I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
"Day of the Woman" (original title)

An aspiring writer is repeatedly gang-raped, humiliated, and left for dead by four men whom she systematically hunts down to seek revenge.

Director:

Meir Zarchi

Writer:

Meir Zarchi

Stars:

Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Camille Keaton	...	Jennifer Hills
Eron Tabor	...	Johnny
Richard Pace	...	Matthew Lucas
Anthony Nichols	...	Stanley
Gunter Kleemann	...	Andy
Alexis Magnotti	...	Johnny's Wife
Tammy Zarchi	...	Johnny's Daughter
Terry Zarchi	...	Johnny's Son
Traci Ferrante	...	Waitress
William Tasgal	...	Porter (as Bill Tasgal)
Isaac Agami	...	Butcher (as Isac Agami)
Ronit Haviv	...	Supermarket Girl

Storyline

The film follows Jennifer, a writer who is working on a new novel and needs to get out of the city to finish it. She rents a riverside cabin in upstate New York to work on her novel, attracting the attention of a number of rowdy male locals. They catch Jennifer one day and strip her naked for the village idiot (Matthew) and rape her. Jennifer is later attacked and raped a further two times by the four degenerates, and her novel is also destroyed. But Jennifer recovers, and in her now-twisted, psychotic state, she begins to seek revenge on the men.

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | cabin | rape | predator turns victim | knife | 

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Taglines:

This woman has just cut, chopped, broken and burned four men beyond recognition... but no jury in America would ever convict her! I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE ... an act of revenge (US 1983 re-release)

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

X

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 November 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Spit on Your Grave

Filming Locations:

Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$650,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinemagic Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 93 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There is some speculation that the model used in the iconic poster shot seen from the rear, clutching a knife, was Demi Moore.

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Goofs

When Jennifer hears Matthew knocking at the door, while she puts her clothes away, the drawer second down from the top opens itself between shots.

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Quotes

Andy: Y'know, sometimes I look at these gorgeous-looking chicks, I mean the ones that look like real knockouts, sexy and all... and I wonder... I wonder if they gotta take a shit, too.
Stanley: Hey, all women shit, women are full of shit.
Matthew: Not my mother!
Andy: My sister is.
Johnny: Aw, man, cut out the shit talk!

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Sola Perduta Abandonnato"
From Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Puccini

User Reviews

Not the piece of trash that it's reputation suggests it to be

I Spit on Your Grave is a film that will never be accepted as a serious piece of film-making. This is thanks in part to the gratuitous rape and murder scenes, which don't exactly hold back the shocks; and it's also due to the time in which it was made. These days, as proved by the likes of 'Irreversible', films tackling rape in a shocking and disgusting way are more readily accepted, and even gain a strong reaction from many critics. This film was unfortunately (albeit for good reason) caught up in the 'video nasty debate' in the early eighties, and as such it's reputation has been diminished to such an extent that the likes of Roger Ebert have labelled it 'the worst film ever made' (even though The Blair Witch Project is the worst film ever made) and it's reaction in general tends to be of the bad variety. For some reason, we have found ourselves in a world where it's more than acceptable to give praise to 'A class' rape themed dramas such as Irreversible, but woe betide thee who labels this as a good film. Well, woe betides me then.

For a 'video nasty', I Spit on Your Grave has surprisingly good production values. While the acting often lets it down, the cinematography and even the script are more than decent and this helps the film in it's bid to get the praise it deserves. The story, which follows a New York writer who moves to a backwater part of the USA to work on her new novel, shortly before being horribly raped and beaten, is just a plot device for the more important elements of the plot. The main theme on display seems to be a comment on the male sexual ego and the way that women can have power over them. The film plays out like a revenge thriller, with the protagonist getting her own back on the men who raped her. This disrupts the main argument against this film; namely, that it's misogynistic, as much of the violence in the movie is actually directed against men. Of course, the rape scenes are the main crux of the film; but most of the gore comes later. Don't get me wrong, this is hardly an uplifting feminist drama; but it's not the worst film ever made either. Content caution though; it gets a bit extreme. A certain scene in a bathroom takes the prize for being one of the sickest sequences ever to grace the silver screen.