I Spit on Your Grave (1978 - 2010)

Movie: 2/5
Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 2.5/5
Overall: 3/5

"Sleazy Fun for the Whole Family..."

Movie:

I Spit on Your Grave (1978):The original 1979 film is a classic that gives The Last House on the Left a run for it's money. Jennifer Hills is an aspiring author who takes off to the remote country side to write her first book. After meeting a few of the town folk, Jennifer goes out one day and is attacked and brutally raped and left for dead. Soon, Jennifer finds the nerve to take revenge and will make them all pay.

It seems like this was the thing back in the 1970's; with films like Last House on the Left, Trip with the Teacher, and I Spit on Your Grave. Woman. or women if this is Trip with the Teacher, get raped and go out for revenge. Because clearly the law does not exist in these type of films. My main complaint with the time length is that's about fifteen to twenty minutes too long; it clocks in at 106 minutes long. The kills are pretty good, vfx wise, but the film drags a bit. It's not that bad compared to something like A Serbian Film. I give the original I Spit on Your Grave a 3.5/5.

I Spit on Your Grave (2010): *CAUTION: SPOILERS! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!*

Whoever decided that film should be remade should hopefully never work on another feature film again. This film is downright horrible and for the fact that Meir Zarchi himself has defending this film is wrong. The acting is bad; the story, with how much has been changed from the original, is worse. Since I am sure this was low budget and I'm going to guess about $5 million, the producers couldn't get big talent like Kirsten Stewart, Jason Statham, Timothy Olyphant, Eli Roth, Giovanni Ribbisi, and Ethan Suplee to head this cast; so you know what they do? Get a bunch of look-a-likes to fill the roles!

Jennifer Hills is played by Sarah Butler who has the same dead-in-the-eyes look like Kirsten Stewart, but gives a better performance than Stewart ever could; who this time has all ready written several novels and is on a retreat to write her next book. Que in the gas station attendent not played by Timothy Olyphant; the handicapped Matthew not played by Giovanni Ribbisi; cameraman not played by Ethan Suplee; and finally not Eli Roth. But, wait, to be creative; they added a fifth rapist! Bring in Not Jason Statham as the main villain of the film!

This film wants to be better version of Saw or Hostel or A Serbian Film but fails miserably as we add in the extreme torture which was not really part of the original film. These deaths feel more Saw-like than what the original 1979 I Spit on Your Grave had to offer, because these deaths are elaborate as hell. And to give some spoilers here, I don't think having your eyes plucked out of your head by horrible CGI crows will kill you. I think Not Ethan Suplee will be ok.

Steven Monroe, much like the director of The Hitcher remake, should be ashamed for making this film. What made the original I Spit on Your Grave such a trying film is that we see the hell that Jennifer goes through. We follow her throughout the film. We don't follow these horrible look-a-like actors as they pee their pants like school kids. I found no redeeming qualities to this film and it wanted to be violent for the sake of being violent. There was no justification, spoilers here, to kidnapping Not Jason Statham's daughter. And on top of that there was no resolution to that either. Did Jennifer kill the daughter? The answer is; "This remake sucked!" .5/5.

Video:
For the original 1979, I Spit on Your Grave, the transfer is conflicting. While I praise the rich detail in the colors that has been preserved on this transfer; there is always some sort of problem to it. The video is shaking up and down for a majority of the opening of the film. It was driving me nuts to see this thing bouncing. The print damage of dirt and specs did not bother me as much as that bouncing did. There was one scene where it took place at night where there was some discoloration. If it was not for these flaws, this would have been the perfect transfer for a film that is over thirty years old. I give the video presentation a 3.5/5.

The 2010 remake of I Spit on Your Grave was shot on a Red camera. However, when they shot it, they did it at a bad frame rate. Most of the film looks like PAL video converted to NTSC. It looks badly sped up like the 2D version of My Bloody Valentine 3D in a lot of shots. Even a shot in the forest when we first see Not Jason Statham's character has this bizarre shot where everything is fuzzy. I was like; "What's with the video here?" While the detail is mostly there, this problematic frame-rate is an extreme buzz kill. I give the video a 3.5/5.

Audio:
The main audio presentation on the original film is an English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track. I know audio isn't my strongest field of expertise, but even after listening to this, the audio is the weakest part of the original film's presentation. Sounds, like hearing the engine to a boat sound weak and not booming at all. While hearing Jennifer scream and cry in pain sound convincing in this audio track, there seems to be no real remaster to this at all. I give the audio a 2.5/5.

Well, we have the same English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track on the 2010 remake. The detail on the audio is pretty good. No real complaints out of it. We hear shotgun blasts pretty loud and clear. Dialog sounds good. I give it a 5/5.

Extras:
For the original film, we have two commentary tracks; one by Meir Zarchi and another by Joe Bob Briggs. Both commentaries are ok. I do appreciate Joe Bob Briggs' input on this; as I grew up watching him on weekends on TNT when I was child. We also have trailers, TV spots, Meir Zarchi giving a look back on the film; a photo gallery; and an alternate title card which is for Day of the Woman. Which, you know, both titles don't really fit. But, hey. I give the original film's bonus a 3/5.

For the remake we have a commentary by the director and one of the co-producers. "Revenge of Jennifer Hills" which has Meir Zarchi and some others talking about how much they loved and crapped all over the original film with this remake. Some deleted scenes. And trailers. I give the bonus a 1.5/5. I wasn't interested in this stuff as much as I hated this remake.

Overall:
I got this on the Best Buy Upgrade and Save after taking in a DVD to get a $5 off coupon. I got this double feature Blu-ray for $5.33 after tax. On one hand, I did end up liking the original film. But, just downright hated the remake. I find it insulting that this was made and that I wasted my time on it. I give this release a 3/5. Only get it if you like the original film.