The fact that Roger Ebert labelled this movie as the worst ever made was actually a great deal more shocking to me than the feature itself. I studied "I Spit on Your Grave' as part of a film violence course at university and was subjected to Ebert's disturbing views on rape revenge and movie violence in general. Ebert feels disgusted by this feature, he feels dirty as he leaves the theatre and is depressed by the immense feelings of guilt the images have left him with. Is this not how one should feel having witnessed a rape (fictional or not)? Would he have felt cleaner if Zarchi had fragmented Jennifer's naked body, had used atmospheric music to eroticise the rape scenes and depicted the female character as enjoying herself even just a little bit? In my opinion one should be disgusted and shocked senseless when viewing such material, and in this sense I feel Zarchi has achieved what many others could not. I think it was brave of the director to put such footage out there, even if he lets himself down with the more generic revenge sequences towards the end.
Ebert talks about how he thinks that as a viewer we are subjected to the rapists' p.o.v. and goes on to say that this is a major reason he was so offended by the film. However, if Ebert knew anything about p.o.v. he would know that the audience is put into the place of Jennifer, given extreme close ups of the mens' distorted faces as they rape and mutilate her. We follow Jennifer in her journey from New York and most notably we stay with her during her recovery. The perpetrators are depicted as stereotypical and one dimensional, not to mention uneducated and unattractive. Therefore, if Ebert finds that he is relating to the rapists, rather than the intended Jennifer, I think the problem lies in the critic's psyche, not the feature.
To top it off, Ebert reminiscences about the loss of the art of feature films, as displayed by the likes of slasher extrodinaire John Carpenter. The opening scene of Halloween then, shot literally through the eyes of faceless killer Michael Myers as he plunges a kitchen knife into the naked breasts of his older sister, is obviously good clean fun in the distorted mind of Roger Ebert.
Don't be be put off by the hype surrounding this movie. Yes, watching these rape scenes is an ordeal that will never leave you, but a film about rape shouldn't be inoffensive. To date I have yet to see such a violent, brutal and disturbing depiction of a such a violent, brutal and disturbing crime. In my opinion, sexualized and eroticised versions of violence as seen in Halloween, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street are far more harmful and offensive.
Ebert talks about how he thinks that as a viewer we are subjected to the rapists' p.o.v. and goes on to say that this is a major reason he was so offended by the film. However, if Ebert knew anything about p.o.v. he would know that the audience is put into the place of Jennifer, given extreme close ups of the mens' distorted faces as they rape and mutilate her. We follow Jennifer in her journey from New York and most notably we stay with her during her recovery. The perpetrators are depicted as stereotypical and one dimensional, not to mention uneducated and unattractive. Therefore, if Ebert finds that he is relating to the rapists, rather than the intended Jennifer, I think the problem lies in the critic's psyche, not the feature.
To top it off, Ebert reminiscences about the loss of the art of feature films, as displayed by the likes of slasher extrodinaire John Carpenter. The opening scene of Halloween then, shot literally through the eyes of faceless killer Michael Myers as he plunges a kitchen knife into the naked breasts of his older sister, is obviously good clean fun in the distorted mind of Roger Ebert.
Don't be be put off by the hype surrounding this movie. Yes, watching these rape scenes is an ordeal that will never leave you, but a film about rape shouldn't be inoffensive. To date I have yet to see such a violent, brutal and disturbing depiction of a such a violent, brutal and disturbing crime. In my opinion, sexualized and eroticised versions of violence as seen in Halloween, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street are far more harmful and offensive.