I Spit On Your Grave – The Original 1987 Director's Cut & Unrated Remake (1978/2010 Anchor Bay Blu-ray)

Picture: C     Sound: B-/C+     Extras: B+/C     Films: B/C-


The original I Spit On Your Grave is a flawed film, but nonetheless, a very good one. One that certainly deserves to be watched, in spite of other critic's apprehension to the violence and a realistic depiction of rape. I still recommend viewing it for its artistic merits, and status as one of the earliest entries into the revenge genre.

All these years later, there are sequences that are still difficult to watch, and although I feel it is a valid form of expression - even entertainment - it's many detractors are also valid in being offended.  Being difficult to watch, however, is its intention, as well as to give perspective to the horrors of sexual assault.  That it is also an exploitation film merely assures that there will be an audience to take it in.

To say that it offered entertainment value might seem disrespectful to real life victims of rape.  But entertainment can only be said to be found in the latter part of the film, when Jennifer overcomes her attackers, bringing down her own brand of justice.  It offers the same rush one gets when watching Death Wish, The Crow, or any of a number of other films featuring revenge as a central element to the story.  The more horrific events are there to provide motive so that when the tables are turned, it has sufficiently been impressed upon the audience that the protagonist is justified in his or her actions.

As I have offered, this still won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for fans of the genre, it is great to have it revved up again on a new format.

Unfortunately, a remake of the film is also being released by Anchor Bay simultaneously with the original.  For me, this one proves to be where the line is drawn.

The original offered a heroine you felt for throughout, and when her vengeance was carried out, you cheered her on.  In this iteration, hate and unease permeate every scene throughout, and though that may be the point, it is so devoid of feeling that it is especially difficult to get behind at all.  This is a problem that the original was wise enough to avoid, and though to an extent it could be considered naive, it was at least watchable.

This new film truly has little worth, and most audiences are certain to be repelled.  For those who hated the first - this one will doubtless find you gritting your teeth with even more rage than before.

The extra content provided for the original is great, and this new release of the film from Anchor Bay carries over both commentaries found on the previous Elite Entertainment edition (reviewed elsewhere on this site) of the film, as well as most everything else from that disc - including trailers, stills and other related artwork.  There is also a welcome new featurette entitled The Values of Vengeance: Meir Zarchi Remembers I Spit On Your Grave.

As for the remake, extra content includes an audio commentary, deleted scenes, trailers and the featurette, The Revenge of Jennifer Hills: Remaking a Cult Icon.

The original film is shown in 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition and the quality of the image on this disc does have some issues.  It certainly isn't perfect, and there is an annoying flicker to many of the scenes.  However, it does offer an improvement over the previous Elite DVD in both clarity and stability.

Sound is in a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix, and although the audio is great here, it is sad that the original mono track has been eschewed this time around.  Regardless of this omission, it is much clearer than the previous edition.

Picture and sound for the remake are of average quality.  The image is typical for a modern genre production, looking washed out and devoid of color.  It is presented with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and in 1080p high definition.  Sound is Dolby TrueHD 5.1, and managed to be slightly above average for a film of this type.

My opinion of the original still stands, and I recommend that it be picked up immediately, as it is close to being a necessity for any horror fan’s collection.  As for the remake, even if you've been conditioned by recent "torture porn" films to have a lessened response to violence, I'd say to give it a pass.


-   David Milchick