Why So Blu?

I Spit On Your Grave – Limited Edition (Blu-ray Review)

Oddly, I Spit On Your Grave has gone from notorious cult horror film of the late 1970s to a full blown franchise film series in the last decade. It sat alone for 3 decades, but a 2010 remake wound up spawning 2 sequels. And then recently, the original director and star made a “true” sequel to the original. Five bloody, vengeful films now stand with the I Spit On Your Grave license. Ronin Flix is taking the original film and the most recent sequel and packaging them together with a brand new loaded limited edition that includes the documentary Growing Up With I Spit On Your Grave. There are new transfers and bonus features, including commentaries with the loveable, legendary Joe Bob Briggs. There are various bells in whistles (Video provided in the review) that come along with it as well. This new I Spit On Your Grave comes as an exclusive to the Ronin Flix website. A link below will take you there to order yourself this very fancy limited set.

I Spit On Your Grave

After a young writer (Camille Keaton) is brutally raped and left for dead by four men, she systematically hunts them down one by one to exact a terrible vengeance.

For the longest time, I Spit On Your Grave was in a long line of those “dare” movies. Living notoriously on the Video Nasties list from the 1980s as well as the ridiculous ire and scorn of Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, those vehement attempts at stopping people from seeing the film for themselves became the ultimate advertisement. Horror fans and anyone curious had to see for themselves what made this movie so reprehensive. Horror fans WANT to be terrified and scared, and they are going to go after the ones labeled vile to have the best chance to hit that high.

Still to this day, Meir Zarchi’s rape/revenge story is a tough watch. And its meant to be. If you’re affected or upset, don’t get angry at the film, you’re supposed to be feeling that way. Its doing its job. There is no glamorous way of showcasing what this movie is trying to tell, and to do it in that fashion would be pretty wrong. No, the film isn’t recommended for everyone, but those curious enough to check it out should keep that in mind.

Actor Camille Keaton’s journey is a brutal one, but sitting through her vicious trauma with her makes the films film 1/3 an engaging and warranted payoff. While inspired by a real experiences that happened with Meir Zarchi and one of his children, the film almost feels like someone say The Last House On The Left and took it as a challenge to one-up it. There’s not just a rape scene. There are many violent rape scenes strung over and over and over for a long period of the film. Its tough, it hurts, it keeps getting worse. You feel dirty watching it. And that’s the point.

By the time we kick into the finale, we are all but ready to see the four rapists get what is coming to them. There are surprising reveals about who they really are and some delicious ways in which they are disposed off. There’s a really raw and realistic approach to how the gore comes across and its quite effect and squeamish at times to watch this happen. All the while, Camille Keaton is giving a fantastic performance and quite possibly one of the most challenging to endure in cinema history. And for what its worth, I Spit On Your Grave may have that 70s raw, grindhouse look to it, but it still plays effective over 40 years later.

I Spit On Your Grave Deja Vu

Forty years after a woman gets revenge on her attackers, she faces the wrath of the families of the men she killed. She and her daughter are kidnapped and have to face off against a gang of degenerates overseen by a violently unhinged matriarch.

As many horror franchises have done as the years extend and sequels pile up, I Spit On Your Grave: Deja Vu has decided to “finally” make that true sequel to the original. Granted, all of the films past the original using that title were a remake and sequels to that. Now, we have the original writer/director and star back to give us the tried and true follow up. For something that felt like it really got all it needed to say out in the first one, Meir Zarchi has argued for years that here was a sequel he wanted to make.

First off, there should be a warning label slapped on this movie that it is two and half hours! That’s long enough for any horror movie, let alone something along the lines of the I Spit On Your Grave realm. And with all that spare time, it does not make good use of it in the slightest. The film features an over abundance of long, chatty scenes that accomplish next to nothing and feel almost too patient. Recommended highly as a companion to watching this film is the Joe Bob Briggs commentary that is on the disc. It adds some much need humor and he provides some interesting analysis and history to the proceedings.

Had this one been tightened up, there may have been something decent here. The film’s violence is pretty solid and creative. There’s a brutality it wants like the original had, but it doesn’t quite feel as dirty thanks to shooting this thing digitally. It looks too polished and clean. The old one made you feel like taking a shower after, even when it wasn’t going through any murder or sexual violence. To give it credit, there is even a very big surprise that occurs in the movie that is a actually great. But its squandered by the film taking to long and then having still over an hour and a half of movie remaining after it takes place around the 50 minute mark.

There’s an easy and expected idea in the set up of the I Spit On Your Grave sequel. And like the original, its a tough watch. But, where the first film’s rape, violence and gore made it of the “hide your” eyes variety, Deja Vu does so by skooting along at snails pace through two and a half hours that would make 6 coats of paint dry before it reached its conclusion. What would be cool is a super cut version of Deja Vu, giving the highlights of the film, because there ARE actual highlights. Again, strong recommendation in watching this one (If you’re curious) with the Joe Bob commentary on.

Growing Up With I Spit On Your Grave

For the first time ever, explore the myths behind this controversial film with the all new and only feature-length documentary on the movie, Growing Up With I Spit On Your Grave. Five years in the making, Terry Zarchi’s exhaustive analysis of the history of the film, packed with never before seen before footage and exclusive interviews, is what every I Spit On Your Grave fan has been waiting for. As director Meir Zarchi himself once said of I Spit On Your Grave – this movie is indestructible.

Growing Up With I Spit On Your Grave is the ultimate bonus feature for the set. There’s a full tale to tell on the original film and its creator, star and crew. There’s also the familial aspect of it all, as it comes from the aspect of Meir Zarchi’s son. The documentary feels a little lo-fi and home made, but overall works.  Everyone presented is plenty honest about things, how they view the film and how the film itself had been viewed. Its really nice how it doesn’t just stop at the original, but goes beyond it as well with the legacy of not just the film, but the people who partook in it. In a nice touch, they also brush upon the remake and its sequels.

Video

I Spit On Your Grave

• Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC
• Resolution: 1080p
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Layers: BD-50
• Clarity/Detail: This latest release of I Spit On Your Grave touts a new 4K scan from director Meir Zarchi’s 35 MM original camera negative.  Its odd to describe anything regarding the film as “beautiful” but that’s where this new transfer lies. Such great detail in a crisp picture, ripe with color really gives this movie a glamour I’m not sure it even had cinematically back upon its release. This is an outstanding restoration job by the folks at Ronin Flix.
• Depth:  The film feels quite spacious with good depth on field on display. Characters move naturally and freely through open space. Scale becomes even more apparent here, with the house looking quite large and the lake area even more open. The most impressive sequences come in the woods, where you can…ahem…see the forest through the trees. No motion distortions ever take shape or are apparent during rapid action moments or camera movements.
• Black Levels: Blacks are deep and close to a natural appearance. A lot of the film is in daylight or well lit rooms, but there are nice shadows and dark surfaces/fabrics/hair manage to maintain and display finer details. No crushing witnessed.
• Color Reproduction: Colors are quite striking and bold here. Any sense of this thing being worn are thrown out. It looks absolutely fresh with really strong, radiant greens and reds in a terrific, well-saturated frame.
• Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from star to finish of the film. Textures and facial features like freckles, dirt, stubble, blemishes, make-up and more come through quite clear from any reasonable distance.
• Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

I Spit On Your Grave: Deja Vu

• Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC
• Resolution: 1080p
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Layers: BD-50
• Clarity/Detail: I Spit On Your Grave: Deja Vu arrives with a nice, polished looking digital image on this Blu-ray release. The picture is sharp and carries plenty of clean details. Overall, this is a pretty standard and vivid look on a  modern low budget film with a digital source.
• Depth:  Depth of field is pretty decent here. Camera movements aren’t always the most confident, but work out just fine in the end. Characters move smoothly, naturally and no issues occur with motion distortion, jitter or blurring.
• Black Levels: Blacks are deep and inky throughout the film. Details hold strong under the darkest of shadows of surface/fabrics. No crushing witnessed.
• Color Reproduction:  There aren’t a lot of bright, spotty colors in this palette. Its a whole lot of blacks, grays, browns and natural colors. They are pretty bold and decently saturated in their look.
• Flesh Tones:  Skin tones are a little bit on the washed out side and consistent from start to finish. From all medium and close up shots, details like dried dirt, bruising, make-up brush strokes, lip texture and more are easily discernible.
• Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Growing Up With I Spit On Your Grave

• Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC
• Resolution: 1080p
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Layers: BD-50
• Clarity/Detail: Growing Up With I Spit On Your Grave features various video sources in its appearance as there are movie clips, archival television segments, old interviews, home video footage and more to go along with the modern interviews. It handles all of them with good ease and the modern stuff is crisp and respectably detailed.
• Depth:  Most of the new stuff is pretty static, but looks to have a loose frame. The vintage material holds well if its film sourced. Motion is smooth and the whole film doesn’t struggle with any distortions.
• Black Levels: Blacks are deep and of that digital-looking variety. Details hold on respectively in the darker corners and no crushing was witnessed.
• Color Reproduction:  Colors are pretty decent. There is nothing really extravagant in it naturally to begin with, but it saturates and displays what it does have well.
• Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent start to finish. Facial features like wrinkles, stubble, dimples, lines, scars, make-up strokes and more are pretty discernible in the more close up shots.
• Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio

I Spit On Your Grave

• Audio Format(s): English 2.0 Dual Mono DTS-HD MA, English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD MA
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Dynamics: Ronin Flix edition of I Spit On Your Grave features a newly restored original mono track in lossless form. And its quite good, clear and feels perfectly complimentary to what you’re seeing on screen in terms of era and look. Its spacious and free in its form with great clarity and depth in its balance of vocals and effects. They also offer a previously done 5.1 mix and stereo track (Which I think is a downmix of the 5.1). Both are also solid ways of viewing the film.
• Height: N/A
• Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer isn’t really pronounced in any of the mixes. Though, in the 5.1 it does provide some decent thuds in appropriate areas and really adds to the motor boat featured in the film.
• Surround Sound Presentation: When on the 5.1, the surround channels in the back pretty much provide mostly ambiance to the interior and exterior scenes in the film. The mix mainly hangs out up front, though it does do a good job of sound travel and making some scenes a bit more involved and engaging.
• Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are are quite clear throughout and pick up some rather finer points of actor diction. There is a nice slight analog hiss at its base which adds to the charm of the film’s age and nature.

I Spit On Your Grave: Deja Vu

• Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD MA
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Dynamics: I Spit On Your Grave: Deja Vu features a pretty solid 5.1 track. Its not one that really full utilizes the room, but does when its able. There’s a really nice focus on the special effects that give them a good layering and more naturally effect but being slightly embellished upon. Overall, a satisfactory experience.
• Height: N/A
• Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer gives a good boom to vehicles, shotgun blasts, punches lander, impaling and more.
• Surround Sound Presentation: This one likes to hang out up front, but there are some solid moments that appear from behind you beyond ambient noise to build an environment. Sound travel has good accuracy of matching what appears and moves on screen.
• Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp with a good setting in the volume for the mix.

Growing Up With I Spit On Your Grave

• Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD MA
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Dynamics: Like many documentaries, Growing Up With I Spit On Your Grave’s 5.1 is a little bit excessive, but its a nice, clean experience. Actor vocals are prominent here and the older clips have good clarity and focus in this balanced mix.
• Height: N/A
• Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer mainly has its action when a clip is played or the music may call for it. Its not going to make itself pronounced in any moment through the film.
• Surround Sound Presentation: Very front heavy, and I’m not completely sure where the contributions in the rear really made a difference. Splitting it out to 5 channels does help for a looser, freer clarity overall though.
• Dialogue Reproduction: As mentioned, the vocals are the primary focus of the mix. Everyone has a clear presence and mouth sounds and diction are captured and presented with ease.

Extras

I Spit On Your Grave – Limited Edition is a 3-Disc Set that comes with a magnet, a poster for I Spit On Your Grave and a reversible poster for I Spit On Your Grave: Deja Vu with the Limited Edition art on the reverse side. Also included is a newly commissioned 44 page book featuring exclusive historical photos and liner notes by horror writers Michael Gingold and Meagan Navarro.

Here’s a look at the packaging and physical goodies.

I Spit On Your Grave

• Audio Commentary – 1) With Director Meir Zarchi, 2) With Joe Bob Briggs
• The Values Of Vengeance: Meir Zarchi Remembers I Spit On Your Grave (SD, 29:01) – A very nice, full on and honest interview with the film’s director. It goes through many things that other features and documentaries on the set would cover, but its a good carry over from previous releases.
• Locations Of I Spit On Your Grave (HD, 11:08) – Filmed during the pandemic (As is mentioned at the start), this is a nice, fruitful look at the locations then and now with a guide to show and talk history of the locations.
• Alternate Opening Title (HD, :16) – “Day of the Woman”
• Theatrical Trailers (HD, 6:22)
• TV Spots (HD, 1:39)
• Radio Spots (HD, 1:15)
• Rare Photos From Set (HD, 9:32)
• Still Gallery (HD, 1:51)

I Spit On Your Grave: Deja Vu

• Audio Commentary – With Joe Bob Briggs
• Cast Interviews (HD, 11:04) – Camille Keaton, Jamie Bernadette, Jeremy Ferdman, Jim Tavare, Maria Olsen and Jonathan Peacy all answer some pretty general on screen prompted questions about the film from the set of shooting the movie.
• The Making Of I Spit On Your Grave: Deja Vu (HD, 43:51) – This is all done on the set and is behind the scenes footage as you watch them set things up, rehearse, shoot and get little camera asides from folks at times.
• Behind-The-Scenes Footage With Director Meir Zarchi And Cast (HD, 2:44) – This is pretty much just Meir Sarachi describing a scene and directing on set.
• Theatrical Trailers (HD, 3:00)

Growing Up With I Spit On Your Grave

• Deleted Scenes (HD, 9:26) 
• Terry Zarchi’s 8MM Film Starring Camile (HD, 2:50) – Audio is commentary by Terry Zarchi.
• Home Movies: Camille and Meir’s Wedding (HD, 1:53) – Audio is commentary by Terry Zarchi
• Trailer (HD, 1:29)

Summary

Ronin Flix has put together the most complete package one could ask for if you’re wanting the true blue I Spit On Your Grave in one spot. The only thing that would extend this are the remake and its 2 sequels, but this set is exclusively the vision of its creator, Meir Zarchi. The set leaves no questions asked in terms of bonus content and even adds gifts on top of that. The original film looks and sounds absolutely dazzling in its new transfer with the original mono audio restore. The physical presentation/packaging of this set is truly top notch. Not being a fan of the second film, having the first and the documentary as a release would have been cool enough, but hey, lets count Deja Vu as a bonus in a set I can’t imaging doing better for fans of I Spit On Your Grave.

ORDER NOW ON RONIN FLIX WEBSITE