If you're going to take on a remake of a notorious film you have to do it right. If said remake is notorious due to it being one of the 'video-nasties' of the 80's, maintain the core element of the film that put it on the list! If you do this then you end up with a good (and sometimes better) remake. The Hills Have Eyes and Last House on the Left remakes worked by doing this and not trying to water down shock content. For a remake of 'I Spit on Your Grave' the same had to be applied otherwise it would have been pointless.
The original 1978 movie was a brutal and shocking film for its time. Still today you can not get an uncut version of the film in the UK. It's not an amazing film and will only have been watched by fans of the genre. So, how do the filmmakers approach this remake?.....
...with a brutal vengeance! Like the LHOTL remake did, the filmmakers have kept the raw, brutal violence of the original whilst polishing the story and injected some new life in to it.
Sarah Butler does a great job as the woman who is raped and brutalised who sets out for revenge. I thought the acting from all the cast was spot on. It must be really hard to 'act' in such a horrendous way for this type of film.
What elevates this film above the original is that they decided to reduce the rape scene in its intensity and go full hog on the revenge part of the film. Whilst still quite brutal and disturbing, when we get to the part of Jennifer being raped, it's not as drawn out or horrific as it could have been if they wanted to piggy off the original.
In this take of the film the main portion/concentration of the film is given to Jennifer getting her revenge....and boy does she do this in some really nasty ways....and when we get to those parts of the film, thanks to the scripting and direction, we're 100% behind Jennifers character in the justification of her actions. It may be gory and some may call it torture porn but when she exacts her revenge you'll be cheering on. I actually think this film should be shown to rapists as a deterrent (unfortunately you'd need a woman like Jennifer to back it up in real life).
So, this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea due to its content but if you've seen the original, or you're a fan of the video nasties era, definitely check this out.
Very good remake.
The original 1978 movie was a brutal and shocking film for its time. Still today you can not get an uncut version of the film in the UK. It's not an amazing film and will only have been watched by fans of the genre. So, how do the filmmakers approach this remake?.....
...with a brutal vengeance! Like the LHOTL remake did, the filmmakers have kept the raw, brutal violence of the original whilst polishing the story and injected some new life in to it.
Sarah Butler does a great job as the woman who is raped and brutalised who sets out for revenge. I thought the acting from all the cast was spot on. It must be really hard to 'act' in such a horrendous way for this type of film.
What elevates this film above the original is that they decided to reduce the rape scene in its intensity and go full hog on the revenge part of the film. Whilst still quite brutal and disturbing, when we get to the part of Jennifer being raped, it's not as drawn out or horrific as it could have been if they wanted to piggy off the original.
In this take of the film the main portion/concentration of the film is given to Jennifer getting her revenge....and boy does she do this in some really nasty ways....and when we get to those parts of the film, thanks to the scripting and direction, we're 100% behind Jennifers character in the justification of her actions. It may be gory and some may call it torture porn but when she exacts her revenge you'll be cheering on. I actually think this film should be shown to rapists as a deterrent (unfortunately you'd need a woman like Jennifer to back it up in real life).
So, this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea due to its content but if you've seen the original, or you're a fan of the video nasties era, definitely check this out.
Very good remake.