6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
A writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.
Starring: Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson, Andrew Howard, Daniel Franzese, Rodney EastmanHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 56% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy (on disc)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
What's a pretty little thing like you doing out here all alone?
I Spit on Your Grave, or Day of the Remake, takes the same story as its predecessor, cleans it up with some spit and polish, and considerably amps up
the gore and gut-wrenching acts of violence that are sure to leave even the most stalwart viewers squirming in their seats, but this update somehow
manages to leave out the rawness and emotion of the original and replace it with, well, nothing really. A few points for the shiny new façade and a few
nasty shots that the gore hounds will love to no end, but this remake -- re-imagining, better said -- fails to resonate with the same stand-up-and-cheer
emotion of the original. It' not like the original really needed a remake to begin with. Some movies are better left alone, Director Meir Zarchi's seminal
and highly divisive cult classic being one of them. Steven R. Monroe's re-imagining of the quintessential cult shocker isn't destined for the same
lifespan as the original; it has everything the first didn't in terms of a more refined storyline, better acting, and superior filmmaking techniques, but all
that jazz means nothing without the emotional center. Sure, this version will leave viewers wanting to punish the rapists, too, but there's no spark,
no sense of real danger, no sense of real revenge. It just feels like a movie going through the motions, a movie that's more concerned with besting
the original in every area -- which it almost does -- except that it forgot the most critical part of the formula: a reason to care.
Raped, 2010.
I Spit on Your Grave's high definition video source translates well to Blu-ray. Anchor Bay's transfer handles the material efficiently and without too many flaws; it has a flat and glossy appearance by its nature, and some troubling banding creeps in from time to time, but this one is otherwise solid from beginning to end. Fine detail proves quite good throughout; even something as routine as the texturing of a screen door is handled remarkably well, and the transfer also yields excellent detailing in clothes, stitches, wood, and even the grisly details of the gore. The film favors a pale-gray look; within that overreaching texture are good, natural colors -- including neutral flesh tones -- but there's no escaping the dreary general feel that dominates the film. Black levels are near perfect, wonderfully inky and deep without proving detrimental to in-frame details. Overall, the image is free of excess noise and looks clean as a whistle throughout. I Spit on Your Grave isn't much of a looker by its very nature, but Anchor Bay's transfer handles the material as it is rather well.
I Spit on Your Grave's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack mimics the video transfer in that it's fine considering the source but not particularly exciting as a standalone entity. Still, "adherence to source" is more admirable than "jacked up phony," and as such it's hard to find much fault with Anchor Bay's soundtrack. Atmospherics are abundant throughout; exterior scenes enjoy realistic ambience in the form of random train whistles, barking dogs, and buzzing insects. The front channels carry the bulk of the material, and what little bass there is plays as a bit sloppy and absent the tightness of better tracks. Major sound effects are limited; a few pistol shots lack much authority, but several shotgun blasts pack quite the punch. One of the track's best effects comes near the end as Jennifer hits an old tub with a baseball bat, the ringing, hollow sound nicely reverberating through the soundstage. Dialogue is smooth and accurate and remains grounded up the middle. This isn't a movie about sound; it's instead about its visuals and what should be its emotions. Anchor Bay's soundtrack handles the surprisingly low-key track well enough.
I Spit on Your Grave offers a fair assortment of extras, headlined by a quality commentary track and a standrad-definition making-of piece.
To recap: take what is already one of the ultimate love-it-or-loathe it movies and remake it, this time leaving out all things the lovers loved and amping up all the things the loathers loathed, and the result is a movie that doesn't have much of an audience left. This one's all about the violence. It's brutal and unforgiving and cleverly implemented in a sadistic sort of way, and while, yes, the audience will cheer for the girl, they'll do so out of their basic humanity -- because it's the right thing to do -- not because she's a particularly sympathetic character or the film plays on the audiences' innermost raw emotions. For as awful as the rape is and as sweet as the revenge may be, it just doesn't resonate in quite the same way as the original. I Spit on Your Grave is a movie that probably shouldn't have been remade, and this take on the story does the original no justice. However, Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release does feature an impressive technical presentation, but the rather small supplemental package will disappoint fans. Recommended as a rental for those who just have to see it.
2013
Day of the Woman
1978
2013
2015
1972
Uncut
2013
2018
Unrated
2005
2012
Collector's Edition
1988
2012
Unrated Edition
2006
מי מפחד מהזאב הרע / Mi mefakhed mehaze'ev hara
2013
2011
2009
2012
Unrated Director's Cut
2009
Unrated Collector's Edition
2007
Director's Cut
2005
2014