Director Meir Zarchi's notorious 1978 'rape-revenge' thriller was never submitted to the BBFC for cinema classification, but acquired notoriety in the 1980s as one of the most frequently prosecuted 'video nasties', i.e. works 'of a horror nature' which the Director of Public Prosecutions considered suitable for prosecution under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 (OPA).
The film tells the story of New Yorker Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton), who takes a vacation in the countryside where she hopes to write a novel. However, en route to her cabin, she meets a group of local men who, shortly after arrival, begin to sexually harass and intimidate Jennifer, before gang-raping her in a brutal attack. After the rape and sexual assault is over, one member of the gang is left to kill Jennifer so that the men's crimes will not be reported, but he is ultimately unable to go through with the murder. Jennifer subsequently visits each of the men, and kills them in a variety of inventive ways.
Classification issues
- Violence
- Sequences include a woman being abused and assaulted, a hanging, a man being struck with an axe, and a sequence implying a man's penis is cut off.
- Sexual violence
- Protracted scenes of sexual violence feature a woman being gang raped.
- Nudity
- Scenes include prolonged full frontal female nudity, and instances of male genital nudity.
- Additional issues
- There is use of strong language ('f**k'), scenes of sexist and abusive behaviour, strong threat, crude sex references and implied masturbation.
Initial submission for video classification
I Spit on Your Grave was formally submitted to the BBFC for a home entertainment classification in 2001.
The film's presentation of rape infringed the BBFC's strict policy on sexual violence which, at the time, stated that 'Where the portrayal eroticises or endorses sexual assault, the BBFC is likely to require cuts at any classification level'. There is a substantial body of research evidence that suggests that eroticised depictions of rape and sexual violence may have a harmful effect upon the attitudes and behaviour of some viewers. However, rejecting the film outright would not be proportionate to the possible dangers and the BBFC always seeks to cut a work to make it acceptable where this is at all possible.
Although it was clear that I Spit on Your Grave would need to be cut quite significantly to make it suitable for classification, the BBFC felt that by reducing the most eroticised elements of sexual violence – for example, by reducing the focus on Jennifer’s nudity during the rape scenes – it would be possible to preserve the narrative of the film and leave enough straightforward violence in the ‘revenge’ portion to satisfy horror fans.
In total, seven minutes and two seconds of cuts were required before the work could be passed 18.
Subsequent submissions
In 2010, the BBFC was asked to take another look at the film, nine years after its previous classification. The BBFC carefully considered the cuts made in 2001 and concluded that although the cuts had successfully removed the most eroticised elements of nudity, they had also removed some of the horror of the rapes, most notably the scene in which Jennifer is raped over a rock, which had been deleted entirely.
On this occasion, it was concluded that any material that emphasised the horrors of sexual violence, whilst not focussing principally on nudity, could be reinstated. However, the moments that seemed to focus on nudity in a prurient and exploitative manner, as well as the moments that emphasised the enjoyment of the rapists, were still subjected to cuts. In total, two minutes 54 seconds were cut in 2011.
The uncut version of the film was submitted again for classification in 2020. The BBFC reviewed the film once more, seeking input from the Board of Classification (now known as the Statutory Classifiers), and ultimately decided that the material continued to contravene BBFC Guidelines and policy on matters relating to sexual violence and harm. Accordingly, the BBFC decided to uphold the cuts issued in 2010.
Two years later, the uncut version of the film was submitted once again. This time, however, the film was submitted for advice. As the BBFC had only recently reached a decision on the uncut material, the decision to uphold the 2010 cuts was once again taken. Accordingly, cuts were advised to the company. Using our advice, the company chose to pre-cut the film and then submit it once again for formal classification. The pre-cut version contained no material that we advised would require compulsory cuts and was, therefore, passed 18 uncut for ‘sexual violence, bloody violence’.
2010 remake
In 2010, the BBFC was presented with a modern remake of I Spit on Your Grave, directed by Stephen R. Monroe. The remake featured far less emphasis on female nudity than the original. However, the contemporary setting, together with its higher production values, rendered the rape scenes equally – if not more – disturbing.
After careful consideration, the BBFC classified the film 18 for cinema and DVD release after 43 seconds of cuts. Cuts were made to remove some brief elements emphasising female nudity, and to reduce some of the moments in which the audience was invited to see the attacks from the point of view of the rapists. Most notably, cuts were made to remove some of the shots in which the gang films their degradation of the woman through a camcorder. These seemed to encourage the viewer to become complicit in the attacks, rather than merely an appalled spectator.
With the cuts made, the overall effect on the rape and assault scenes was to horrify and disgust, rather than to eroticise or endorse sexual violence. The film was classified 18 for very strong terrorisation, sexual violence and bloody violence.
Sequels
The 2010 remake was followed by two sequels – I Spit on Your Grave 2 in 2013 and I Spit on Your Grave III: Vengeance is Mine in 2015.
I Spit on Your Grave 2 was originally seen by the BBFC for advice in an incomplete version. The company was informed that 27 cuts would be required across six scenes to remove various elements of sexual and sexualised violence. Without these cuts the work would have been refused a classification. When the completed version of the film was submitted for formal classification, all the requested cuts had been made, and the film was classified 18 for strong bloody violence and sexual violence.
The 2015 sequel was classified 18 uncut for strong bloody violence, sex, sexual violence and very strong language.
In 2020, a belated sequel to the original film – reuniting Meir Zarchi and Camille Keaton – was submitted to the BBFC and classified 18 uncut for sexual violence, sadistic violence, gore, nudity and very strong language.
