I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE: UNRATED Review [Fantastic Fest 2010]
Posted by: Peter Hall
Directed by Steven R. Monroe, 2010
Written by Stuart Morse
Steven R. Monroe’s remake of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE is one of the most pathetic films I have ever seen. I am aware that is going to sound like exaggeration or a kind of knee-jerk reaction; I assure you it is neither. It’s a completely worthless enterprise that offers nothing to the world other than the crushing realization that it exists.
There’s no surprise there, of course. It’s a completely mercenary project; a remake of a movie that not many people loved 30+ years ago, but that’s “worth” remaking solely because it has a recognizable title. It’s directed by a man whose career is the very definition of director-for-hire (hell, even Monroe’s ICE TWISTERS for Syfy is better than this abysmal piece of shit), it’s written by a first time screenwriter, produced by a first time production company, and it stars a handful of actors vaguely recognizable from small roles on TV shows. And I’m not one to hate on “for hire” projects – everyone’s gotta eat- it’s just that the financial motivations are painfully transparent here.
No one cared about exerting any thought toward actually improving on the original, or giving the movie a reason to, well, exist at all. They saw an opportunity to capitalize on a name and took it. Nevermind bothering to attempt to make it anything unique, that would just complicate their genius formula of “Rape + Rape + 4xMurders = horror”.
