Monday, August 16, 2010

"Day of the Woman"(1978)d/Meir Zarchi

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Rape is an ugly word that draws varying responses from the populace upon mention,the cowardly act of taking that which is not given unto you willingly.I've known a few rape victims over the years,and they were certainly not deserving of the traumatic experiences and nightmarish flashbacks that were forced upon them in an unguarded moment.Your game was too weak for conventional courtship methods so you felt it necessary to go full on douchebag to patch up your wounded ego,destroying a person or persons forever in the process.Pathetic and sickening.There's a fine line between a real man and a caveman that often gets lost in translation by those of few firing neurons.A real man is a stand up guy you can depend on when the chips are down,and a gentleman when it counts.Despite my sometimes crass descriptions and ludicrous sense of humor,I open doors for women,say "Thank you" and "please" when the situation merits,and even relieve myself of my bomber to ensure a little lady's warmth on a cold night out.Old school chivalry,motherfuckers.Women shouldn't have to fear a guy,kinky roleplay not withstanding.Women still dig real men,so be one.
Tonight's review focuses on the highly controversial 1978 Zarchi vehicle,which was later re-released as "I Spit on Your Grave" two years later,under heavy censorship and critical scrutiny over the touchy subject matter,but few films wear the cult classic banner as proudly as Day does,with a ferocious fan base,and a Philipines-based sequel and upcoming remake under its belt.If you thought Boorman might have shown you a little too much rape in Deliverance(1972),then you're definitely not up to the marathon rape session in this movie.El Duce of The Mentors would have probably said "Enough is enough!" after twenty minutes went by,but the whole excrutiating sequence exists to pit the audience against the trashy criminals responsible,and to cause them to cheer on their violent comeuppances later on in the movie.It's really a simple,basic affair,with an undercurrent of gritty realism that works here.I can't see it being on anyone's "favorite" lists(yes,I can),but it still stands as one of those necessary evils you've gotta see at least once.
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Summer journal:Day 6,Today was kind of a bummer.
Jennifer Hills(Camille Keaton) takes a vacation from her New York magazine writing gig to focus on her first novel out in the scenic countryside,away from the metroplitan distractions.A pod of local Jethros,unaccustomed to her modernity,takes it upon themselves to harrass the leggy redhead at every juncture,disturbing her peace and quiet with motorboat-by catcalls and late night racket.One afternoon while chillaxing in her canoe,she is towed to shore by two of the hayseeds,where after being chased around the forest by two more Bufords,she becomes aware that the whole thing was a set up for their retarded Paul Schaeffer-lookalike,Matthew(who's got no lenses in his nerd goggles,btw),to finally drop cookie batter on a human female of the species.Once they've captured her,they take turns raping her...a lot.You could probably let the dvd play while you hit the late night McDonald's drive thru and when you got back,they'd still be punching her up and dicking her down.Humiliated,dirty,and sodomized,she crawls on her belly back to her cabin where she calls the authorit-nah,they're there to rape and beat her some more.Matthew,who the rednecks have been feeding booze to,tries to get it on with the broken piece of womanhood,but can't tap his nutbag with the other bozos viddying the action.The good ole boys tear up her manuscript and mock it aloud,finally demanding that he snuff her candle with a pocket knife,stabbing her in the heart,which the seventies Gilligan clone can't bring himself to do,either,so he dips the knife blade in some of the girl's readily available blood and fakes it to the fellas,who believe he's just eliminated the evidence.
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"A mint Blue Snaggletooth??!!Zounds!I'm about to expulse in my slacks!"
After a few days of healing her contusions and abrasions,and patching up her novel and fractured psyche,she visits a church to ask forgiveness for the violent retribution she's about to rain down upon these ignorant hosers.First up to taste the vengeful fury is nerdy moron,Matthew,who she lures back to her spot,seducing him under a tree then hanging him with a rope just as he's popping his stones off in her panty purse.She dumps the lifeless MMORPG ancestor's corpse in the drink afterwards.She then tricks the second rapist into her car,where she pulls a piece on him,ordering him to strip down to the buck,while he argues that he and his pals were justified in their lurid crime because she asked for it with her suggestive flirting and Daisy Dukes(!).This causes her to drop her gun and invite the scumbag back to her place for a bath(!!),where she confesses to killing his retarded buddy,all the while yanking his meat and sawing it off under the soap bubbles(!!!).The dickless wonder screams for his mommy as she locks him in from the outside,forcing him to bleed out.The last two antagonists converge on her place by motorboat,wielding an axe,both of which end up in Jennifer's possession somehow,and both used to dispatch her attackers:she sinks the axe into the back of number one,then reprises the second's own words("Suck it,bitch" or something to that effect)before disemboweling him with the outboard motor.She speeds off over the water with a relieved smile on her face.
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Q:What do this guy's dick and Hunter S. Thompson have in common? A:They're both Gonzo's.
Those of you who are Horror con haunters can easily meet Ms. Keaton these days,as she regularly makes appearances at all the major ones around.Her husband at the time,Zarchi went on to direct the equally eye-catching Don't Mess With My Sister in 1985,before most recently writing and producing this year's Day remake,I Spit on Your Grave:Unrated,which stars Sarah Butler in the Keaton role.As with Aja's Piranha 3D,I may find myself screening it in the near future.Not making any promises,though.The original,on the other hand merits two wops on the rating scale.
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Jennifer(Keaton)axes for a little respect,dadgum it.
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