I Spit on Your Grave - A hard watch

Sometimes there are films that you watch and you wonder why you did. 'I Spit on Your Grave' is one of those that could hardly be described as 'enjoyable' and yet I sat through it nonetheless.  If you haven't already heard of its infamous reputation, it's a 1978 horror film that was heavily edited due to its extreme subject matter, i.e. a young woman rents a cabin in the middle of rural America and ends up being tortured by a local gang of men (and by 'tortured' you'll have to read between the lines to get the 'full horror' of that definition).

In short... there is violence - LOTS of graphic torture/rape/violence.  I'm not sure why anyone would really want to watch it in such high doses, but it's certainly here (especially in the longer 'uncut' version).  However, it's more than just gratuitous violence - it's technically a 'revenge' movie.

I don't think it comes in 'spoiler territory' to say that the second half of the film changes tempo and is about what the woman does to 'get back' at those who have wronged her.  In similar films such as Charles Bronson's 'Death Wish' films, it's certainly cathartic to see the abusers get what's coming to them.

I know this film's reputation kind of guarantees it the sort of long-lasting cult status that some may say shouldn't be afforded to it, but - believe it or not - it's actually got more to it than just the unsettling violence.  It's quite well shot and some of the cinematography is really quite striking, plus the leading lady is certainly believable in all her character's arcs.

It's hard to say who this film will appeal to.  It's certainly got its fair shares of elements that will turn off many.  It's definitely hard to watch in places and you can be forgiven if you want to look away, but maybe it's one that should exist purely to be put up for debate as to whether it's degrading to women or empowering.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that