The 2010 remake of “I Spit On Your Grave” is a surprisingly effective horror/thriller. I’m not familiar with the original 1970s picture but I’m aware of the controversy surrounding it. This remake was undoubtedly less controversial, coming so many years later and after so many objectionable horror flicks. This 2010 film works because while it seems shocking and outrageous, it keeps itself in the realm of reality and it so much more unsettling because of it.

Jennifer (Sarah Butler) is a young female writer, who decides to rent a cabin in the countryside. Hoping it will be the perfect place to write her novel, she finds that things take a sadistic turn. A group of local men rape and torture her in a truly terrifying attack. However, she escapes and is now plotting her violent revenge.

The gang of men in this film are truly despicable. They mock Jennifer, they hit her and they rape her. There seems to be no limit to the sadistic nature. This works because we want to see Jennifer get her revenge in the style of any good revenge flick. Jennifer is played well by Sarah Butler. The way she goes from being innocent and normal to truly disturbed by the end is very convincing. She is treated like she’s nothing and will now make them all pay.

“I Spit On Your Grave” may contain some truly shocking violence and mature themes but what separates this from horror flicks I’ve disliked such as “Hostel”, “Saw”, “The Human Centipede”, “The Hills Have Eyes”, “Wrong Turn” and “The Collector”? This feels more grounded in reality like the original “Halloween” or even a film such as “Vacancy”. That realism helps bring you into the disturbing world it creates because you can relate to these very realistic fears. Films such as “Hostel” are too elaborate for it to seem real. This is a really disturbing and brutal film but it works as a horror/thriller and I’m interested in checking out the original at some point.