8. Rape Revenge Movies - I Spit On Your Grave (1978)
A wildly controversial film upon its release - and still causing mischief to this day (the film is still banned in the Republic of Ireland), I Spit On Your Grave is the quintessential rape revenge movie. There is stiff competition from Thriller: A Cruel Picture and Ms. 45, but I Spit On Your Grave has an uber-nasty and stark streak which delineates it from its competitors. The film features Jennifer Hill, a writer, who travels to upstate New York in order to get some peace and quiet to facilitate her penmanship. The scenery is beautiful but the local hicks are not. They harass Jennifer in a relentless manner - this culminates in the protracted rape and sodomisation of the poor woman in agonising scenes which are very hard to watch. Jennifer is left to come to terms with what has happened to her. She eventually comes to a decision to wreak vengeance upon the yokels that raped her. This results in the hanging of one of the men, the castration of one of his accomplices, an axe in the back for a creep and the final killing - driving a boat motor into one of the yokels thereby disembowelling him. The film is clearly on Jennifer's side. There is no ridiculous "She was asking for it" rape myths. Nor is there a "She enjoyed it really" angle (unlike the ridiculous and irresponsible Straw Dogs). Jennifer only pretends to have enjoyed the rape to lure the men to their doom. We have been witness to the terrible effects the rape had on her and there is great catharsis whenever she dispatches of her tormentors. Originally entitled Day Of The Woman, the film has a definite feminist tone - male viewers are forced to identify with Jennifer and her ordeal. It is certain that the film will provide argument fodder for film critics, fans and academics for years to come. And for its high controversy factor it remains at the pinnacle of rape revenge movies.