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  Day of the Woman (1978) (AKA I Spit on Your Grave)


 

Spit on Your Movie.

Review: I was very alert today and ended up watching three movies. Today was a good day.

Camille Keaton (before)

Day of the Woman, more commonly known as I Spit on Your Grave is one of those films I've heard and read a lot about but never saw. And the box cover with its half-naked backside of a woman has always intrigued me.

It's another one of the exploitation films I recently purchased. In this case, it is in the "rape and revenge" genre.

Camille Keaton (during)

I Spit on Your Grave centers around a female writer (Camille Keaton) who moves to a cabin in the woods to relax and write a novel. However her peaceful retreat turns into a site of horrors as she is brutally raped by four local men. She survives the attacks and goes on the offensive to exact her own style of revenge.

Rape is a very real threat and a serious matter and I was expecting a more believable and sobering story. Unfortunately, director Meir Zarchi failed to deliver. He does deliver a disturbing film, but it's not totally satisfying because there are too many frustrating elements.

Camille Keaton (after)

For example, either the four male actors playing the rapists have never had sex before or they are the worst lovers ever. I assume they were instructed to not be too obscene, but their goofy actions take away from the reality of what is occurring. And if you're going to make a film about the horrors of rape, then you better be prepared to push the boundaries.

The problem is in the men's movements or rather lack thereof. The men get on top of Camille and position their pelvises against hers, then their pelvises never move again. Instead, the men move their heads and necks back & forth or whip them side to side in a ridiculous manner. Instead of appearing to be satisfying an urge, they look like their genitalia are being abused. A certain level of realism has to be achieved when dealing with such important issues. Sadly, that's not the case here.

Camille Keaton (after again)

If that wasn't frustrating enough, the events that followed were sure to be. Camille decides to stay at the cabin and recover on her own. She never goes to the police or seeks any medical attention. She stays by herself for days, if not weeks, to regain her health and plan her revenge.

I'll concede that the revenge scenes are memorable. Not because they are all good, but because three out of the four are absolutely inane. I won't give away the details, but the best revenge scene by far was the second one, which occurs in a bathroom. The other three scenes have such poor acting and special effects that they just enforce the feelings of disappointment with this film.

The final product is disturbing and there are some satisfyingly creepy images (see the screencaps), but Day of the Woman is not even close to being a great movie. Then again, can you really expect a low budget flick about rape & revenge to be a masterpiece?

 


Learn more: IMDb

DVD version viewed: I Spit on Your Grave (Millennium Edition) (Elite Entertainment, UPC 790594775124)