I Spit on Your Grave (1978)

A graphic, gruesome, and undeniably gutsy revenge flick, "I Spit on Your Grave" captures the full essence of a cult classic.

It's unrelenting, often difficult-to-watch, and at times casual about its depravity, and is the film Siskel and Ebert got pulled from Chicago cinemas when it bowed in 1978 (well, their scathing reviews led to theater owners bouncing the film from local moviehouses).

First off, let me say, there's very little spitting in this film, and certainly no graves, as reflected by the film's alternate title "Day of the Woman." The film stars Camille Keaton as Jenny, a writer who ventures out to the country for some peace and quiet and finds it.

That is, until four local yokels find her, terrorize her, rape her (repeatedly), beat her, and leave her for dead, then go on with their lives. What they don't know is Jenny survived, and is ready to take some back for herself.

"Grave" has been called a trailblazer in exploitation films, but in all actuality it's very derivative of other films. It's practically a heterosexual "Deliverance," and certainly shares more than one narrative beat with "The Last House on the Left."

But it was something of a new take on the woman-in-peril storyline that has permeated cinema both exploitation and otherwise, and is equal parts vengeance flick and cautionary tale for any guy who thinks pushing women around is fun.

The film's centerpiece is a protracted rape sequence where the four men take their time in savaging Jenny. Indeed one guy finishes with her, and the quartet of scoundrels let her amble off into the wilderness before they track her down and let the next man in line step up. The scenes are rough and realistic, and the camera rarely blinks, much less flinches, as she's being victimized.

The tone changes somewhat later on, when the brutality switches to gore while Jenny takes her tormentors down one by one, starting with Matthew (Richard Pace), who seems to be mentally disabled and was the most reluctant of the rapists.

The most gruesome scene takes place in a bathtub as Jenny attempts to seduce one of the men. Say what you will about the rape, but these guys are so stupid they don't deserve to live. Would anyone honestly think a woman who was just beaten and raped would come back for more willingly a short time later?

"Grave" is relatively serious in tone, and for the most part holds the cheese many drive-in classics do not. There film's standout line, though, comes from Matthew, who wonders if women use the restroom the same way men do. "Of course they shit," one says. "Everyone shits." Sage words, indeed.

There are a few technical gaffes, highlighted by one in Jenny's house, as you can see shadow movement behind her in a scene where she's alone in the house, but otherwise "Grave" keeps its place as a serious cult film.

I can't really argue Siskel's and Ebert's objections to "Grave," because it is indeed depraved, and the entire narrative is simply men victimizing a woman, then the woman victimizing the men in retaliation. But I can argue the merits of the film, because I found it extremely disturbing, and it's easy to see the stark violence is not meant to be romanticized and isn't supposed to be funny.

Yes, it's unabashedly exploitation (our first glimpse of nudity comes in a little more than 5 minutes in, as Jenny goes skinny dipping, the first of many minutes in the film that features lots of flesh), but as an anti-rape treatise, yes it's crude, but very effective.