Directed by Steven R. Monroe, I Spit On Your Grave is a remake of the controversial 1978 cult classic Day of the Woman. It falls squarely into the "rape-revenge" subgenre of horror. While the original was often dismissed (or praised) for its raw, amateurish grit and perceived political ambiguity, the 2010 remake attempts to slicken the production values while doubling down on the brutality.
The Plot: Jennifer Hills (Sarah Butler), a novelist from the city, rents a secluded cabin in the woods to write her next book. Her isolation is shattered when she is brutally gang-raped by a group of local men and left for dead. She survives and returns to systematically torture and kill each of her assailants.
Despite (or because of) its controversy, the 2010 remake succeeded in launching a franchise: Directed by Steven R
The 2010 film, especially the UNRATED version, is now regarded as one of the better rape-revenge remakes – above The Last House on the Left (2009) but below the genuinely artistic Revenge (2017). Sarah Butler’s performance is widely praised, and the wood chipper scene has become iconic in modern grindhouse cinema.
In 1978, Meir Zarchi’s original I Spit on Your Grave (then titled Day of the Woman) became one of the most banned and debated films of all time. Its graphic depiction of gang rape followed by brutal revenge was called “exploitative” by some and “feminist” by others. The 2010 film, especially the UNRATED version, is
The 2010 remake, produced by Zarchi himself, updated the setting, improved production values, and intensified the violence. The plot remains largely the same:
Jennifer Hills (played with raw intensity by Sarah Butler) is a novelist from New York who retreats to a remote Louisiana creek house to write. She meets a group of small-town men – Matthew, Andy, Stanley, and the ringleader Johnny. They stalk, brutally assault, and repeatedly rape her. Left for dead, Jennifer survives, recovers, and systematically hunts down each attacker, devising tortures that mirror their crimes against her. The 2010 film
The remake added more psychological depth, better acting, and a genuinely tense third act. It polarized critics but found a passionate cult audience.