Review: I Spit On Your Grave (1978 and 2010) Blu-ray

STUDIO: Anchor Bay | DIRECTOR: 1978 Meir Zarchi/2010 Steven R. Monroe | CAST: 1978 Camille Keaton, Richard Pace, Eron Tabor/2010 Sarah Butler, Chad Lindberg, Jeff Branson
RELEASE DATE: 2/8/2011 | PRICE: 1978 DVD $19.97, Blu-ray $24.97; 2010 DVD $29.97, Blu-ray $34.99
BONUSES: 1978 featurette; 2010 featurette, deleted scene
SPECS: Both unrated | 1978 101 min.; 2010 108 mins. | Horror | 1978 1.78:1; 2.35:1 aspect ratio | Both Dolby TrueHD audio | Both English and Spanish subtitles

RATINGS (out of 5 dishes): Movies | Audio | Video | Overall

I Spit On Your Grave 2010

Anchor Bay Entertainment debuted the original I Spit On Your Grave (a.k.a. Day of the Woman) on high-definition Blu-ray the same day the 2010 remake came out on both Blu-ray and DVD, and they make an interesting pair. Although the new version has the same story line — a young woman, Jennifer Hills, rents a cabin in the woods for the summer to write a novel, but after she’s raped and left for dead, she seeks revenge on her attackers — the two films differ in how that story is told.

In Meir Zarchi’s original film, the attack is short but very violent and when Jennifer (Camille Keaton, The Concrete Jungle) begins to exact her revenge, her attackers already know she survived. But in Steven R. Monroe‘s new version, the rape is shot more delicately but given added punch by a series of prior torturous acts by the attackers, and after Jennifer’s (Susan Butler, TV’s I<3 Vampires) left for dead, the focus turns on the attackers, who don’t know know — along with the audience — whether Jennifer survived. The second film’s revenge sequences also are more creative and sadistic than in the original movie.

I Spit On Your Grave 1978

Both, of course, should be avoided by viewers who have a weak stomach for these kinds of things. But if disturbing horror and thriller are your game, I Spit On Your Grave is as good as any genre film.

The Blu-rays each have a featurette on the making of the movie, and the 2010 version also offers some deleted scenes that aren’t any more noteworthy than what’s in the film.

The featurette on the 1978 I Spit On Your Grave Blu-ray is an interview with Zarchi detailing the making and release of this independent film. He explains that he had to trim 10 minutes out of his original cut to get an R rating, but when he released it in theaters under his own money and the name Day of the Woman, it bombed. After making a deal with a distributing company and releasing the film in its original version, it became a cult hit, embraced as much for its daring visuals as its idea of a woman fighting back.

The making-of on the 2010 movie’s Blu-ray is more of a traditional production featurette, offering interviews with Monroe and the cast members about the film and their reactions to it. Monroe expresses his admiration for the original in pushing boundaries.

Both films look fine in the high-definition Blu-ray, giving gore fans a clearer look at the blood.

Buy or Rent I Spit On Your Grave (1978)
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Buy or Rent I Spit On Your Grave (2010)
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