Meir Zarchi’s 1978 film, I Spit on Your Grave (ISOYG) is certainly one of the most controversial ever made. Here in the UK it became a poster-girl for the video nasty furore of the early 1980s, and since then the film’s notoriety has never gone away. Remade and ‘sequeled’, it’s become the archetype for rape-revenge movies, and the debates surrounding the film have never felt so current; Maguire’s excellent contribution to the Cultographies series couldn’t be timelier.
Maguire’s study encompasses the film’s whole phenomenon, opening with an account of its place in the cultural firmament of the late 1970s amid an anti-feminist backlash which saw women portrayed as victims in Hollywood mainstream product and independent horror cinema alike. Maguire illustrates how Zarchi, by contrast, started out with (fairly) noble intentions to make a film that portrayed the horror and degradation of rape, but quickly succumbed to exploitation tropes in the marketing and advertising of his production (most obviously in the title change from ‘Day of the Woman’ to the much more sensational ISOYG). Central to any discussion of ISOYG is the question of whether the film is exploitation or feminist statement (or both), and Maguire subjects this to close examination without shying away from ISOYG’s ambiguities and more problematic elements. What makes this aspect of the book such a rich and rewarding read is that Maguire takes a macro view of the rape-revenge genre throughout his analysis, but without ever losing focus on ISOYG, its remakes and sequels. The film’s ‘legacy’ and lasting influence on exploitation films internationally is further explored in the third and concluding chapter, and here Maguire’s dedication to seeking out even the most obscure title (Germany’s I Piss on your Cadaver [1999] anyone?) makes for a thorough and engrossing study. Everything you ever wanted to know about ISOYG, its origins, meanings, marketing, critical reception and cultural impact can be found in this book’s 140 pages.
ISOYG’s careful research and analysis makes for an insightful and enjoyable read throughout, and Maguire’s clear-sightedness enables him to pull off the difficult feat of treating the subject matter seriously (as one would expect) without the book ever becoming dry and humourless. The only slight disappointment is that Zarchi’s own sequel, ISOYG: Déjà vu is not yet completed, and so could not be fully part of the study (Maguire ends his book with a report on its production) but this also leaves open the possibility for inclusion at a later date when Maguire goes on to revise and update his volume. As Maguire observes in his concluding remarks, the character of Jennifer Hills (played in the original by Camille Keaton) has, over the years, taken on an almost mythical significance, and will no doubt continue to wreak vengeance (on-screen and off) for a long, long time to come.
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (CULTOGRAPHIES) /AUTHOR: DAVID MAGUIRE/ PUBLISHER: WALLFLOWER PRESS/ RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
