I Spit on Your Grave
Ending on the film I Spit on Your Grave in a way seems only fitting, as so many of the horror tropes and symbols we've discussed so far are exemplified in the film.
The main woman, Jenny, seems to take elements from the typical "final girl" archetype, as well as from the less fortunate slasher film character types. Near the start of the film, she doesn't seem to resemble a final girl character much at all. She is very feminine, and lacks any "other-ing" or masculine features that so many final girls have. It is this femininity, combined with her confidence and promiscuity, which offends the masculinity of the men of the film. It is no coincidence that the man least coded masculine is the most reluctant to participate in the rape. After the rape, Jenny takes initiative, and her actions become more aligned with that of a typical "final girl". She kills the men one by one in gory fashion, and has her revenge. In killing the men however, she becomes a sort of monster herself, even if the killing was in revenge.
One aspect of this film I found interesting was the use of the color red. Extremely vibrant whenever it appears, it is impossible to ignore. It colors the inside of the woman's boat, her chair, carpet, and many more things inside her place. After the rape, the color is suspiciously absent, until she begins the killings. Notably, when Andy orders a milkshake with a cherry on top, his appetite is lost as soon as he sees the red of the cherry. Red in the film would seem to stand for the woman herself, as well as her femininity and the monstrousness it implies.
The killings themselves were all drawn out and theatrical. Where most slashers focus on the suffering of their female characters, this film dedicated considerable time to the anguish of the male rapists (though the rape scene(s) were also quite long and graphic). Jenny is the owner of a gun, which we are made aware of from an early point in the film. However, it is only wielded once by her, for intimidation purposes. Jenny's methods of killing are much more personal, sexual, and torturous.
When considering the use of violence itself in the film, I couldn't help but think of one of the most violent films we watched this term, Human Roast Pork Buns (The Untold Story). A film that juxtaposed comedic antics with gruesome violence, it was a sickening spectacle to behold. I found the violence in I Spit on Your Grave to be, while deplorable, less shocking overall than in the other film. One notable detail I noticed was the lightheartedness and overall ease with which the men carried out the rape (the exception being Andy). Laughing with glee, it was made to seem like some kind of sick game. This dark "gleefulness" harkens back to the strange tone of The Untold Story.
The main woman, Jenny, seems to take elements from the typical "final girl" archetype, as well as from the less fortunate slasher film character types. Near the start of the film, she doesn't seem to resemble a final girl character much at all. She is very feminine, and lacks any "other-ing" or masculine features that so many final girls have. It is this femininity, combined with her confidence and promiscuity, which offends the masculinity of the men of the film. It is no coincidence that the man least coded masculine is the most reluctant to participate in the rape. After the rape, Jenny takes initiative, and her actions become more aligned with that of a typical "final girl". She kills the men one by one in gory fashion, and has her revenge. In killing the men however, she becomes a sort of monster herself, even if the killing was in revenge.
One aspect of this film I found interesting was the use of the color red. Extremely vibrant whenever it appears, it is impossible to ignore. It colors the inside of the woman's boat, her chair, carpet, and many more things inside her place. After the rape, the color is suspiciously absent, until she begins the killings. Notably, when Andy orders a milkshake with a cherry on top, his appetite is lost as soon as he sees the red of the cherry. Red in the film would seem to stand for the woman herself, as well as her femininity and the monstrousness it implies.
The killings themselves were all drawn out and theatrical. Where most slashers focus on the suffering of their female characters, this film dedicated considerable time to the anguish of the male rapists (though the rape scene(s) were also quite long and graphic). Jenny is the owner of a gun, which we are made aware of from an early point in the film. However, it is only wielded once by her, for intimidation purposes. Jenny's methods of killing are much more personal, sexual, and torturous.
When considering the use of violence itself in the film, I couldn't help but think of one of the most violent films we watched this term, Human Roast Pork Buns (The Untold Story). A film that juxtaposed comedic antics with gruesome violence, it was a sickening spectacle to behold. I found the violence in I Spit on Your Grave to be, while deplorable, less shocking overall than in the other film. One notable detail I noticed was the lightheartedness and overall ease with which the men carried out the rape (the exception being Andy). Laughing with glee, it was made to seem like some kind of sick game. This dark "gleefulness" harkens back to the strange tone of The Untold Story.
I think that you make a really interesting observation about the use of comedic elements in these otherwise violent films. I wish that we would have had more time to explore this question throughout the term. I think it raises really interesting questions about how terror operates in relationship to other aspects of body genres. We think of horror most often in relationship to terror, tears and arousal not necessarily in relationship to laughter. Yet we watch horror because we take pleasure in it.
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