When I first saw the original I Spit On Your Grave, I remember being impressed that the story was actually dark, but that it was very much on the women's side of the story. That was one of my early exposures to the revenge-horror movie. I didn't care too much about Last House on the Left, but the sub-genre is still pretty enjoyable.
Revenge is a difficult motivator to work with. It's pretty simple; the victim is wronged. The victim seeks retribution. But since revenge is typically not a likable trait, it becomes a tricky balancing act, of making the victim continually justified in seeking revenge.
This movie is so unbalanced that it moves out of the revenge category.
When Thana is raped, it doesn't play out as an exploitation sequence. The first rape is remarkably brief, surreal, and it isn't entirely clear what happened. The second sequence is longer, and it's more clear that she is being raped. But in neither case is there the obligatory shot of her shirt being ripped open.
After she kills her attacker, she decides to dismember the corpse and dispose of it slowly. Her fright at nearly being discovered leads her to kill another man. She finds that she wants to kill men. At first they're all guys that seem pretty sleazy. Gradually though, there seems to be less of a sense that she's targeting these people for their poor behavior. Instead, she just extends her hunt to just being men in general.
There's one scene that had me worried, and it happened pretty close to the end of the movie. Thana wants to take her neighbor's dog for a walk. She tries - unsuccessfully - to get it hit by a car. Then she brings it to river, ties the leash to something, then prepares to shoot it. She leaves a note for her neighbor claiming that the dog ran off chasing another dog, and that she couldn't find it.
The big finish to this is when Thana dresses as a nun, and goes on a rampage at a Halloween party. The whole sequence is shown in slow motion, and there's something incredible about it. Seeing a nun, with lots of lipstick, wielding a gun in slow motion is remarkable.
The very end shows that she did not kill the dog, that it has found home.
There are some specific strengths I would like to point out. First, the music. Some of the music has a dated feel, being a kind of funk/jazz sort of thing. But the opening music, and most of the music punctuating murders, is incredible. It's a bit discordant, but there's something so incredible about how it fits the movie. Second, the direction alternates between competent and good, and very clever. I don't think any of it approaches genius level, but it's damn good. Third, the lead performance is fantastic. For a character who doesn't say anything, her thoughts are very well conveyed to the audience.
I can't tell exactly who I would recommend this to. Horror fans with an open mind? It's a unique movie, and I can't believe it's taken me this long to find it.
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