Over its 20-plus seasons, there have been many great quotes on The Simpsons, most of which have come from Homer Simpson. However, some of the peripheral characters get a good one-liner in every now and then. While reporting the news, TV anchor Kent Brockman proclaims that a story "Barely qualifies as news". This quote is used liberally on a local morning show here, and I've been known to toss it out as well. If Kent Brockman were to watch I Spit on Your Grave, he would most likely proclaim, "This barely qualifies as a movie."

Camille Keaton (granddaughter of Buster Keaton) stars in I Spit on Your Grave as Jennifer Hills, a New York City writer who goes to a lakeside cottage to work on a novel. Once there, she settles into her cabin, enjoying the hammock and canoe. Unfortunately, she has attracted the attention of four locals, Johnny (Eron Tabor, because apparently David Hess wasn't available), Stanley (Anthony Nichols), Andy (Gunter Kleeman), and Matthew (Richard Pace) (who appears to be learning disabled). While relaxing in her boat, Jennifer is attacked by the four men and repeatedly raped over the course of the day. The men brutalize her and then leave her for dead. Jennifer recovers, never contacting the police, and then goes about getting her revenge.

I Spit on Your Grave was originally released in 1978 under the title Day of the Woman, where it got zero attention. The movie was then re-released in 1980 as I Spit on Your Grave and a firestorm of controversy was unleashed. Roger Ebert started a campaign against the film, and it was banned in several countries. The poster became one of the most infamous of the early 80s exploitation period. Over thirty years later, the question remains, "Is this movie garbage?" My answer is yes. But, not just because it's offensive.

I Spit on Your Grave may be the epitome of a minimalist film. This is clearly a very low-budget movie, and at no point does it look like any money was available. The movie has no score, as Writer/Director Meir Zarchi claims that he couldn't find any music which matched the film. Other than a framework, there is essentially no story here. Jennifer comes to the country, she's attacked, she gets revenge. There is no character development, no back-stories, and really no characters outside of the main five. Other than the actions we witness, we never know what any of the characters are thinking. This is most notable when the attack begins. We're never sure if the guys were just horsing around or if they truly mean to rape and kill her. Once Jennifer finishes with her vengeance, the credits roll. That's no exaggeration -- the scene is actually still happening when the credits appear. This movie simply comes in, does its nastiness, and then leaves.

If Zarchi meant to make a movie with any sort of appeal, he failed. If his goal was to make a nearly unwatchable grueling movie which shows the brutality of violence, then he succeeded. When you read about I Spit on Your Grave, you often see the phrase "prolonged rape scene". But, until you see the movie, and realize that the rape scene goes on for 30 minutes in various stages, taking up nearly 1/3 of the movie, you understand just how prolonged prolonged can be. This is meant to illustrate how reprehensible the crime is and justify Jennifer's revenge. However, it's difficult to watch this scene and not think that the movie is going to far. Yes, it's an ugly and brutal crime, but subtlety can be your friend and a little rape goes a long way.

The oddest thing about I Spit on Your Grave is how it doesn't deliver as a true exploitation film. While there is constant nudity throughout the movie, it's never sexy and while there's violence, there essentially no gore here (no doubt due to budget constraints). Does this mean that it's mean to be taken seriously as a rape-revenge drama? I don't know, but the cartoonish nature of the men makes this nearly impossible. The debate has raged on for years about whether this is a sadistic movie or a feminist movie -- the bottom line is that it isn't a good movie.

I Spit on Your Grave makes us glad that nobody delivers groceries anymore on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 30 Mbps. I'm not sure where they found the film for this transfer, but kudos to Anchor Bay for being diligent. For a 30-year old low-budget film, this transfer looks really good. The image is very sharp and clear, showing only trace amounts of grain and surprisingly few defects from the source material. The colors look fantastic, most notably the reds and greens. There is some slight flickering of the image at times, but otherwise this is what a restoration should look like. The Disc carries a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 3.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. Essentially this is a gussied up mono track and that's exactly what it sounds like. While there is the occasional stereo or surround effect, we mostly get a very loud presentation from the center channel. The various sounds effects and dialogue are well-mixed, but this isn't a very dynamic track.

The I Spit on Your Grave Blu-ray Disc contains a few extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Writer/Director Meir Zarchi. This is followed by a second COMMENTARY from Joe Bob Briggs. Joe Bob actually takes a semi-serious approach here, debating whether or not the movie takes the rapists' point-of-view, but there are also some very funny moments here. "The Values of Vengeance: Meir Zarchi Remembers I Spit on Your Grave" (29 minutes) is simply a long interview with the director. Other than clips from the movie and some stills, we only get Zarchi talking. He gives an in-depth history of the making and distribution of the film, as well as his reaction to the reaction to the movie. The stories about the business side are a bit dry, but some of his comments are interesting. "Alternate Main Title" (16 seconds), simply shows what the movie would look like with the Day of the Woman title-card. The Disc contains four TRAILERS, two for Day of the Woman and two for I Spit on Your Grave. We get three TV Spots, again one for Day of the Woman and two for I Spit on Your Grave. There are three RADIO SPOTS for Day of the Woman. Finally, we get a POSTER & STILL GALLERY.