I Spit On Your Grave

     Finally leaking to the internet in recent days is Steven R. Monroe's 2010 remake of the 1978 cult classic I Spit On Your Grave. It's what I would consider one of the most well-known of all shock films, so if you're taking the time to read this blog you've probably already seen it and I can skip a synopsis. The first thing I had heard about the remake was Roger Ebert being equally as disgusted by this version as he was in 1978, which was a solid start. The obvious modernization from then to now took away from the depravity initially for me, but became less of a nuisance as time went on. My biggest complaint is its repeated need to take a turn towards every other American horror movie; there were a few too many unnecessary scenes of sheds full of potential murder weapons, tacky "jumpy" scenes and high pitched sound effects for my taste. The male characters could have been cast better, namely Johnny's character in the new version not standing out like Eron Tabor did in the role. Matthew's character is completely overacted at times, and the difference in his reluctance from the original to the remake takes a lot away. The setting was spot on, matching the original in the eeriness and seclusion of   Jennifer's vacation lakehouse. Enough pointless analysis, the real point of a rape revenge film is, well, rape and revenge. The plot strays quite a bit   from the original, including a seemingly earlier introduction to the men's brutality. The gang rape scene is far less graphic as Jennifer blacks out, and her revenge on the men is all different in the remake, certainly more of a Hostel/Saw feel to the deaths than something realistic, though Johnny's death ends in a similar fate but with a little more personal feel to losing his manhood. Overall, I'd consider the remake worth watching, but it was far from memorable. It adds characters, adds/subtracts substance at will, and seems to be a bit of a desperate attempt. It's certainly better than those miserable Texas Chainsaw Massacre remakes, but I'm still waiting on a Hollywood remake that will finally win me over.

Ultimate Index

This post will be updated daily, no analysis just titles. Bold ones are highly recommended. 


A
A Serbian Film
A Time for Drunken Horses
Aftermath
Aftermath: Genesis
Alexandra's Project
All Night Long 1-3
Anatomy of Hell
Angst
Antichrist
Art of the Devil 1-3
Audition
August Underground Series

B
Bad Boy Bubby
Bad Lieutenant
Baise-moi (Rape Me)
Begotten
Benny's Video
Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre Blind Beast
Blow Out
Blue Velvet
Boxing Helena
Breaking the Waves
Bully
The Bunny Game The Burning Moon The Butcher


C 
Caligula
Calvaire
Cannibal 
Cannibal Holocaust 
Capturing the Friedmans
Carne
The Chaser
Compliance The Cook The Thief His Wife & Her Lover


D
Dear God No! The Death King
Demon Lover
Deranged
Destricted
The Devil's Experiment
The Devils

Dogtooth
The Doom Generation
Dr. Lamb
Dumplings
 
E
Ebola Syndrome
El Topo
Eraserhead
Ex-Drummer
Excision  
F
Farewell Uncle Tom

Father's Day Forced Entry
Freaks
Frontier(s)
 
G
The Girl Next Door
Grotesque Gozu
Guinea Pig catalog
Gummo
Guts of a Virgin
 
H
Happiness
Henry: The Portrait of a Serial Killer
House of Flesh Mannequins Human Centipede
 
I
I Spit on Your Grave 
I Stand Alone
In A Glass Cage 
In My Skin 
In the Realm of the Senses
Inside
Isla: She-Wolf of the SS
The Isle



J


K
Ken Park
Kids
 
L
Lady Vengeance
The Last House on the Left (Original)
Lipstick
Long Pigs
M
Ma Mere
Make Them Die Slowly
Maladolescenza
Man Bites Dog
Martyrs
Men Behind The Sun
Môjû
Mondo Cane series
Murder Set Pieces
My Pure Joy  
N
Nekromantik
The Night Porter
No Reason Noriko's Dinner Table
O 
Oldboy
Orozco the Embalmer
 

P
Period Piece
Philosophy of a Knife
The Piano Teacher
Pink Flamingos
Pixote
Popcorn
Possession
 
Q


R
Re-Animator Red Room
The River's Edge


 
S
Salo
Satyricon
Schramm
The Seventh Continent
Short Bus 
Singapore Sling
Star of David: Beauty Hunting
Storyteliing
Strange Circus Suspiria
Sweet Movie
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
 
T
Taxidermia
Teeth
Tenderness of Wolves
Terrorama
Tetsuo
Threads
Thriller: A Creuel Picture
Tideland
Titicut Follies
Towelhead
 
U
Un Chien Andalou
The Untold Story
 
V
Very Bad Things
Visions of Suffering
Visitor Q
The Vomit Gore Trilogy Vulgar
 
W
The War Zone
What Is It?
Woman in a Box

X

Y

Z 
Zombie Holocaust

Gaspar Noé

Once a month or so, I'm going to feature a personal favorite director in the realm of bizarre theatre. Since I just posted my personal favorite movies along these lines, why not start with the director of my numero uno?

Gaspar Noé's notable work starts with 1991's Carne, a short film in which the nameless butcher character first appears and goes on to be the feature in I Stand Alone and is included in the first scene of Irreversible. Noé is on the record as saying that he has drawn influence from director Stanley Kubrick and  the great 1983 movie Angst (watch it if you haven't). To this point, I have seen Noé's 3 feature films (I Stand Alone, Irreversible, Enter the Void) and Carne. In the true spirit of this blog, ranking them in order of shock factor would personally go Irreversible, Carne/I Stand Alone (remember the name main character in these? Says it all) and last but not least Enter the Void. Enter the Void is not a terribly shocking movie per se (maybe that's my internet desensitization talking), but along with Begotten is one of the most aesthetically pleasing movies I've seen, not to mention a vaginacam view in one of the final scenes. I strongly suggest everyone watches all four in chronological order, but if violence is your thing, go with Carne/I Stand Alone. If drug culture is your thing, go with Enter the Void. Just be prepared for weird angles and lots of disorientation when you sit down for a Noé movie.

Complete filmography, courtesty of Wikipedia:

Feature Films

• I Stand Alone (1998)
• Irreversible (2002)
• Enter the Void (2009)

Short Films

• Tintarella di luna (1985)
• Pulpe amère (1987)
• Carne (1992)
• Une expérience d'hypnose télévisuelle (1995)
• Sodomites (1998)
• Intoxication (1998)
• Eva (2005)
• Destricted (segment, We Fuck Alone) (2006)
• 8 (segment, SIDA) (2007)
• 7 Days in Havana (2012, segment to be announced)

Personal Top 10

Here's my inaugural top 10 post, a list of my personal favorite movies that fall under the category of "disturbing," "shocking," "fucked up," what have you. You're not going to find A Serbian Film on this list, and you're not going to find August Underground or Guinea Pig movies. The list isn't entirely based on what's most difficult to watch, but movies that actually are worth watching while also playing with your head. It doesn't have to be sheer violence or sheer brutality. Enjoy.


1. Irreversible (Gaspar Noé, 2002)

Is this the most over the top, in your face movie you'll ever see? No. But have I ever seen a more disturbing movie scene than the near 10 minute rape scene in Irreversible? Again, no. Not to mention a death scene involving a fire extinguisher, Dutch angles and a low frequency that causes nausea used throughout the first 30 minutes.

See also: I Stand Alone (Gaspar Noé, 1998), Enter the Void (Gaspar Noé, 2009)

2. Begotten (E. Elias Merhige, 1990)

Begotten remains one of the most important movies I've seen, and not simply for its shock factor. Shot on black & white reversal film and re-photographed, this is one of the most visually intriguing movies my eyes have been subjected to. 

Full movie link: Begotten

3. Orozco the Embalmer (Tsurisaki Kiyotaka, 2001)

The one and only documentary on the list, Orozco is an extremely vivid look at an embalmer in a small, impoverished town in Columbia. While I generally write off "shockumentaries," this goes far further than simply recording the embalming process. In fact, there are scenes not involving any funeral preparation that can hit home just as hard, if not harder, than the graphic violence. 




4. El Topo (Alejando Jodorowsky, 1970)

Anything Jodorowsky touches is gold, and El Topo fits perfectly on this list. No words can describe El Topo, so just watch it. And if you like to do drugs, be sure to do plenty before watching. Perfect for anyone who enjoys surrealism and David Lynch. 

See also: The Holy Mountain (Alejando Jodorowsky, 1973)

5. Henry: The Portrait of a Serial Killer (John McNaughton, 1986)

Henry is loosely based on Henry Lee Lucas, aka The Confession Killer, a serial killer whose body count is unknown but spread throughout the 60's until the early-80's. While the level of violence is surprisingly low for the subject, a look into the mind of such a sociopath is a genuine experience in a movie. 




6. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975)

Salò is undoubtedly one of the most infamous movies of all time. 18 teenagers are kidnapped in 1940's Italy, and subjected to brutal levels of mental and physical torture.




7. Men Behind the Sun (Tun Fei Mou, 1988)

Another film based loosely on true events, Men Behind the Sun captures one of history's most horrific events, Japan's Unit 731 camp during World War II. Research done on prisoners of war regarding chemical and biological warfare, 2008's Philosophy of a Knife also follows the same atrocities in great detail. 

See also: Philosophy of a Knife (Andrey Iskanov, 2008)

8. Visitor Q (Takashi Miike, 2001)

Takashi Miike is a staple in the horror movie world, and one of the best directors to come out of Japan. Moments involving scenes filmed in a home movie emulated style only add to the bizarre nature of Visitor Q.




9. Cannibal (Marian Dora, 2005)

If you haven't noticed, I'm a fan of movies based on true stories. It only adds to the effect when you've finished watching and are realizing that this actually happened, it's not just some preposterous plot. Armin Meiwes is a German man who sought a lover to "consume." Enough said. 




10. Nekromantik (Jörg Buttgereit, 1987)

Possibly the most over the top movie ever. The title and poster essentially sum it all up, a corpse is brought home by a man to his wife to spice up their sex life. Germans are really fucking weird people.