PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Rape/revenge movies have always held a special place in my heart. Not only does the act of rape totally appall me, but the subgenre took on a new light after a family member was a victim of rape. So, naturally, the I Spit on Your Grave series brings be busloads of delight; I Spit on Your Grave 3: Vengeance is Mine is no exception.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5wqcM6l624
Jennifer Hills (Sarah Butler) is back and living under the name Angela. While in a rape therapy group she meets Marla (Jennifer Landon), who basically hates men. One night, Marla is killed by her ex-boyfriend – who is let off due to lack of evidence! But Jennifer is not willing to stand by while justice limps away. But she doesn’t stop there as there are plenty of other women out there who’ve been letdown by the wheels of justice…
A friend once asked me how much more they could do with this series. Admittedly, a series of movies wherein a woman gets raped and seeks revenge would grow tiring and merely repeat itself. I Spit on Your Grave 3 recognizes these limitation and, unlike the second entry, isn’t content to repeat what has come before. This entry turns Jennifer Hills into an avenging angel who corrects the failings of a justice system more concerned with making arrests than dispersing justice. With this approach comes debates between characters as to the nature of justice. Yes, the series decided to show us its brains and attempt to put to take on any who believe Hills is merely as bad as the criminals. Does it succeed? That’s up for you to decide.
Sarah Butler returns as Hills and reveals the limitations of her acting ability. While she can play a victim and violent avenger convincingly, being a concerned citizen comes off as a bit lackluster at times and left me rather unconvinced. No matter though: we get Jennifer Landon to fill the void. Marla is witty and a smart ass whom we cannot help but smile at as she puts men in their place. It’s only too bad she doesn’t stick around long.
Speaking of men, the writer of this flick, Daniel Gilboy, must hate his own gender as negative comments about men seem to fill every other line, especially everything Marla says. I get that it’s a rape/revenge flick, but one cannot help but giggle or roll their eyes at the script’s generalizations of men.
I Spit on Your Grave 3 lowers the kill count of the previous installments, but the kills on display are more than enough to get a few people clutching their nether regions. I can almost guarantee one kill will get dudes deciding against getting blow jobs from women they’ve just met. Thinking about it now still makes me hurt.
Final Thoughts:
I Spit on Your Grave 3: Vengeance is Mine is a worthy entry in the series. And while it will never usurp the original, I would rank it as the second-best mainly because it tries to do something different and, for the most part, succeeds. Check it out.
