Admirable film.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

That's right, I watched this movie when I was five-years-old (Thanks mom and dad)! Please forgive me if my recollection is a little hazy. Jennifer (Camille Keaton), for whatever motivation, moves to the great outdoors. Later, she's raped by four men, one of whom is mentally challenged. From there, she hangs, castrates, and disembowels her rapists. That's the entire movie!And now, I have to try to think of something nice to say about this movie: I Spit on Your Grave still eats away at me to this day. Not because of the violence, the violence is tame compared to other films. I feel powerless when I experienced that unnecessary rape scene.Also, there are some great film theory books that examine this film such as "Men, Women, and Chainsaws" by Carol J. Clover, "The Monstrous Feminine" by Barbara Creed, and "Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study" by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.Other than that, I have a difficult time recommending this film. The acting, screenwriting, cinematography (especially framing), production design, and directing are extremely subpar. The rape scene is gratuitous and exploitative. Once the revenge starts, I lost sympathy for the main character. The cruelty that each character displays is truly repulsive and left my stomach churning. While this might of been the point of the director to reveal the horrors of rape and brutality, Meir Zarchi forgets nuance and relevancy.

Bruised, beaten and left for dead, a gang rape victim exacts revenge in this controversial horror film, famously cited by Roger Ebert as the worst film ever made. With some truly second-rate acting, inexplicable slow motion shots and a plot that takes over an hour to warm up, 'I Spit on Your Grave' is hardly the classiest film ever made, but there is also a lot more of interest to it than one might expect. Most notably, the protagonist seems so foolish at first, deciding to stay alone in the wilderness to write her novel where she is clearly vulnerable - and yet, with many shots capturing the serene beauty of the wilderness and her relaxation when boating, what the film really does is force us to question how ugly human society is that it is simply never safe to be alone by oneself in the beauty of untouched nature. Scenes of the rapists telling her that she was 'asking for it' further shine a dim light on the way human beings tick; this is really a film about how vile human nature can be. All that said and done, the slow-moving first hour is somewhat of a chore to get through with the film only really becoming enticing as our heroine imaginatively takes revenge. The final half-hour of the film though is very intense - and the final shot works especially well for a motion picture about a woman deciding to assert herself and embrace living next to nature without fear.

While hard to watch, this film is well thought out. This movie was not made to please the majority of audiences, it was made to be thought provoking. Is it something most audiences can consider "easy viewing"? Of course not, and it wasn't made to be that way. It's a rough movie to watch but a movie that is rare in its plot and for its ending. For the reviews saying that the male characters are not given enough time to make audiences relate to them, I say "of course!". The audience is not supposed to relate to so-called "hicks" who brutalize and rape a stranger. Why would we?! And for those reviews that take offense that the woman seeks revenge on those who have violated and abused her, then movies are not for you. Are we supposed to hate those in series' like The Purge whom defend themselves? Or is it that some people take issue with a woman defending herself and trying to right a wrong that can never be righted? Do I agree with murder to get it done? Of course not! But I can appreciate the film for showing a female lead being victimized in too many ways and then showing her taking the strength to take matters into her own hands. This is not an easy movie to watch but the underlying messages are some I have never seen in any other movie.

This is a difficult film because it is so unremittingly brutal and not just regarding the actions of the men here but also in the woman's revenge in the third act. She is engaged in a power struggle, complete with teasing and coaxing as was the case with the guys. 'Day of the Woman' is a much better title for the film and would at least help a little in those early scenes being assured there was to be some pay back. In the end, the main problem here is some of the acting is somewhat lacking, although Camille Keaton is great in a very difficult duel role as victim and avenger. I thought the use of the mentally challenged , 'village idiot' as I've seen him described, is far too overdone and undermines the film as a whole. It may have softened some scenes by distracting attention from the main horror but I don't think that as a good thing. I wouldn't recommend the film to anyone but wouldn't dissuade anyone either. Its obvious what you are in for and is surprisingly well made. The forest and river scenes glisten and glow like they certainly never did on my first video but then that did also soften the awfulness of some of these proceedings.