest book... right there you know she's destined to get raped, killed and/or terrorized in some way, right? It's so obvious. Hot chicks can not go into any back woods locale alone, and hope to find any sort of comfort or solace. I think that's a law in most states. Especially in the South.

Yes, you should have known better. Now stop pouting.
Anywho, after spilling water on the rube at the gas n' go, and making out with the town retard, Jennifer decides to drink a few bottles of wine, smoke some marijuana cigarettes, and walk around her cabin half naked. With all of those elements aligned, it takes about 4 seconds for jethro and his dim wit crew of yokels to show up, and put a good rapin' on the city whore's ass.

"I should go look in there..."
Left for dead, Jennifer gets herself cleaned up, builds some crazy traps, and sets off on a mission to make the rape gang from petticoat junction wish they taint never done seen her pretty city titties... It really is your standard rape revenge story, but I feel it appropriate to say that Jennifer doesn't play around, and she gets quite nastay in here revenge tactics. This is exactly why I don't rape people. Well, that and I'm not to that level of creepy.

I think at this point, I'd stop calling her a whore if I were you...
The Good- Well made and superbly acted by everyone involved, ISOYG 2010 is a nasty, unflinching little remake that should please most jaded horror fans. If you've seen the original, then not much here will come as a surprise to you other than the fact that the remake is a far better film than it's 1978 namesake.

Rape/revenge movies are an acquired taste. They're usually stark and brutal, and on most levels, they're profoundly disturbing. Sure, the revenge aspect of things seems to make it all right in the end, but the slow and brutal build up that comes before is a tough thing to sit through for most folk. There's a reason that these movies were big in the 70's for a while and then disappeared for the most part... there's not a lot of fun involved for the audience.

That being said, these types of movies do have a strong and necessary message in them that begs to be heard, and it's basically "do unto others..." Sadly, in real life, these types of crimes go mostly unpunished for the most part, if they're even reported in the first place, and therein lies the beauty of a movie like this... the sick fucks of the world whom prey upon the innocent and chaste get what they deserve and more, even if it's only on film. It's almost like our own personal revenge, and damn if it doesn't feel good to see, even if it's incredibly tough to watch.

He got punched so hard his eyes are red!
Sarah Butler will make you like her, feel for her, feel her pain, and cheer her on through all of the unspeakable acts she partakes in, because she deserves her revenge. She's also a cutie, which never hurts. Conversely, the villains of the film will make you seethe with anger, and especially Johnny and The Sheriff; they're played to evil perfection by Jeff Branson and Andrew Howard. You will hate them. I'm talking an extra special hate. The bottom line is that the cast did their jobs admirably, and pulled exactly what they were supposed to out of us.

The Bad- One criticism I have of this flick is this: how does a sweet, innocent type like Jennifer turn into a viscous, death dealing angel of no-mercy so quickly? I get it, but I mean she concocts some pretty elaborate "traps" if you will, and dishes out some really rough, slow torture to her victims. It felt a tiny bit odd to me. It really is a small issue, as the movie worked well overall, but I felt it worth a mention.

The Downright Horrendous- When are city folk going to learn that you do not head off for an idyllic weekend in the country, unless you're armed for bear and willing to kill? You're just asking for trouble if you think otherwise.

The Gory- Rape, torture, rape, anal shotgun violence, rape, eye torture, rape, hedge clipper to the groin, rape, face melting and rape. There's so much rape in this movie, that even one of the bad guys get raped... albeit by a shotgun, but it still counts. This is a visually tough one to sit through, and will most likely make you flinch and squirm throughout.

Personally, I'll take the fishhooks in the eyes, if I get a choice.
The Naked- We do get to see the nice little body of Sarah Butler in various stages of undress, but considering the subject matter, it's not very enjoyable. She's very nice too look at before the nastiness starts though.

What did we learn?- If you're going to rape someone, you should really be prepared to have your dick cut off. I mean, you pretty much have it coming.

The Master Says- A As remakes go, this one managed to improve on the original in most ways, and add enough flair of its own to make it more than just a simple retelling. You have to like the whole rape revenge/female empowerment sub-genre to truly appreciate this one, because its a tough watch, but don't discount it as simple or no more than exploitative. This flick delivers the uncomfortable, messy goods.

Final Thoughts- Sarah Butler is destined to be a genre great, if she's so inclined. First though, she's intent on finishing this puzzle...

I know where one piece fits...