I Spit On Your Grave, Exploitation with a Message

     The real art in any B-Movie or grindhouse type flick, aside from the cheesy dialogue and the ability to make a bad-ass out of any protagonist, is the ability to take outlandish and improbable situations and using it as a jumping off point to greater social issue that could not be dealt with in any sort of conventional medium. For example Romero's Dead series spoke about civil rights, commercialism and the cold war in america, a host of blaxploitation films dealt with the ignored problems of inner city youth and most recently Django Unchained deals with America sweeping slavery under the rug and trying to ignore it. Granted, a lot (if not most) exploitation films are an exercise in pushing the envelope and getting cheap laughs out of gore and inappropriate actions, but once in awhile you get all those cheap laughs and a message on a hot button issue.

     I Spit On Your Grave(1978) is about a well-to-do writer who escapes to the countryside where she can find some peace and quiet to finish writing her novel. When she is targeted by a gang of local pervs and is gang raped by all of them. She then proceeds to go on what real-type movie reviewers would call a roaring rampage of revenge. Systematically hunting down everyone of her attackers and dealing out some vengeance. On merits of a Grindhouse movie its pretty average and at times a bit boring. The acting is usual B-movie fodder, the story is kinda thin and honestly for a b-movie some of the kill scenes were pretty tame by this bloggers desensitized standards, but this film is not to be watched for merely a "so bad its good" or for gore and scares.
               I Spit On Your Grave is meant to be taken in as a thought piece, taking a subject as serious and disgusting as rape and not sugar coating the subject. The raw power in the rape scene alone...even though it wasn't very outlandish by B-movie standards, was very real and very ugly. A rude awakening to the rape culture that has been cultivated not only in the U.S but in the whole ass-backwards world...at least when it comes to this area. The movie even takes the most common (and most ridiculous) justification for rape, the blaming of the victim and how any particular way of dressing "invites" any sort of abuse on the victim. The attacker gives that excuse, and the victim lets him get all his bullshit chauvinistic schpiel out , making him look like a coward and idiot...then she proceeds to rip off his dick and lets him bleed out as she listens on the other side of the door.
               Which leaves me a bit perplexed...how is it that exploitation cinema even back in the day is more empowering for blacks, gays, women and minorities? Maybe that explains societies unease at the sight of any kind exploitation, B-Movie or grindhouse movie. Maybe they are a bit too forward thinking for the socially retarded United states. Maybe you can keep this in mind next time you watch movies like Pink Flamingos, Faster Pussycat!Kill Kill, Dawn of the Dead and even Blacula....
        As far as I Spit On Your Grave goes...it comes very recommended for even for those just looking for cheap laughs and gore ridden violence.