I Spit on Your Grave 2 (USA, 2013) - Color, Director(s): Steven R. Monroe
MPAA Rating: R
[UK: PG]
Approx. 106 min.
Z-rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Cheese Factor: 2 stars out of 5 for the Christian Bale impression
Here, we have a sequel to the remake of a 1970's rape-and-revenge exploitation film. I think it's hilarious when you read reviews, within the horror community, bashing this movie for being nothing but shock and violence. That's probably the same review given to the original when that first came out and now people want to treat that like it was high art while this "unnecessary" sequel was just an soulless cash grab. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that this movie is high art by any means. I just think it was pretty much what I expected it to be, no surprise or disappointment. I'm surprised they even tried to remake it the first time! Much less make a sequel for that remake of what was originally an exploitation flick anyway.
By this point I was expecting them to just follow the same formula, which turns out to be exactly what they do! A beautiful woman is taken advantage of when she's alone, she's raped and left for dead, but somehow manages to survive so she may exact her revenge another day. This sequel follows the same formula for any rape-and-revenge film, while at least attempting to have some subtext. We have the ridiculously BEAUTIFUL Jemma Dallender playing Katie, an aspiring model living in New York. She had the rotten luck of meeting a group of European sleazeballs posing as discount photographers. They got her address, so one of them forces their way into her apartment and rapes her. The twist here is that they drug her and take her to Bulgaria, where she's chained up in a basement and tortured. She's beaten, electrocuted, drugged, and even gets pimped out to some fat sadistic slob. Rape-and-revenge fantasies aside, the depiction of the real-world horrors of human trafficking (of course, nowhere near as depressing as say, Lilya 4-Ever) does at least put a spotlight on the issue.
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| This looks like a scene from Saw |
After that is where the little bit of credibility this film has built up, gets thrown right out the window as Katie miraculously escapes death purely by coincidence and slowly begins to channel her inner-Christian Bale to become some sort of female revenge-seeking Dark Knight. In a completely foreign country (where she doesn't know the layout or speak the language), she transforms into a mega bad ass, ball-busting, man-hating, vengeance-fueled Terminatrix. Stalking the night and dropping one-liners as she drowns a guy in a feces-filled nightclub toilet, complete with raspy Batman voice!
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| That moment when you realize you done FUCKED up... |
Nudity: I think it's safe to assume there would be a ton of nudity in this movie. What I wasn't prepared for was how unbelievably gorgeous Jemma Dallender is. I'm not condoning rape nor do I believe in the sexualization of rape. In a rape and revenge film though, part of wanting to see this woman exact horrible and painful revenge on the men is first seeing how the men violate her in a way that pushes her past her limits. Just a bonus that she happens to be smoking hot!
Gore: I'm sure no matter what merits this film has, nothing will keep the general public from labeling it "torture porn", and why not? Like I said, this film isn't high art or anything really worth debating. This film delivers exactly on what it promises, rape and revenge. She gets pushed across a line that entitles her to gloriously violent, bloody revenge. Not to mention how satisfying it is to see the tables turned on "Mr. Soon-To-Be-Living-The-Rest-of-His-Short-Ass-Life-In-Agonizing-Pain Rapist" here.
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| "He got a real purdy mouth ain't he?" |
Awesome: Pretty awesome. I've seen much worse films get more praise than this movie does. I don't feel like I need to argue in favor of this movie or prove a point to anyone. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but I enjoyed this movie for what it was. I like movies where women rise up and overcome... then open a nice big can of whoop ass! Movies like this are also the reason why I try never to piss women off. Ever. Looking for a brutal, violent, bloody revenge movie to play at your Halloween party? Check this one out. Films with high shock value are best enjoyed in a group anyway.