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GRAVE VENGENCE
Directed, Edited, and Photographed by Jeff Leroy
Produced by Dave Sterling
Written by Sybil Cummings, Tim Sullivan, and Ron FordSarah - Cindy Pena
Sherrif Paley - Jack Sparacio
Bird Watcher - Rod FordThe box bills this movie as "an I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE for the new millennium". To that I say, "My Ass!"
It's been argued that I SPIT is a feminist take on the revenge film. It's a movie where male oppression is represented by rape and torture. The second half of that movie has the men receiving their comeuppance from the victim, who in the feminist sense is not really a victim because she's a survivor with the inner strength to face her oppressors head on and use her sexuality to secure an eye for an eye.
Feminist picture my ass! Shameless exploitation is more like it. I SPIT has a rape scene so long that the audience becomes numb to the act, and rape is something no one should never become numb too. It's depravity and weakness of the highest manner. In a way rape is worse than murder; rape can leave the victim wishing they were dead.
What sets GRAVE VENGENCE apart from I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE? Two things, the first of which is the rape only last 5 minutes. The second being that the victim is so reactionary she never bothers to find out whether she's killing the right guys.
Yep, that's right people, I gave away the punchline. An act I find to be the cardinal sin of film reviewing and something I rail every major critic for doing. The only purpose of ruining a film is to discourage people from ever seeing it. Now let me ask you why do you think I did it (hint - see the previous sentence)? Call me a hypocrite all you want, just don't waste your time with a film that glorifies the ignorance of the very filmmakers who made it.
GRAVE VENGENCE is a film with no redeeming qualities. I mean I could talk about the acting and how well the cast does their jobs. I could even talk about how skillful the film was put together, highlighting some truly awful soundwork. But a film is not about acting or sound, and neither should the reviews be either. You've got to look deep within a film to see what it's trying to say and bring that light to the surface. There's really not much to look for in this film; it's as shallow as a birdbath.
I ask you, what the hell is a movie trying to say when the rape victim is too stupid to figure out she's got the wrong guys? Yes, I understand the ending is supposed to be one of those twists that are so popular with the audiences today. That doesn't mean that 1) I have to like it, and 2) it works. All GRAVE VENGENCE does is remind me of an old joke.
"Hey Fred, what happened to your wife's right eye?"
"She left the kitchen."
"Oh yeah, well what happened to her left eye?"
"She didn't learn the first time."That joke is about as entertaining as this movie.