Day of the Woman (1978)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I was interested in seeing this movie if only because Roger Ebert said it was the worst movie ever made. I was interested in seeing what other people thought of what would be considered the worst ever made. I wonder what Mike Nelson thinks of this? Anyway, this movie is of course horrible and it's not just because it's a disgusting violent film. The acting is terrible. There's this one really obnoxious guy who sounds like Woody Allen. Even the way the story is told is terrible. All the action stops at literally the last three minutes of the film making it horribly paced. It can be very unsettling watching these graphic rape scenes. The characters are just plain stupid. Near the end, the rapists have no problem meeting up with the girl again. Aren't they afraid of what she'll do seeing as how they raped her? There was no male genitalia shown although we did get to see the woman's crotch a lot. Even the box cover says that the woman gets revenge on five men even though there's only four men. Are the creators of this movie so stupid they can't even count? It's a horribly ugly mess with nothing but an excuse to show horrifying images. There's no character development or purpose in the entire film at all. It shows up on a lot of worst ever lists even though the overall score both here and RottenTomatoes isn't that bad! *

Repugnant exploitative misogynist trash that has long been a favorite among weirdos and creepers. The "story" is about a young woman from New York (Camille Keaton, granddaughter of Buster Keaton) who goes to the country to write. She's then savagely and repeatedly raped by four men, one of them mentally retarded (charming). Afterwards she gets her revenge. There comes a point where you subject a character to so much brutality and degradation that no amount of revenge will make the experience enjoyable. This movie passed that point with the first protracted rape scene. Yes, first, as the woman is raped three times over the span of forty minutes! It's a disgusting soulless movie with ZERO redeeming qualities. This didn't need to be made and, if you found it entertaining, please seek help. A strong contender for the worst movie ever made, on moral grounds if nothing else.

A budding writer moves away to move to a remote cabin somewhere in New York in the woods, with nothing but peace and quiet. Along the way, she encounters some mysterious men at a gas station. Not too long after, she is harassed and raped by the same men. She goes through an ugly transformation and turns into a female vigilante to get revenge on the rapists. This is one of the video nasties that people have talked about for years. It's up there with Last House on The Left, Virgin Spring, and Deliverance. Ostensibly, it was so bad that Roger Ebert walked out on the movie incensed. He gave it zero stars. With all due respect to Ebert, this movie wasn't made for the public. It's supposed to revolt you and be repulsive. This was never meant to be along the lines of "It's a Wonderful Life" This is a brutal revenge film and that's all there is to it. As far as revenge films are concerned, it succeeds in that aspect. In some ways I can see why it was banned. It's unrelentingly brutal in some scenes and the rape scenes are very hard to endure. I'm talking lengthy rape scenes that can make even the strongest of stomachs churn. The dialog is very simple, perhaps a bit lewd at times, but it fits the movie. I'm a guy and this movie reminded me of how disgusting other guys can be at times. It is a harsh reality of how guys view women at times. I can only imagine how difficult it was to film this movie for some of the cast members. The acting is decent for this sort of thing. Camille Keaton is gorgeous but a solid actress as well. Considering what she had to go through, I wouldn't be shocked if some of the emotion was real. It was a good job on her part. My only carp with her character is that I would have liked more character development. The people who portray the rapists are very good at playing perverted creeps, that's all I'll say. I'll be sure to word this as carefully as possible, but I was highly satisfied with the ending. Those that like violent revenge will be pleased. There isn't much gore, but many unforgettable images. I'll just say a castration is a highlight. This movie won't be for everybody. If you found Last House on The Left engrossing, this will be right up your alley. It's not a movie I make a habit of watching often, but it's above average for what it is. If you have the stomach for it, check it out6.6/10

Originally released in 1978 as "Day of the Woman" and re-released in 1980 with the more popular title (which writer/director Meir Zarchi hates), "I Spit on Your Grave" is a low-budget film telling a simple story of rape-and-revenge.The film is notorious. Ebert and Siskel railed against it and most theaters refused to show it back in '78-'80. But it was a hit on video and there's still quite a buzz about it over 3 decades later. The film can't be stopped, as Zarchi points out.Since I knew going in that this was a rape-revenge film with overt depictions I was fully braced for the material and therefore didn't find it shocking. I suppose it would be quite shocking otherwise.I should add that the film's not pornographic. In other words, it's not a film to view for porn thrills. The rape/revenge scenes are a turn-off rather than a turn-on.After viewing the film I saw it again with the director's commentary. He has a heavy accent but I was able to adjust. Zarchi is brilliant and offers loads of important details. For instance, he shares what inspired him to make the movie: In 1974 he came across a naked young woman stumbling out of the woods; she had a broken jaw and had been raped by two scumbags. She said they would have killed her but she convinced them she couldn't see without her glasses and therefore couldn't identify them. They then broke her jaw to knock her unconscious so they could make a getaway. She regained consciousness fairly quickly and wisely decided to get out of the area in case they changed their minds. She crawled through the woods to the nearest road, which is where Zarchi discovered her.The film shows that the four rapists are misogynists who feel powerless in their daily lives and are threatened by an intelligent woman from the city. Listen to their moronic dialogue during the fishing sequence. These guys talk about women like they're 13 years old (but worse). Unfortunately, there are adult men like this. It's pathetic.The picture reveals how actions can be misinterpreted by people with sick minds. For instance, the leader of the rapists comments that when Jennifer first came to town and stopped at his gas station she got out of the car and flaunted her beauty. The truth is she just got out of the car to stretch her legs (in a modest dress, by the way) and make some friendly small talk.The film also reveals what's in the hearts of people, including the viewer. For instance, when Roger Ebert saw the film at a theater he overheard a middle-aged man make troubling comments during the rape sequences like, "That'll teach her" and "The others were good (the rapes) but this one's the best." As for me, I was on the side of Jennier Hill. This was obviously a difficult role and Camille Keaton did an incredible job; she even won an award. Camille has a beautiful face and stunning locks of auburn hair. But, at the time, she was way too thin. She definitely needed to gain at least 20 pounds. Shortly after the film was released she married director Zarchi. Although the marriage didn't last, they remain good friends.In any event, in the story Jennifer does absolutely nothing to provoke the abuse of the dirtbags.There's a church scene right before she enacts her revenge where she asks God for forgiveness. The real-life minister of the church caught wind of the nature of the film and contacted Zarchi, insisting that the parts depicting his church be taken out. Zarchi drove out to the church in Kent, Connecticut, where the film was made, and explained his reasons for making the picture. When the minister understood Zarchi's intentions he gave him his blessing.Speaking of the locations of the lush Kent area in Western Connecticut, this is one of the films highlights (I get sick of Southern California locations). In fact, believe it or not, it's one of the main items that prompted me to see the picture as I have personal interest in Western Connecticut.You'll see that the beauty of nature -- the sights and sounds of the forest -- are contrasted by the hideousness of human nature. This is effective.There's no score, even though Zarchi tried to fit music to it. He said it just didn't work; adding music diminished the impact.The film runs 100 minutes and it's all completely realistic until the 73-minute mark where Jennifer allows the mildly retarded rapist get close enough to her with a knife to easily kill her. She later allows the lead rapist the opportunity to get the upper hand (when she gives him the gun). I found this unbelievable. In both cases she could have easily killed the scumbags but instead momentarily makes herself vulnerable to enact a more stylized revenge. I don't believe she would have done this in real life. But some would explain her actions on the grounds that she now no longer feared death (since she had been so close to it) and was willing to gamble with her life in order to punish the criminals in a way more fitting than a gunshot.Some may object to the idea of Jennifer having the strength to pull off the hanging, but Zarchi defends it by pointing out "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." There are a couple other weak moments. In one close-up it's clear that the retarded guy's glasses are fake. Also, during the infamous bloodbath scene, wouldn't the guy realize that he's been castrated right away (regardless of whether or not he's having an orgasm)? Dumb.Still, this is a necessary film. It counterbalances beauty with the hideousness of rape and supports the only just punishment for such extreme sins -- death.GRADE: C+ or B-