Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

I Spit on Your Grave (1978)

Jennifer (Camille Keaton) heads to the Connecticut woods in order to write her first novel, having previously only written short stories. Fresh air, solitude, and country living should do it, right? But she quickly learns that all things in the country aren’t good or healthy.

On arrival in town, Jennifer gets gas at the local station, where she shares her excitement over the coming summer with the owner/attendant, Johnny (Eron Tabor). Later she meets Stanley (Anthony Nichols), who delivers her groceries. He is friendly and sweet, if a little slow. Seems like a good place. But she learns otherwise when she is laying out in her bikini in a boat and Johnny and a couple of his friends come upon her and decide to have some fun, in a brutal attack which they continue even after she thinks she has escaped from them. When they send Stanley in to finish the job, he can’t do it, and lets them think he has. So now it’s time for revenge.

I’m not going to lie, the rape scenes are brutal and hard to watch.  The poor actress also spends most of the film naked. I read that the actors asked to be naked as well in order to help make her feel more comfortable. This is a revenge film, pure and simple, and as such it succeeds, although certainly not a great film in any way. But the brutality of the rape makes the revenge that much more satisfying. I am going to watch the sequel, which was made like 40 years later, and hope it’s a better film. There is also a remake of the series, which I may or may not watch. But for now, I’ll give this film 3 Stars for succeeding in its primary goal.

Violent Night

Santa Claus (David Harbour) is jaded and weary, tired of the commercialism and cynicism of the modern world. He feels as if the spirit of Christmas has been lost, and he drinks to dull the pain. Trudy (Leah Brady) is a very bright little girl with only one wish for Christmas – that Dad (Alex Hassell) and Mom (Alexis Louder) make up and get back together again. They are all meeting at her Grandma Gertrude’s (Beverly D’Angelo) house, along with her aunt and uncle and their brat, Bertrude. The latter are all in a tizzy to make sure they stay in good with the wealthy grandma. But a criminal who calls himself Scrooge (John Leguizamo) has other ideas. This is a Christmas they won’t soon forget.

You’d think with a cast like this, and an interesting premise, this movie would be a shoe-in. I like David Harbour from Stranger Things and Hell Boy, and I have loved John Leguizamo for a long time, both for his stand-up and for such movie roles as Toulouse Lautrec in Moulin Rouge (we can forget his Mario Brothers Stint). But if you believe this, you will be sadly disappointed. The film doesn’t lack of looks, and it clearly had a decent budget. But there is nothing interesting or original about it. As my son son, it’s bland. It reminds me of a wanna-be copy of Die Hard. I was not just disappointed, I was bored, and I could imagine how everything was going to play out. I gave up after about thirty minutes. I suggest you just pass on this one.